One of the more unexpected aspects of living in Japan as an American is the presence of political posters for candidates in the Japan Communist Party. I'm pretty sure most people don't think of the words "Japanese" and "Communist" together very often, but the surprising fact is that the JCP is Japan's second largest minority party, with 400,000 members. Because the Parliamentary system in Japan makes it possible for small political parties to win some representation, there are currently 16 national Diet members who are affiliated with the JCP, something that wouldn't be possible in the U.S. with our two-party system. The Japan Communist Party isn't pushing for the kind of Soviet-era ideas Americans usually associate with Communism -- the Japanese are far too conservative politically for that -- but they do oppose the special military relationship Japan has with the U.S., as well as any cooperation by Japan's military with foreign wars, even in a support capacity, as going against Japan's Constitution. Supposedly a 1929 novel called Kanikousen (Crab-Canning Ship), which portrays the hard life of workers on a ship at sea, is experiencing a boom among younger readers, which is causing conjecture that larger numbers of young people will consider joining the JCP. On the other hand, this could just be the summer's short-lived "My Boom," as something that's popular with an individual for a short time is called.
6 comments:
So, let me see if I got this right; if a japanese person is a sympathizer of this party, it does not necessarily mean he or she wants to abolish the liberties of a democracy, right?
You know, Blogger must have a lot of "conservative trolls" or the like, because sporadically I'll view your comments and almost certainly there will be something with an antagonizingly facetious conservative bent to it in the mix.
@karasu-kun: I hope that comment was not caused by my post, because it was an honest question (perhaps poorly worded ^_^;;). If not, sorry for being paranoid.
Its just that Sankaku Complex had this post about Emiri Katou (Kagami in Lucky Star) appearing in a japanese communist magazine, and the author basically accused her of sympathizing with tyrannical socialism. That's why I was wondering.
Nemo, most of the people I've seen in the JCP have been more about social issues, removal of taxes that are used for wasteful construction, increasing help for people with mental health problems and so on. In other words, stuff that's hard to object to, which is probably why they've got a lot of members.
Karasu-san, sometimes there are some interesting comments, although not that often. As always, I try to be neutral when I write about Japan and just "tell it like I see it" rather than promoting one side or another. Like when I write about Sokka Gakkai, it's got a Scientology-like bent to it, but I always try to make sure there's no bias, or as little as possible, in my posts.
I'm picturing Kagami wearing a Red Army uniform now, it'd be pretty interesting... ^_^
Thanks Peter.
But damn you for the Kagami in Red Army uniform mental image :P. I'll have to see if I can find fanart now...
Peter, I think you have just blown my precious little mind! (And that jib about Kagami in a Red Army uniform has also done a number on me...)
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