Japan Press Weekly

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2008 September 24 - 30 [JCP]

JCP Central Committee Plenum calls for first major step toward a democratic government

The Japanese Communist Party Central Committee Secretariat published the following communiqué on September 26:

The Japanese Communist Party Central Committee held its 7th Plenum on September 26 at the JCP head office. JCP candidates for the House of Representatives attended the session as observers.

JCP Chair Shii Kazuo on behalf of the JCP Executive Committee delivered the report, underlining four issues that the party will keep in mind regarding policy debates in the upcoming House of Representatives election:

(1) The points at issue, which we have raised so far, continue to be the burning issues.
(2) The pressing needs of the public are very clear because of the “two political ills”: extraordinary pro-big business policy and subservience to the United States.
(3) Only the JCP is capable of calling for “change in policies”.
(4) Records show that we can change politics by increasing JCP seats.

Concerning party activities aiming to win in the upcoming election, the report said that it is necessary to do everything in preparation for the earliest possible dissolution of the House of Representatives and a general election. It warned that we must not take a “wait-and-see” approach regarding the timing of the dissolution.

After proposing postponing the JCP 25th Congress, the report said that the upcoming general election will give us a chance to achieve a major JCP advance and called for the party’s united effort to seize this chance to win. It emphasized that the election will be the first major political battle in the present historic time that seriously calls for the establishment of a democratic popular government led by the principle that the “public must be the key player.” It called on all party organizations and members to do their best in this historic struggle, which is the first step toward achieving the goals set forth by the Program of the Japanese Communist Party.

Chair Shii said that under the present political circumstances, the party cannot convene its 25th Congress in January, and proposed delaying it in accordance with Article 19 of the JCP Constitution. He said that the Central Committee will set a new date for the Congress at its Plenum to be held after the general election.

Eight CC members made statements on the report of the Executive Committee.

Chair Shii made the concluding remarks on the discussion. He stressed that the upcoming election is one in which we should go on the offensive to change the content of politics and take a step forward toward a democratic government that puts the interests of the public first. He said we must face up to the fallacy of the ongoing campaign to ask voters to choose “the LDP or the PDJ” as a governing party. The JCP platform is in place along with its campaign policy and materials such as posters and pamphlets. He emphasized that the outcome of the election hinges on the scale and speed of the effort to reach out to all voters using these materials.

The Plenum ended after unanimously adopting the report and the concluding remarks by Chair Shii and pledging to make every effort to achieve a victory with Central Committee members and JCP candidates taking the lead in the JCP campaign.