Communists Come Alive

I woke up this morning with a portable TV in my hand. He said “We’re anti-Abe, anti-LDP,” in a political talk show. It must have been a dream that the Communists get power. Come on, let’s take a look at it. Do you feel like I do?

Actually, Japanese Communist Party is expanding its public support in elections and polls. At the Tokyo Assembly election last month, the communists took the third position with 17 seats, following Liberal Democratic and New Komeito. It was a result of steep decline of the Democrats from 54 seats to 15. In the election, the Communists appealed its difference from leading LDP, the strategy which was successful.

In the election of the House of Councillors later this month, the Communists may increase its seats. The poll of Asahi Shimbun in Tokyo District, a Communist candidate took the fourth position following two LDP and a New Komeito candidates, leaving a Democrat behind. Japan Communist Party Chair, Kazuo Shii, emphasized in the TV show its policies for four changes: changes from Abenomics for the riches to compassionate policies for ordinary people, from dangerous nuclear power generation to stable natural and renewable energy, from destruction of the constitution by amendment to protection for peaceful future, and from dependency on the United States to independence. This clear attitude helps it be an alternative choice to LDP.

The political situation is following them. DPJ is in a quagmire of not being distinguished from LDP in many policies. It takes overwhelmingly the same position with LDP in consumption tax hike, Trans-Pacific Partnership, whether or not the constitution to be amended, and exporting nuclear power plants. Anti-LDP voters rather choose JCP than DPJ. LDP leave JCP rise, because it helps the decline of its biggest rival, DPJ. Your Party and Restoration Party are going more of the same course as LDP in constitutional amendment. The Social democrats, mostly upholding the same policies as JCP, do not have as firm organization in national level as JCP.

Against an image common to the public that it is close to China, JCP carefully takes a distance from the continent. In Senkaku issue, it requests the government of Japan to officially talk about the issue with China, criticizing China of its assertion that Japan had stolen the islands. On Japan-US alliance, it keeps on strongly denouncing Japan’s policy as leaning on US.

According to National Police Agency, JCP has not abandoned its doctrine of violent communists revolution, which they had in 1950s. Even though the party gains more seats in the House, there will not be a firm coalition among the opposites, because JCP’s platform is too different from others to make it.