Japan Press Weekly

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2014 November 26 - December 2 [JCP]

JCP is supported by funding from individual donors

Following the publication by the government financial reports of political parties for 2013, Japanese Communist Party Financial and Management Commission Chair Iwai Tetsuya on November 28 released a statement.

In 2013, the JCP Central Committee had a total income of 22.54 billion yen (down 3.2% from 2012) and a total expenditure of 22.39 billion yen (down 4.8% from 2012), with about 1.26 billion yen in balance carried forward.

In the statement, Iwai said that the JCP funds itself with party membership dues, business incomes such as from subscription fees for the organ paper Akahata, and donations from individuals. The party does not accept the unconstitutional government subsidy funded by taxpayer money or corporate and organizational donations.

Business activities in relation to the publication of Akahata and other journals and magazines accounted for 87.0% of income and 63.4% of expenditure. This clearly shows that the JCP has developed close ties with the general public through its activities centering on Akahata, Iwai added.

Iwai stressed that as shown in the balance sheet, the JCP’s political funding is supported by grassroots donations, and this is how the party can promote and work for people-oriented policies.

The government political fund reports showed that unlike the JCP, 64.6% of the Liberal Democratic Party’s revenues and 82.5% of the Democratic Party of Japan’s were from state subsidies. When looking at other political parties, the Japan Restoration Party (now the Japan Innovation Party) depended on the subsidies for 72.1% of its finance and the Your Party, which was recently dissolved, for 73.8%.

Iwai criticized the political party subsidies system for exacerbating political corruption and jeopardizing democracy in Japan as recipient political parties can use public money for any purpose.

The statement emphasizes that the JCP will work jointly with public movements in order to achieve the abolition of the state subsidy system and the elimination of corporate and organizational donations.


Past related article:
> Parties, other than JCP, depend on state subsidies [November 30, 2013]