Background

In 1922, the Japanese Communist Party was founded as an underground political association. It spent many early years fighting persecution. One example is the torture and death of Takiiji, the author of the proletarian novel; Kanikosen.The Communist Party was first recognized as a legal party from the time of the U.S. occupation of Japan. Today, the Communist Party is the fourth largest political party in Japan.

The new Communist Party in Japan advocates the peaceful abolition of capitalism. This new Party continues to seek the dissolution of Japan's military alliance with the United States.

Rise in Membership

The new Japanese Communist Party has more than 415,000 members. It represents 7% of the national vote, retains 9 seats out of 480 in the House of Representatives and 7 seats in the House of Councillors.

Japan's economy relies on the growth of sales abroad of cars, electronics and machines, these businesses are struggling. Exports have fallen by at least 50 percent as compared to a year ago and industrial production has declined. Japan's total economy has shrunk in the past year by 4%.

Communist Ideology and the 'Lost Generation' of Workers

Communist thought and ideals have been spread in unusual ways. The book Kanikosen (The Crab Factory Ship) has seen a quick rise on the bestseller lists. This classic tale of proletarian fisherman fighting the power of their employers was mostly lost since it was written in 1929.

A comic book (Manga) version of Karl Marx's Das Kapital illustrating how capitalism would collapse under its own excesses has been widely circulated. Many people on the streets of Japan will tell you that they learned about the Communist Party on the Internet.

The traditional Japanese ideal of a job for life has been obliterated by reforms of the labor market in 2004 that allowed manufacturers to hire temp workers.

The Future

Communist members of the Parliament have advertised widely left their workers a better deal with company managers. Unions are suing employers for wrongful dismissal of employees. But, now the new Japanese Communist Party is expecting to gain power soon. Their step by step approach is to solve the problems of daily life.

Written by Sandra Pianin