{"id":26885,"date":"2013-08-05T19:19:57","date_gmt":"2013-08-05T23:19:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/watchwomanonthewall\/?p=26885"},"modified":"2013-08-05T19:19:57","modified_gmt":"2013-08-05T23:19:57","slug":"communist-party-makes-a-comeback-guess-where","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/watchwomanonthewall\/2013\/08\/communist-party-makes-a-comeback-guess-where.html","title":{"rendered":"Communist Party makes a comeback … Guess where!"},"content":{"rendered":"

JAPAN<\/strong><\/p>\n

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<\/p>\n

\n

\"communist<\/a><\/p>\n

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Japanese Communist Party is the oldest party in Japan, founded in 1922. JCP scored impressive gains in the Upper House election by nearly doubling its strength in the chamber because the other two main political parties are in disarray, because of (1.) the nationalism of the Abe administration has talked about changing Japan’s Pacifist Constitution so it could engage in war, (2.) through the use of on-line technology to reach young people who do not read newspapers, and (3.) benefited from the nuclear accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear power plant. The JCP does not want the Japanese Constitution changed and has always been anti-nuclear.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

TOKOYO – A smiling, smartly attired 30-year-old woman sits at an expansive table in a meeting room decorated with simple elegance on the fourth floor of a modern office building in central Tokyo<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Only the sunflower broach \u2013 an anti-nuclear symbol \u2013 on the woman\u2019s suit, and perhaps that the large calligraphy scroll on the wall behind her that isn\u2019t hung perfectly straight, betray the fact that this isn\u2019t a scene from corporate Japan<\/a>. Yoshiko Kira doesn\u2019t look like she intends to dismantle capitalism, but this is the headquarters of the Japanese Communist Party<\/a> (JCP), and she is one of its rising stars, and that\u2019s her plan.<\/p>\n

When Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party cemented its grip on power with a victory in the upper house elections on July 21, the unlikely other winners were the Communists. Ms. Kira was one of the party\u2019s newly elected lawmakers who saw the JCP raise its representation in the House of Councilors from six seats to 11, giving it a large enough bloc to propose legislation. She was the first Communist to win in the five-seat Tokyo constituency in 12 years, while another young JCP candidate won in Osaka, the party\u2019s first victory there in 15 years. Overall, the Communists came in second to the ruling party in terms of votes collected in Japan\u2019s two giant metropolises.<\/p>\n

How?\u00a0 Part of the reason has to do with the deterioration of the main political parties.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Disarray<\/h2>\n

What had been the main opposition, the left-of-center Democratic Party of Japan \u2013 which spent three years in government until its defeat in December’s general election \u2013 is in almost utter disarray.<\/p>\n

Two of the founding members have left the party, while the third, Naoto Kan \u2013 the prime minister at the time of the 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disasters \u2013 has just been suspended from the party for three months after supporting an independent candidate in the recent election. Some voters appeared to have seen the Communists as the only party able to counterbalance the nationalism of the Abe administration<\/a> and its talk of amending Japan\u2019s pacifist Constitution.<\/p>\n

\"Japan's<\/a>
Japan’s Finance and Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso caused consternation in some quarters last week when he appeared to suggest, during a speech to a conservative think tank, that the current controversy around the constitution could have been avoided if Japan had changed it in secret, as was done in Nazi Germany.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was a child there were a lot of books in my house with pictures of the war and the atomic bombing. I used to worry that planes flying overhead might be carrying bombs. Then one day my mother told me that Japan can\u2019t have wars anymore because of the Constitution, and I thought I was lucky to be born in this country,\u201d Kira says. \u201cBut now the Abe government wants to change the Constitution so that Japan can start wars again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just about war. When I was looking for work I applied to a large number of companies, and was told during interviews that hiring a woman was a risk. I realized there were many things about Japanese society that need changing,\u201d says Kira.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Online mascot characters<\/h2>\n

Founded in 1922, the JCP is the oldest political party in Japan, and has enjoyed constant representation in parliament for longer than any other. But until recently, its image was one of older activists and it struggled to attract younger voters.<\/p>\n

July’s elections were the first in Japan where online campaigning was permitted, and it was the JCP that is widely seen as having made best use of it. As well as savvy leveraging of social networks and video streaming platforms, the party created a series of online mascot characters that addressed individual issues such as the planned consumption tax hike, shady business practices, the heavy US military presence on Okinawa, and constitutional change.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were able to use the Net to reach out to younger people, many of whom don\u2019t read newspapers or watch TV much. Through the characters, we could communicate issues simply and appeal to young voters,\u201d says party spokesperson Toshio Ueki, who reports that the characters\u2019 webpages got 1.5 million hits in the weeks before the poll.<\/p>\n

While the party has embraced new technology in its campaigning, it can still lay claim to a consistency in both policy and personnel that sets it apart from other parties in Japan. Kazuo Shii has led the party since 2000, during which time Japan has seen nine different prime ministers. And while some politicians have turned anti-nuclear since the accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear power plant, the JCP was always against nuclear power.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

‘Refreshing’<\/h2>\n
\"Niigata<\/a>
Niigata University Professor Takashi Inoguchi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cOne of the appeals of the Communists has been the clarity and consistency in their pledges; people find it refreshing,\u201d suggests Takashi Inoguchi, professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo. \u201cIt\u2019s healthy for the political development of the country that there is a party that is at least clear in what they say, whether you agree with their positions or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although Japan is not yet on the road to a workers\u2019 paradise, having struck a chord with the electorate, the JCP may now have the opportunity to establish itself as the most cohesive opposition to the current government.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we did take power, the JCP wouldn\u2019t try to implement a Communist economy immediately. It would require huge changes and we would seek the support of the people for each step,\u201d Kira says. \u201cAnd we would want to use the best parts of the current economic system, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read More: http:\/\/www.csmonitor.com\/World\/Asia-Pacific\/2013\/0805\/Communist-Party-makes-a-comeback-in-Japan<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

JAPAN ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ \u00a0   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TOKOYO – A smiling, smartly attired 30-year-old woman sits at an expansive table in a meeting room decorated with simple elegance on the fourth floor of a modern office building in central Tokyo. 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