Dream of Communists

Japan Communist Party opened 27^th national convention in Atami, Shizuoka, for the first time in these three years on Sunday. The biggest topic was that the party invited the leaders of other parties as guests for the first time after its establishment in 1922. While the new policy was regarded as serious pursuit of grand coalition of the opposite parties to defeat Shinzo Abe administration, those parties still embrace fundamental difference in policies, making their cooperation difficult.

In his report to Central Executive Committee, Chairman of JCP, Kazuo Shii, contemplated that the fundamental structure of politics in Japan, which had been the confrontation between Liberal Democratic Party and JCP, in the previous convention three years ago was changed into confrontation between LDP, Komeito and their supplemental power and joint struggle by the opposite parties and citizens. He proposed serious effort for building coalition of the opposite parties to defeat Abe administration and power for constitutional amendment, which occupied two-third majority in each House of the Diet.

Grand coalition was an answer for JCP’s basic policies such as disturbing Japan waging war, minimizing social gap between the rich and poor or stopping resumption of nuclear power plants. To attract other potential partners, Shii proposed an appeasing strategy of not introducing JCP’s original policies, such as eliminating Self-defense Force or discarding Japan-United States Security Treaty, into the coalition. He also criticized Communist Party of China as promoting unilateral change of status quo in their maritime advance. They were the measures for removing a big wall between JCP and Japanese public.

The way to grand coalition has not paved, anyway. President of Democratic Party, Renho, did not attend JCP convention. “While it is difficult to make perfect integration in terms of basic policies, we can get together within a certain range,” told Deputy President of DP, Jun Azumi, in the convention. The President of Liberal Party, Ichiro Ozawa, proposed to make the cooperation in last election of House of Councillors the first step and called for efforts for cooperation in elections to overturn current administration.

For next election of House of Representatives, JCP already decided to raise its candidates in 265 electoral districts, 197 of which were supposed to be the districts competing with DP candidates. One of the greatest organizations supporting DP, Japan Trade Union Confederation, refuses cooperation with JCP in elections. Grand coalition with JCP is still an unrealistic strategy for some members in DP.