February 14, 2020

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on February 13 held a press conference in the Diet building in regard to Prime Minister Abe’s response to a Nippon Ishin no Kai party lawmaker’s anti-JCP questions.

At a House of Representatives plenary meeting on the day, the Nippon Ishin lawmaker in his question time asked why the JCP is subject to close observation under the Subversive Activities Prevention Act and then said, “If a coalition government of opposition parties including the JCP is established, it will give us nightmares much worse than that given by the Democratic Party-led government in the past.” In response, Prime Minister Abe said that the JCP between 1951 and 1953 allegedly engaged in terroristic, subversive activities as part of its organizational actions. He showed his ignorance by stating that the JCP “maintains a policy of violent revolution based on the so-called concept of ‘attitude of enemies’ which calls for vigilance against violence that the enemy might use to crush the democratic movement,” and went on to say, “That’s why the party is still targeted for investigations under the anti-subversion law.”

Abe parrots Public Security Intelligence Agency’s anti-JCP propaganda

PM Abe’s remarks were exactly the same as those made by the then PSIA official Yokoo Yoichi in response to questions made by another Nippon Ishin lawmaker at a Lower House Internal Affairs Committee meeting in March 2019.

At that time, refuting the PSIA official’s argument, the JCP published in Akahata an article titled “Unjust attack on JCP for purpose of weakening opposition parties’ collaboration”.

The PSIA repeatedly and unjustly attacks the JCP. This time, the prime minister on the floor of the Lower House read out the PSIA-written response and like a broken record, echoed the PSIA propaganda against the JCP which has already been discredited. PM Abe espoused disinformation in collaboration with a rightist Nippon Ishin lawmaker as if to perform a follow-up act. His behavior totally lacks common sense and credibility expected of a prime minister.

Prime Minister Abe’s remark that the “JCP is a party of violent revolution” is outrageous.

The JCP has never had an official policy of calling for violent revolution

PM Abe in his reply said that the JCP in the past “had allegedly conducted terroristic, subversive activities”. In the 1950s when the party’s Central Committee was paralyzed and divided under interference by the former Soviet Union and China, the faction which had split off from the party acted upon the wrong policy. This mistake, however, was criticized and totally rejected at the time when the party restored organizational unity.

The JCP has never had an official policy of engaging in “terroristic, destructive activities” and never carried out such a policy. This is what the JCP has proclaimed over and over.

Attempt to use ‘attitude of enemies’ concept as evidence of violent revolution defeated 31 years ago

PM Abe replied that the JCP “even now maintains a policy of violent revolution in line with the ‘attitude of enemies’ concept.” Which part of the JCP Program did PM Abe read?

The JCP in past resolutions stressed the need for constant vigilance against the “attitude of enemies”. This was because as a Defense Agency high-ranking officer had insisted that the Self-Defense Forces will have no obligation to follow any order from a government which includes the JCP, the party had considered that it had to raise public awareness of the need to politically besiege reactionary forces and prevent their violent actions in advance so as to guarantee the pursuit of a peaceful road towards social change. The use of this position as evidence for the violent revolutionary theory does not hold water.

This argument was already settled in the Diet discussions in a House of Representatives Budget Committee meeting (February 18, 1989) between the then JCP Vice Chairperson Fuwa Tetsuzo and the then PSIA Director-General Ishiyama Yo. Ishiyama acknowledged, “Even if a new government after its establishment suppresses a violent uprising by subversive elements, this act would be regarded as a legitimate public order maintenance activity that any government would do as a matter of course.”

In the same meeting, Ishiyama said, “There is the problem about the possibility of crushing disruptive elements in order to control them when a government of democracy is not yet established.” Fuwa refuted Ishiyama by reading out the JCP 11th Congress Resolution adopted in 1970 which states, "[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 argument regarding the violent revolution theory under the guise of the “attitude of enemies” concept collapsed completely years ago.

67-year-long unjust investigations find no evidence of subversive activities

In addition, Fuwa’s questioning pushed Ishiyama to admit that the PSIA had investigated the JCP for 36 years after its foundation, but found no evidence of JCP subversive activities. Since then, 31 years have passed.

In other words, the 67-year-long unjust investigation into a political party has failed to find any trace of subversive or violent activities. This is an undisputed fact.

Unjust attack based on malicious misinformation should be condemned and retracted

PM Abe insulted the JCP by using malicious, groundless rumors in the form of a reply at a plenary meeting of the Diet. The JCP strongly protested against Abe’s remark and demanded its retraction.

The JCP in its Program states that the party will promote social change peacefully by obtaining a majority in the Diet and the consensus of the people at each stage of social development. “There is no mention of ‘violent revolution’ anywhere in the Program and this policy has nothing to do with the JCP. I want to stress this point again,” Shii said.

Abe cannot make fair criticism of a potential opposition coalition government from either a political or policy-related perspective

Some political parties including those in power have voiced concern in relation to the JCP’s proposal to form a coalition government of opposition parties.

This indicates that they cannot find political or policy-related materials to attack the JCP call for the creation of a coalition government. This is why they have once again turned to disseminating misinformation to insult the JCP like a broken record.

The JCP will fend off unjust attacks of this kind and keep working to replace the Abe government with a coalition government of opposition parties in order to create a new direction in politics.

Past related articles:
> Unjust attack on JCP for purpose of weakening opposition parties’ intra-Diet collaboration (part II) [March 24, 2019]
> Unjust attack on JCP for purpose of weakening opposition parties’ intra-Diet collaboration (part I) [March 23, 2019]