January 5, 2025
Japanese Communist Party Executive Committee Chair Tamura Tomoko on January 4 made a speech in the 2025 New Year assembly held at the JCP head office in Tokyo.
Tamura said that since she was elected as EC Chair in the 29th JCP Congress in January 2024, she has used the Congress Resolution as a “road map” for her activities, and stressed the need for the party to make all-out efforts based on this Resolution to tackle the challenges it will face this year. She also said, “As called for by the 29th Congress Resolution, let us talk about the appeal of the JCP to a wider range of people! Let us achieve positive results in elections and in party-building!” She called on party members to work hard to win in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election slated for summer this year. In addition, regarding this year’s House of Councilors election, Tamura proposed a target of securing five seats in the nationwide proportional representation bloc and gaining more seats in multiple-seat constituencies along with the current three seats.
Tamura pointed out, “Every time I enter new political territory, the 29th Party Congress Resolution served as a ‘road map’.” She talked about how she felt about the vitality of the Congress Resolution in accordance with the five “new theoretical and political breakthroughs” mentioned in a “letter to all JCP branches and groups” adopted at the second Central Committee Plenum in April of last year.
As the first of the five breakthroughs, Tamura pointed to the “development in the JCP world view and diplomatic vision”. She referred to the JCP “Proposal for Peacebuilding in East Asia” which was published in April 2024 and to the lecture given by JCP Central Committee Chair Shii on this proposal, and said, “This did not end with just the publication and lecture.” She talked about her experiences of attending ceremonies celebrating the independence of Vietnam and Indonesia. She said that at the ceremonies, she hit it off with other guests when she explained that the JCP compiled the “Proposal” by focusing on ASEAN efforts for peacebuilding through “dialogue and inclusiveness”. She went on to say, “The ‘Proposal’ is a passport to making many friends. In this year, I’ll use this passport to increase the number of friends.”
Tamura stressed that the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Survivors Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo) was “one of our great joys last year.” She stated that JCP CC Chair Shii and Hidankyo Representative Director Tanaka Terumi pointed out that Hibakusha’s efforts brought a “humanitarian approach” to the nuclear disarmament negotiations.
With Hibakusha’s appeal at various occasions such as UN meetings, “the inhumane nature of nuclear weapons has become common understanding in the international community, leading to the adoption of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).” Tamura pointed out, “The 29th Congress Resolution positioned this trend as incorporated into the world’s mainstream. Hidankyo’s winning of the Nobel Peace Prize vividly proved this point.” She criticized the Japanese government for clinging to the nuclear deterrence doctrine and refusing to join in the TPNW. She said, “In this year marking the 80th year since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, let us work to realize a government willing to participate in the N-ban treaty.”
Secondly, Tamura said that the “entire Liberal Democratic Party platform is in a terminal state.”
Tamura emphasized, “The Congress Resolution made clear that the LDP-style politics have reached a deadlock in every field and that the JCP has formulated policies which will overcome the deadlock.” She said that she really realized this in the debate held among party leaders before the campaign period for the general election last year.
Tamura said that all party leaders during their debate during the pre-election period for the last general election showed a positive stance toward wage increases, but she was the only one who presented specific actions needed to raise wages. With regard to tuition-free education, she said that the JCP was the only party that pointed to the problem of military spending ballooning to twice the national budget for education. She added, “Through my debates with other leaders, I was convinced that our position of correcting the ‘two distortions’ of LDP politics (being aberrantly submissive to the United States; and giving first priority to business interests) has the power to overwhelm the other parties on any issue.”
Tamura, on the other hand, admitted to the fact that the JCP has not yet reached its full potential in making its policies and appeal widely known among the general public. She stressed the need for the JCP to improve its language and to drastically strengthen its social media activities to better communicate with the people in order to win a breakthrough in this year’s elections.
Thirdly, Tamura talked about the “JCP role in efforts to achieve social progress”.
The Resolution adopted at the 29th JCP Congress includes a section entitled, “A majority-supported revolution and the role of the JCP”. It clearly states that the protagonist of social change is the people themselves as sovereigns of the nation, and that society will progress only when the majority of the people hope to change society on their own will and actions taken. Tamura explained that the JCP at the 29th Congress confirmed that its role is to promote people’s awareness and growth by demonstrating its “fortitude to withstand any difficulties” as well as its “foresight to clarify the future outlook from a scientific standpoint.” Noting that diverse movements dealing with issues such as concerns regarding people’s livelihoods, peace, gender equality, and climate change are taking place in today’s Japan, Tamura said, “Let us make this year a year we work together with the general public to realize their urgent demands in all areas based on the JCP’s founding spirit of ‘working to reduce people’s hardships’.” She added, “Today is the starting point for us to move a ‘new political process’ forward.”
Fourthly, she moved on to the theme, “A shift forward in party building”.
Tamura pointed out that the efforts the JCP has been making on a daily basis “to increase its membership” are still not enough. As an example, she cited the experience of JCP branches in Usa City, Oita Prefecture, which achieved the goal “to increase JCP membership by 30%” from the 28th Congress level. After the 29th Congress in January of last year, the local branches every month made time for discussion, action, and meetings on the “increase by 30%” challenge. As a result, all the five branches welcomed new members totaling 25. She said, “One year has already passed since the last Congress. I’d like you to work together to achieve the goal of 30% increase and build a larger and stronger JCP in order to win in the Upper House and Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly elections.”
Fifthly, Tamura spoke on “new developments in the JCP theory of a future society”. She recalled that using the pamphlet “Q&A on Communism and Freedom” written by JCP CC Chair Shii, she engaged in dialogue with the general public and that was a challenging but very interesting experience for her. She called on JCP members to “further develop this new pioneering challenge on a nationwide scale”.
Tamura said that since she was elected as EC Chair in the 29th JCP Congress in January 2024, she has used the Congress Resolution as a “road map” for her activities, and stressed the need for the party to make all-out efforts based on this Resolution to tackle the challenges it will face this year. She also said, “As called for by the 29th Congress Resolution, let us talk about the appeal of the JCP to a wider range of people! Let us achieve positive results in elections and in party-building!” She called on party members to work hard to win in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election slated for summer this year. In addition, regarding this year’s House of Councilors election, Tamura proposed a target of securing five seats in the nationwide proportional representation bloc and gaining more seats in multiple-seat constituencies along with the current three seats.
Tamura pointed out, “Every time I enter new political territory, the 29th Party Congress Resolution served as a ‘road map’.” She talked about how she felt about the vitality of the Congress Resolution in accordance with the five “new theoretical and political breakthroughs” mentioned in a “letter to all JCP branches and groups” adopted at the second Central Committee Plenum in April of last year.
As the first of the five breakthroughs, Tamura pointed to the “development in the JCP world view and diplomatic vision”. She referred to the JCP “Proposal for Peacebuilding in East Asia” which was published in April 2024 and to the lecture given by JCP Central Committee Chair Shii on this proposal, and said, “This did not end with just the publication and lecture.” She talked about her experiences of attending ceremonies celebrating the independence of Vietnam and Indonesia. She said that at the ceremonies, she hit it off with other guests when she explained that the JCP compiled the “Proposal” by focusing on ASEAN efforts for peacebuilding through “dialogue and inclusiveness”. She went on to say, “The ‘Proposal’ is a passport to making many friends. In this year, I’ll use this passport to increase the number of friends.”
Tamura stressed that the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Survivors Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo) was “one of our great joys last year.” She stated that JCP CC Chair Shii and Hidankyo Representative Director Tanaka Terumi pointed out that Hibakusha’s efforts brought a “humanitarian approach” to the nuclear disarmament negotiations.
With Hibakusha’s appeal at various occasions such as UN meetings, “the inhumane nature of nuclear weapons has become common understanding in the international community, leading to the adoption of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).” Tamura pointed out, “The 29th Congress Resolution positioned this trend as incorporated into the world’s mainstream. Hidankyo’s winning of the Nobel Peace Prize vividly proved this point.” She criticized the Japanese government for clinging to the nuclear deterrence doctrine and refusing to join in the TPNW. She said, “In this year marking the 80th year since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, let us work to realize a government willing to participate in the N-ban treaty.”
Secondly, Tamura said that the “entire Liberal Democratic Party platform is in a terminal state.”
Tamura emphasized, “The Congress Resolution made clear that the LDP-style politics have reached a deadlock in every field and that the JCP has formulated policies which will overcome the deadlock.” She said that she really realized this in the debate held among party leaders before the campaign period for the general election last year.
Tamura said that all party leaders during their debate during the pre-election period for the last general election showed a positive stance toward wage increases, but she was the only one who presented specific actions needed to raise wages. With regard to tuition-free education, she said that the JCP was the only party that pointed to the problem of military spending ballooning to twice the national budget for education. She added, “Through my debates with other leaders, I was convinced that our position of correcting the ‘two distortions’ of LDP politics (being aberrantly submissive to the United States; and giving first priority to business interests) has the power to overwhelm the other parties on any issue.”
Tamura, on the other hand, admitted to the fact that the JCP has not yet reached its full potential in making its policies and appeal widely known among the general public. She stressed the need for the JCP to improve its language and to drastically strengthen its social media activities to better communicate with the people in order to win a breakthrough in this year’s elections.
Thirdly, Tamura talked about the “JCP role in efforts to achieve social progress”.
The Resolution adopted at the 29th JCP Congress includes a section entitled, “A majority-supported revolution and the role of the JCP”. It clearly states that the protagonist of social change is the people themselves as sovereigns of the nation, and that society will progress only when the majority of the people hope to change society on their own will and actions taken. Tamura explained that the JCP at the 29th Congress confirmed that its role is to promote people’s awareness and growth by demonstrating its “fortitude to withstand any difficulties” as well as its “foresight to clarify the future outlook from a scientific standpoint.” Noting that diverse movements dealing with issues such as concerns regarding people’s livelihoods, peace, gender equality, and climate change are taking place in today’s Japan, Tamura said, “Let us make this year a year we work together with the general public to realize their urgent demands in all areas based on the JCP’s founding spirit of ‘working to reduce people’s hardships’.” She added, “Today is the starting point for us to move a ‘new political process’ forward.”
Fourthly, she moved on to the theme, “A shift forward in party building”.
Tamura pointed out that the efforts the JCP has been making on a daily basis “to increase its membership” are still not enough. As an example, she cited the experience of JCP branches in Usa City, Oita Prefecture, which achieved the goal “to increase JCP membership by 30%” from the 28th Congress level. After the 29th Congress in January of last year, the local branches every month made time for discussion, action, and meetings on the “increase by 30%” challenge. As a result, all the five branches welcomed new members totaling 25. She said, “One year has already passed since the last Congress. I’d like you to work together to achieve the goal of 30% increase and build a larger and stronger JCP in order to win in the Upper House and Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly elections.”
Fifthly, Tamura spoke on “new developments in the JCP theory of a future society”. She recalled that using the pamphlet “Q&A on Communism and Freedom” written by JCP CC Chair Shii, she engaged in dialogue with the general public and that was a challenging but very interesting experience for her. She called on JCP members to “further develop this new pioneering challenge on a nationwide scale”.
