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2021 February 17 - 23 TOP3 [JCP]

Shii in webinar for high school students talks about the society JCP envisions in the future

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on February 17 appeared in a webinar for high school students as a guest speaker and answered their questions on various topics ranging from the JCP’s stance toward the Self-Defense Forces under the war-renouncing Article 9 to what kind of society the JCP envisions for the future.

This virtual seminar was hosted by the politics club of students at the online high school called “N High School” which is operated by Kadokawa Dwango educational corporation. Along with 25 club members attending, 14,602 people viewed the webinar in which special lecturer at N High School and international relations scholar Miura Ruri acted as MC.

Asked about the JCP’s view on the current situation in which the SDF exists under Article 9, Shii pointed out that the existence of the SDF conflicts with Article 9 which stipulates, “[L]and, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained”. He said that in order to resolve this contradiction, the JCP thinks it necessary to change the nature of the SDF in order to attain the pacifist article’s ideal, and added that the JCP seeks to achieve this goal by obtaining the consensus of a large majority of the general public.

In response to a question about socialism and communism which the JCP pursues, Shii firstly explained that the JCP policy is to achieve social changes step by step based on social progress and obtaining a large majority of people’s support expressed through elections. Shii said that in the present day Japan, what the JCP seeks is a democratic revolution aiming to turn Japan into a people-oriented nation, initially within the capitalist framework.

In this regard, more specifically, Shii said that the JCP believes it is necessary to correct “two distortions”: the Japanese government’s “subservience to the U.S. government and to the Japanese business circles”. He continued to say, “At the same time, even if this transformation of society is achieved, we still need to tackle problems inherent in capitalism, such as economic inequality, environmental destruction, unemployment, and financial crises. In order to address these problems, it is vital to advance into socialism/communism based on the consent of a large majority of the people. This is our position.”

Talking about the main features of socialism and communism, Shii said that Marx and Engels described socialism/communism as “an association, in which the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all”. He added, “‘The free development of all’ is the main concept of the theory for human liberation proposed by Marx and Engels. The most important way to achieve this is to reduce working hours,” and went on to explain the JCP Program’s theory on the future society in detail.

At the end of the webinar, asked to give a message to N High School students and other viewers, Shii pointed out that Marx, when he was a high school student, wrote in an essay that a person who brings happiness to others is the happiest, and said, “I hope all of you will become a person like this.”