Japanese Communist Party
日本共産党 |
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President | Kazuo Shii |
Secretary-General | Akira Koike |
Representatives leader | Keiji Kokuta |
Councillors leader | Yoshiki Yamashita |
Founded | 15 July 1922 |
Headquarters | 4-26-7 Sendagaya, Shibuya, Tokyo 151-8586, Japan |
Youth wing | Democratic Youth League of Japan |
Membership (2014) | 320,000 |
Ideology |
Scientific socialism Neocommunism Pacifism |
Political position | Left-wing |
Colours | Red |
Representatives |
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Councillors |
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Prefectural assembly members |
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Municipal assembly members |
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Party flag | |
Website | |
www.jcp.or.jp/english/ | |
The Japanese Communist Party (JCP, Japanese: 日本共産党, Nihon Kyōsan-tō) is a political party in Japan and is one of the largest non-governing communist parties in the world.
The JCP advocates the establishment of a society based on socialism, democracy, peace and opposition to militarism. It proposes to achieve its objectives by working within a democratic framework in order to achieve its goals, while struggling against what it describes as "imperialism and its subordinate ally, monopoly capital." The party does not advocate violent revolution; it proposes a "democratic revolution" to achieve "democratic change in politics and the economy", and "the complete restoration of Japan's national sovereignty", which it sees as infringed by Japan's security alliance with the United States although it firmly defends Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution.
Following the most recent general election, held on 14 December 2014, the party holds 21 seats in the House of Representatives and following the most recent councillors election, held on 10 July 2016, the party holds 14 seats in the House of Councillors.
The JCP is one of the largest non-ruling communist parties in the world, with approximately 320,000 members belonging to 22,000 branches. In the wake of the Sino-Soviet split, the party began to distance itself from the Socialist Bloc, especially from the Soviet Union. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the JCP released a press statement titled, "We welcome the end of a party which embodied the historical evil of Great power chauvinism and hegemonism" (Japanese: "大国主義・覇権主義の歴史的巨悪の党の終焉を歓迎する"), while at the same time criticizing Eastern European countries for abandoning socialism, describing it as a "reversal of history".