July 1, 2021

In the recent years, China has engaged in conduct that intensified concerns among the international community as shown in repeated intrusions into Japan’s territorial waters off the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa and the escalation of human-rights suppression in Hong Kong and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The Japanese Communist Party, in a rigid and rational manner based on the facts and international law, has criticized China’s acts for running counter to peace, democracy, and human-rights protection. Furthermore, the party has made a proposal for ways to solve these problems. On the other hand, the ruling Liberal Democratic and Komei parties have taken a weak-kneed attitude toward China. This is nothing new.

In June 1989 when the Chinese leadership carried out a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy students’ protests at the Tiananmen Square, the LDP government, while expressing its “regret”, showed no intent to lodge a protest and engage in any criticism of China. The Japanese government not only displayed toleration for China’s brutal act, but also worked on other countries in the international arena, such as at G7 summit meetings, to tone down their criticism of China.

The Komei party took the same response as the LDP to the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. In addition, the Komei party spoke highly about the Great Cultural Revolution and has referred to itself as a liaison with successive Chinese administrations.

Meanwhile, when the Great Cultural Revolution was launched in 1966, the JCP in an Akahata article in October 1967 defined this movement as a political battle initiated by the Mao Zedong faction in a systematic manner with the aim of establishing a limitless dictatorship, which has nothing to do with socialism or communism.

At the time of the Tiananmen Square incident, the JCP issued a statement in the name of the Central Committee and condemned the leadership in the Chinese Communist Party and the government.

In the revised JCP Program, which was adopted at the 28th Congress in January 2020, the JCP denounced China’s great-power chauvinism and hegemonism and deleted the description recognizing China as a country "beginning a new quest for socialism" from the Program. This is because China opposed the UN treaty banning nuclear weapons which symbolizes the nation’s shift from supporting the abolition of nuclear weapons, took hegemonic actions in the East China Sea and the West China Sea, and escalated human-rights suppression in Hong Kong and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Furthermore, the JCP is criticizing China’s recent attempts to forcibly alter the status quo evidenced in repeated intrusions by Chinese ships into Japan’s territorial waters surrounding the Senkaku Islands and in the construction of military footholds in the South China Sea.

The JCP proposed that the international community should make efforts to stop China’s hegemonic acts. In the proposal, the JCP stresses the need to put diplomatic pressure on China, increase international public opinion calling for compliance with the UN Charter and international law, and promote diplomacy under a framework inclusive of China. In this regard, the JCP in 2014 put forward an initiative for creating a framework of peace and cooperation in Northeast Asia and has appealed for the need to establish peace in East Asia in accordance with developments in this region.

Past related articles:
> Suga gov't should redress its silent attitude toward China [January 20, 2021]
> Japan worked on other countries to tone down condemnation of China's 1989 action in Tiananmen [December 24 & 25, 2020]
> China's leadership still doesn't reflect on 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown [June 5, 2020]