March 23, 2019

Some Dietmembers are now making ridiculous attacks on the intra-Diet joint struggles of anti-Abe opposition parties, including the Japanese Communist Party, which show progress and growing influence. These Dietmembers argue that opposition parties in collaboration with the JCP are attempting to nurture an image of promoting “responsible politics”. They seem to suggest that political parties that collaborate with the JCP, which, they think, does not belong to the political mainstream, are not trustworthy.

This argument uses the Public Security Intelligence Agency’s designation of the JCP as a target for investigations under the Subversive Activities Prevention Act.

On March 7, at a meeting of the House of Representatives Internal Affairs Committee, in defiance of the committee chair’s order to stop making unrelated remarks, a lawmaker of the rightwing political party Nippon Ishin no Kai, Adachi Yasufumi, brought up questions such as the reason for applying the anti-subversion law to the JCP. In reply, PSIA official Yokoo Yoichi said that the JCP is “still designated as a subversive organization which needs to be investigated under the law”. He also asserted that after the end of the war, “the party had allegedly committed terroristic, destructive activities” and that the party “even now maintains a policy of violent revolution in line with the so-called concept of ‘attitude of the enemy’ which calls for vigilance against violence that the enemy might use to crush the democratic movement.”

This assertion, however, totally distorts the JCP Program and provides vicious propaganda that distorts the JCP history.

JCP debunks argument of ‘violent revolution policy’ based on ‘attitude of the enemy’ concept

An argument which uses the JCP’s readiness to respond to the enemy’s use of violence against the democratic movement as evidence that the party maintains the “violent revolution theory” was already debunked through debates held at the Lower House Budget Committee meeting on February 18, 1989 between JCP Chair Fuwa Tetsuzo and PSIA Director-General Ishiyama Yo at that time.

In the meeting, Fuwa explained the JCP Program under which the party seeks to establish a democratically elected government with the support of the majority of the people. He clarified the JCP position of defeating all kinds of anticommunist movements by stating that when the united-front supporting force which includes the JCP establishes a government through elections, it is a matter of course for this government to exercise its constitutional right to crack down on reactionary forces. His explanation obliged Ishiyama to answer, "If any subversive elements initiated a revolt after the establishment of a new government, to suppress this would be a security duty which should be taken by that government."

However, at the same time, Ishiyama said, "Subversive elements should be squashed before a democratic government is formed as a way to prevent a potential revolt."

Fuwa in response counter-argued by quoting the JCP 11th Congress Resolution adopted in 1970, "[I]f the reactionary forces should violently destroy democracy and create unpeaceful obstacles to the development of the movement before a government of the people is established, it is a proper task to strangle such a fascist-like attack by mobilizing the broad democratic forces and democratic public opinion."

The JCP in its past resolutions had emphasized the need to be wary of "the attitude of the enemy" only because the party sought to peacefully work on achieving social progress by putting reactionary forces under political siege in order to prevent in advance various violent actions from taking place. Therefore, it is childish to twist this into meaning that the JCP calls for an "armed revolution". Such a logic does not make any sense.

The JCP Program declares, "As a political party that has worked on the consistent principle that 'people are sovereign', the JCP fights to establish a democratic coalition government supported by a parliamentary majority." Furthermore, regarding a change toward socialism in the future, the Program stipulates that the JCP will "follow the road of socialist reform accepted and supported by a majority of the population" and that the party will form "power aiming for socialism" which "will be established with a backing of a stable parliamentary majority".

To promote social transformation "supported by a parliamentary majority" has been the JCP's consistent policy. It is obvious that the party does not call for a violent revolution if anyone takes the time to read the JCP Program.