Japan Press Weekly

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2021 September 8 - 14 [JCP]

JCP policy commission chair protests against TV commentator’s unjust attack on JCP

Japanese Communist Party Policy Commission Chair Tamura Tomoko on September 10 at a press conference in the Diet building said, “A remark made by a commentator on a TBS daily news show that the JCP maintains a ‘violent revolution’ policy is totally false and thus unacceptable.”

On the TBS daily news program entitled, “Hiruobi!”, aired on the day, the commentator in question Yashiro Hideki, who is also a lawyer, claimed that the JCP has not abandoned its policy of endorsing “violent revolution”, when asked for a comment on the news that the JCP, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the Social Democratic Party, and the Reiwa party recently signed an agreement on common policies for the coming House of Representatives general election.

Tamura pointed out, “After reading the JCP’s Program and policies, anyone can clearly understand that the JCP doesn’t support ‘violent revolution’ as a policy. The latest JCP Central Committee Plenum reaffirmed this position.”

The JCP policy commission chair said, “If Yashiro made such a controversial remark without reading the JCP Program or other materials, he is unqualified to be a political commentator on TV news shows. However, if he did this with his eyes open, he should be criticized for taking a cheap shot at the JCP with the aim of hindering opposition parties’ collaboration and attracting support from citizens hoping for a change of government.”

Tamura noted that many concerned citizens raised voice in protest against Yashiro’s remark, and expressed her determination to work together with them to fight back against the unjust attack on the JCP.

Later on the same day, the JCP press service department lodged with TBS a protest against Yashiro’s remark.

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TBS on September 11, regarding the remark made by Yashiro on the previous day, notified the JCP that they acknowledge that there is no description of "violent revolution" in the JCP Program and that the remark was unacceptable. TBS apologized for the remark and said that it will withdraw Yashiro's remark and will make an official apology on the coming Monday show.