Four opposition parties, led by the newly formed Democratic Party (DP) and the Japan Communist Party (JCP), have pledged to form a united front in the coming upper house election slated for July 10. (The DP was formed in March of this year through the merger of the Democratic Party of Japan and the Japan Innovation Party.) I am of the opinion that political parties are fundamentally obligated to run in an election on clearly stated party platforms. For that reason, I have time and again openly criticized the coalition between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior partner, the Komeito Party.

　　　　　I must likewise be strongly critical of the ongoing cooperation among the opposition parties which have committed to fielding unified candidates in all of the 32 single-seat constituencies. There actually is strong resistance to this tactic on the part of some members of the DP, but with the election rapidly approaching, their voices are being drowned out.

　　　　　Communism has long been on a downhill slide in the rest of the world. Japan presumably is alone among the major advanced nations to see the communists gain strength. Why is this so? I suspect it is because we Japanese are unable to come to grips with the truth about the JCP.

　　　　　What kind of Japan does the JCP truly aim to build? The answer is not at all clear, the party having revised its platform innumerable times since its inception in 1922. How does the JCP view such matters as the Japan Self-Defense Forces, the Imperial Household, and private property—all of which it has previously refused to recognize? We should pay particular attention to these matters now, rather than being charmed by the smile of its chairman, Kozuo Shii.

　　　　　Let us first consider the party’s view on the Imperial Household. For the first time since 1947, JCP leaders, including Shii, attended the opening session of the Diet with the emperor present on January 4 this year.

　　　　　Shii explained the decision to attend was made in order to “avoid an unnecessary misunderstanding that the JCP was boycotting the session as a sign of its opposition to the imperial system.” He added that the step was taken also to proactively “propose reforms aimed at safeguarding the current constitution.”

　　　　　Incidentally, the “imperial system” is a word coined by the Communist International (Comintern) and should correctly be referred to as “the Imperial Household.”

　　　　　As regards the JCP’s real intentions, Socialism under a Constitutional Monarchy (Tenkai-sha; 2013) by Shohei Umezawa provides useful clues. Formerly serving the Democratic Socialist Party of Japan as Secretary-General of its policy board, Umezawa is a leading expert on Japanese labor issues, socialism, and communism. In his book, Umezawa introduces fascinating facts about the relationship between the Imperial Household, which constitutes the quintessence of Japanese civilization, and the socialist and communist forces. The true nature of the JCP becomes readily apparent by tracing those ties.

Affinity for Imperial Family

　　　　　The JCP was formed as a branch of the Comintern, just like the Communist Party of China. To counter this move, the socialists set up the “Socialist International” in 1951, denying wholesale in their proclamation communist ideology and the communist movement. Characterizing international communism as a “new capitalistic tool,” they vowed to remain in the camp of the Free World and aim for gradual reforms.

　　　　　To clarify their difference from the communists, the socialists defined their purpose as pursuing “democratic socialism.” Britain’s Labor Party, France’s Socialist Party, Germany’s Democratic Socialist Party, and Scandinavia’s Democratic Socialist parties are considered to be the driving forces behind socialism in Europe. In Japan, socialism and communism are apt to be mixed up, but as Umezawa points out, that is not all the cases in Europe.

　　　　　At one time, Japanese socialists and communists held an amazing degree of affinity towards the Imperial Household. This was exemplified by Inejiro Asanuma, a founder of the JSP. Initially a member of the JCP, Asanuma moved to the Socialist Mass Party in 1932, and then, right after the war, in 1945, helped to found the JSP, serving as its Secretary-General and Chairman until his assassination in 1960.

　　　　　One of Japan’s most influential socialist politicians, Asanuma adored the Emperor, making it a rule to clap his hands in prayer in front of a household Shinto altar at his modest Tokyo apartment every morning. He was said to detest the communists for “spouting about overthrowing the imperial system.”

　　　　　Toyohiko Kagawa, a Christian pastor and a Nobel Peace Prize candidate, was another socialist admirer of the Emperor. Active in the labor movement and an early supporter of the JSP, Kagawa once held a news conference at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club in Tokyo, where he maintained that Christians must safeguard the Japanese Imperial Household. He justified his position by noting that Christians also worshipped under monarchs in the democracies of Britain and Sweden.

　　　　　Kagawa reportedly was so moved by his loyalty to the Imperial Household that he shouted, “Long Live the Emperor” at the founding rally of the JSP.

　　　　　In this way, the JSP accommodated the Imperial Household as an innate and natural component of Japanese society.The same tendencies could be seen with the JCP initially. However, such a view of the Imperial Family came in conflict with one of the fundamental principles of the Comintern which was the overthrow of Japan’s ‘imperial system.’ Umezawa points out that this clash led to the renunciation of the Comintern by many Japanese communists, including Manabu Sano and Sadachika Nabeyama, two top figures in the JCP leadership. In 1933, while jailed, they declared:

　　　　　“Unlike Russia under the Czar, the Japanese Imperial Family has never become an authority of suppression and exploitation. The Imperial Household epitomizes national unity, and has helped to reduce the violence of class conflicts at home, bring about social balance, and make for a smoother change of class structure at significant turning points of Japanese history…The people of Japan have a genuine feeling of respect and affinity towards the Imperial Household…They have an innate feeling that the Japanese are a large, consanguine family with the Imperial Household at its center…Such sentiments most likely cannot be found in any other country in the world today.”

Natural Affection of the People

　　　　　Sano and Nabeyama respectively held positions equivalent to today’s chairman and secretary-general of the party. Umezawa notes that as many as 600 party members followed in the footsteps of Sano and Nabeyama by renouncing the Comintern, resulting in a devastating impact on the JCP.

　　　　　In his Twelve Chapters to Attack the Communists (Yuho-sha; 1973), Nabeyama states: “Overthrowing the Imperial Household was an explicit goal of the JCP when it was founded in 1919, but this was kept a secret from the people of Japan.”

　　　　　As mentioned earlier, Nabeyama was later to rise in revolt against both the Comintern, which had instructed the JCP to overthrow the imperial system, and against the JCP itself, which had meekly followed the Comintern’s instructions.

　　　　　Umezawa’s historical comparison of the views on the Imperial Household between the socialists and the communist is intriguing. As was seen in the cases of Asanuma, Sano, and Nabeyama, the stance on the Imperial Household of the socialists and nationalist communists is based on innate Japanese sentiments that supersede theory and logic. Regarding the Emperor as the central force for national unity, they hold unflinching respect for the Emperor. Coming last in Umezawa’s analysis is the mainstream faction of the JCP who, following the directives of the Comintern, advocated the abolition of the Imperial Household. That leads to this pertinent question: how does the JCP’s mainstream faction view the Imperial Household today?

　　　　　The party’s platform clearly states that “the imperial system is designated under the constitution; its maintenance or abolition should be determined by the collective will of the Japanese people when a suitable opportunity presents itself in the future.” I take it as their posture to wait tenaciously for the right opportunity, with the abolition of the Imperial Household their goal. I believe I am not mistaken in my speculation.

　　　　　The Democratic Party—the leading opposition party that is forming a united front with the JCP—has yet to be able to reach a consensus on how to define the status of the Emperor and the Imperial Household under the constitution, as well as how it should deal with our national flag and national anthem. Standing on such shaky ground, developing a united front with the JCP with superior organizational power will mean the DP will likely be eventually brought under the JCP’s control on these matters. The present state of the DP is truly deplorable.

(Translated from “Renaissance Japan” column no. 710 in the June 30, 2016 issue of The Weekly Shincho)