May 30, 2020

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on May 28 appeared on an online event along with head of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan Edano Yukio and answered to questions from young people about politics after the coronavirus pandemic.

The event was cohosted by the Mainichi Shimbun and the Internet media "POTETO" and "PoliPoli". Takatsuka Tamotsu, managing editor of Mainichi Shimbun's Political News Department, acted as M.C.

A young person asked, "What do you think is important in order for young people to feel hopeful about the future?"

JCP Chair Shii answered that the key is to know that they can change politics by using various means and new tools like the recent demonstration on Twitter which successfully forced the government to give up extending the retirement age of specific senior prosecutors. CDPJ Edano answered, "It is important for us to make many achievements so that young people can see opposition parties standing together to put a stop to the misgovernment."

An opinion was raised, "The coronavirus has generated new values in rural areas in contrast to highly-populated urban cities."

Shii in response said, "We should obtain locally, if possible, things we feel we need in our lives for ourselves, maybe not all, but we need to move in the direction of an economy of self-sufficiency." He stressed the need to increase Japan's food self-sufficiency rate, make a policy shift to locally-produced environment-friendly sources of energy, and increase domestic production of medical- and nursing-care supplies.

Another young person asked how the opposition parties will appeal to the youth in future elections.

Shii answered, "The JCP in collaboration with other opposition parties will lay out a clear course to take after COVID-19 infections are brought under control. Discussions among opposition parties are still going on, but I'm sure that we will set common goals and I hope we will win in the next general election as an opposition coalition."

Shii called on young people to look at the world from a broad and historical perspective. He referred to the plague outbreak in Europe in the 14th century and "The Capital" by Marx, saying that the plague had killed two-thirds of the population and pushed up wages of workers in farm villages, resulting in the creation of "Statues of Laborers" for the first time in history. He pointed out, "Consequently, the plague pandemic became a catalyst to end the medieval serf system and opened the door for a transition to capitalism. In other words, the plague led to transforming the world."

Shii continued to say, "We should minimize the damage caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and put a stop to the crisis. On the other hand, it is true that this pandemic shed light on many contradictions in society. After we overcome this crisis, we should act for a better Japan and a better world. To achieve this, we have to make efforts to make the present crisis a turning point."

Past related articles:
> JCP Shii: International community should unite to control COVID-19 pandemic [May 22, 2020]
> Koike discusses online with Professor Nakano coronavirus crisis and Japan’s politics [May 20, 2020]