Communism in Japan

[Red Future]

Read somewhere that in the 1930s it was a crime to be a communist in Japan, does anyone know much about Japanese communism and its history in Japan any answers are appreciated here

[Geiseric]

Japan Russian relations were very tense, they had a war in northern china during the chinese revolution and during imperial russia there was another war in far east russia, so it was probably the same reason the U.S. Was anti-communist. Above that Japan was one of the most backward countries in terms of government and culture, so they were opposed to almost anything non japanese. That's what my guess is to why Japan was anti communist.

[ExUnoDisceOmnes]

From an international relations perspective, Syd Barrett is right. However, we have to consider that Japan during those times was INCREDIBLY rightist. The left is the greatest fear of the right, and so it seems only logical that the Japanese government would want to prevent the spread of communism.

[Rafiq]

Japan Russian relations were very tense, they had a war in northern china during the chinese revolution and during imperial russia there was another war in far east russia, so it was probably the same reason the U.S. Was anti-communist. Above that Japan was one of the most backward countries in terms of government and culture, so they were opposed to almost anything non japanese. That's what my guess is to why Japan was anti communist.

I wouldn't say they opposed it due to Russian or Non Japanese influence.

I think it had to do with a little something called, you know, cultural conservatism.

[psgchisolm]

I don't think this has anything to do with communism, at least in it's roots. I assume this goes back to the Russo-Japanese war in the Mid 1900s. Japan was very Imperialistic at the time and wanted control over Asia. That's why they attacked Russia at Kholkin Gol(?) in WW2. Since the Russians were communist during WW2 and they were at war with the Axis, they banned communism. Just like Germany put all of the communists and political opponents in work camps.

[Geiseric]

That's what I meant more or less, however the reason they may of told their people to oppose it may of had to do with Rusio-Japanese relations so far, labeling communists as Russian spies.

[ComradeOm]

Virtually every government was highly anti-communist during the 1930s. This tended to be a product of internal class tensions rather than geopolitics however. It would be a surprise if the militaristic Japanese hadn't taken action against the Communists. So Russia is a largely a red herring here

[NoOneIsIllegal]

Here's an interesting video I stumbled onto recently. It's fairly new (September 2008) so I would think the situation in Japan hasn't changed drastically.

KgizIjUDNuU

1,000 new members a month is insanely good. However, we must consider how bad (or good) the retention rate is, and new member dedication.

[x359594]

...It would be a surprise if the militaristic Japanese hadn't taken action against the Communists. So Russia is a largely a red herring here

The Japan Communist Party and affiliation with any party of the left was illegal. Party membership was a violation of the Peace Preservation Law and the National Security Defense Act. In 1940 the PPL and NSDA were amended to include the death penalty for their violation (Ozaki Hotsumi was executed for violation of the NSDA.)

Most of Japan's 50,000 political prisoners (mass incarcerations began in the autumn of 1931 following the Manchuria Incident) were charged with violation of one or both of these laws. High profile prisoners like Ozaki received the death penalty. Family members who were not politically active were frequently pulled in for questioning by the Tokka (Thought Police). Fellow travelers were forced to write a tenko (confession of harboring subversive thoughts and recantation with a pledge of loyalty to the Emperor and Kokutai.) In late 1944 a number of executions of political prisoners commenced and lasted until the surrender in August 1945.

[Rooster]

From what I know of the Japanese communist party today, it's basically a social democratic party, wanting to work within the capitalist system. It does not want to bring about socialism through revolution. They also want to strengthen things like Japanese sovereignty. I think it's a pretty large party though and I do think they're fairly active in trade union work.

[Delenda Carthago]

Communism is +big in Japan+.

[Reznov]

Here's an interesting video I stumbled onto recently. It's fairly new (September 2008) so I would think the situation in Japan hasn't changed drastically.

KgizIjUDNuU

1,000 new members a month is insanely good. However, we must consider how bad (or good) the retention rate is, and new member dedication.

Wait, he gets paid 100 dollars a day?

God dam, thats a hell of a good paying job!

[the last donut of the night]

Also, if anyone knows, what is the name of the novel the video mentions? I'd love to read it.

[x359594]

From Pacific Affairs Journal Vol. 69 : "...the JCP's viability is crucial to the health of Japanese democracy...It is the only established party in parliament that has not been coopted by the conservative parties. It performs the watchdog role against the ruling parties without fear or favor. More importantly, the JCP often offers the only opposition candidate in prefectural governorship, city mayoral and other local elections. Despite the ostensible differences between the non-Communist parties at the national level, they often support a joint candidate for governor or mayor so that all parties are assured of being part of the ruling coalition. If the JCP did not offer a candidate, there would be a walkover and Japanese voters would be offered a fait accompli without an electoral avenue of protest. Promoting women candidates in elections to win women's votes is another characteristic of the party. More women are elected under the Communist label than other political parties in Japan."

The JCP claims to be a Marxist-Leninist Party even though it functions today as a social democratic party. Still, as the above quotation indicates, the JCP is the only authentic opposition party in Japan.

The novel is The Crab Canning Ship by Kobayashi Takiji originally published in 1929.

[Magón]

I wouldn't say they opposed it due to Russian or Non Japanese influence.

I think it had to do with a little something called, you know, cultural conservatism.

Aren't those the same thing?

[not your usual suspect]

The source of all knowledge: Wikipedia article on "Japanese_Communist_Party"
[JCP has] about 400,000 members belonging to 25,000 branches
It reached the peak of its parliamentary strength in 1970s. In the December 1972 Lower House election, it received 5,497,000 votes (10.5% of the total), and won 38 seats in the Lower House (7.7% of the total). The party received similar levels of support in the 1976 and 1979 elections, and only slightly lower levels in the 1980s. In the 1996 and 2000 elections the JCP vote totals rose to over 12% of votes cast. Despite the higher vote totals, the JCP has not won more than 6% of Diet seats in any election since 1979.
The JCP has maintained its position partly because of the collapse of the old Japan Socialist Party, once the country's main opposition party but by 2005 reduced to 5.5% of the vote. The current ruling party, the Democratic Party of Japan, differs in its policies only slightly from the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party, leaving left-wing voters with no other choice than the JCP. The JCP has also been helped by recent reforms to the Japanese electoral system. It is unable to win any single-member constituencies, but retains its representation by winning some of the proportional representation seats. On anarchism: Wikipedia article "Anarchism_in_Japan" See also "Anarchy in Nippon": http : / / www . ne . jp /asahi/anarchy/anarchy/english/ and the links from the Wikipedia article. To the best of my knowledge, "communism" as an ideology of classlessness and statelessness exists to about the same level as that ideology in other developed and post-industrial countries (including various western European countries, and the USA). That is to say, it isn't very strong. Regarding the 1930s, as mentioned above, yes it was a crime in Japan to be a member of the Communist Party or related organizations. Though I'm pretty sure it was also illegal in the fascist countries in Europe at the time, and not at all smiled upon in either the USA or other parts of western Europe. PS This stupid system not only forces be to remove links, it also fucks up my spacing, removing returns. Is it correct, moreover, for it to change all my quote marks into the character entities? Perhaps the administration might also want to check out that simply having http : // (without the spaces) seems to be sufficient to trigger the anti-link system. Have you perhaps considered simply not having the software auto-link in the first place? Oh, and I think this post is going to have to get approved as well. Now I remember why I don't post at all. You seem to want to make it as difficult as possible.

[gorillafuck]

Above that Japan was one of the most backward countries in terms of government and culture, so they were opposed to almost anything non japanese. That's what my guess is to why Japan was anti communist.
Japan was definitely not the "most backward in terms of government and culture".

[x359594]

...Japan was one of the most backward countries in terms of government and culture, so they were opposed to almost anything non japanese. That's what my guess is to why Japan was anti communist.

Wrong guess.

Japan was the only Asian country that successfully resisted Western colonization. After the Meiji Restoration the country rapidly industrialized and imported several technicians from the West. It modeled its government after Bismarck's Germany, conservative, even reactionary to be sure but nonetheless it was able to deal with the Western Powers on their own terms and even defeat Russia in the 1904 war.

On the cultural level the Meiji era saw the import of European and American arts and letters, with translations of Stephen Crane, Guy De Maupassant, Anton Chekov, and Leo Tolstoy among others. Socialism, anarchism and communism also followed with translations of Marx, Engels, Bakunin, Kropotkin, and Kautsky.

During the feudal era there were a number of peasant rebellions and uprisings, and when an industrial proletariat came into existence there were union organizing drives and strikes.

The Japan Communist Party was founded in 1922 but existed as an underground organization. In 1923 in the wake of the Great Kanto Earthquake the government unleashed a wave of repression and murdered or imprisoned a number of prominent union organizers, communists, socialists and anarchists.

Far from being a backward country Japan at the beginning of the 20th century was the most advanced nation in Asia in every way. It produced lasrting works of literature, art, architecture and cinema; it had a well organized and militant labor movement and a nascent women's movement that had a radical wing the equal of anything in the West.

It was the need to create colonies and a military to protect them in order to compete with the capitalist West that brought on Japanese fascism and the repression of the left, not cultural backwardness.

[Red Commissar]

Here's an interesting video I stumbled onto recently. It's fairly new (September 2008) so I would think the situation in Japan hasn't changed drastically.

KgizIjUDNuU

1,000 new members a month is insanely good. However, we must consider how bad (or good) the retention rate is, and new member dedication.

I remember that video- this was made on the run-up to the general election and discussions about the deteriorating economic condition in Japan. It was speculated that in this atmosphere the JCP could find a receptive audience- especially among the young generation of workers. They actually didn't improve their standing at all in the Diet after the election- no seats lost or gained.

[Die Neue Zeit]

From Pacific Affairs Journal Vol. 69 : "...the JCP's viability is crucial to the health of Japanese democracy...It is the only established party in parliament that has not been coopted by the conservative parties. It performs the watchdog role against the ruling parties without fear or favor. More importantly, the JCP often offers the only opposition candidate in prefectural governorship, city mayoral and other local elections. Despite the ostensible differences between the non-Communist parties at the national level, they often support a joint candidate for governor or mayor so that all parties are assured of being part of the ruling coalition. If the JCP did not offer a candidate, there would be a walkover and Japanese voters would be offered a fait accompli without an electoral avenue of protest. Promoting women candidates in elections to win women's votes is another characteristic of the party. More women are elected under the Communist label than other political parties in Japan."

The JCP claims to be a Marxist-Leninist Party even though it functions today as a social democratic party. Still, as the above quotation indicates, the JCP is the only authentic opposition party in Japan.

The novel is The Crab Canning Ship by Kobayashi Takiji originally published in 1929.

The JCP is the first left-reformist or bourgeois workers party to make good inroads re. political work in the growing demographic that is the precariat, including casual labour. I'd like to know if there are any "working poor" unions in Japan, and if they're affiliated with the JCP.

[ComradeOm]

I'll reiterate my above point. During the 1930s the following European countries, from memory, declared their local Communist Party to be illegal and persecuted its members: France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Poland, Finland, Hungary, Bulgaria and others. These include some of the most 'advanced' nations in the world at the time. In short, it was the norm for Communist organisations to exist underground or in exile in this period. Only in the most liberal parliamentary democracies were Communists accepted. Japan was not one of these and there is nothing unique about the country in this regard

[Thirsty Crow]

The JCP is the first left-reformist or bourgeois workers party to make good inroads re. political work in the growing demographic that is the precariat, including casual labour. I'd like to know if there are any "working poor" unions in Japan, and if they're affiliated with the JCP.

Could you provide further information on this kind of political work on behalf of the JCP (precarious labour, casual labour)?
Also, could you provide some theoretical framework which would explain what exactly falls into the category of this forms of work?

[revolution inaction]

http://libcom.org/library/anarchist-movement-japan

and severely other articles on libcom

[Die Neue Zeit]

The JCP is the first left-reformist or bourgeois workers party to make good inroads re. political work in the growing demographic that is the precariat, including casual labour. I'd like to know if there are any "working poor" unions in Japan, and if they're affiliated with the JCP.

Could you provide further information on this kind of political work on behalf of the JCP (precarious labour, casual labour)?
Also, could you provide some theoretical framework which would explain what exactly falls into the category of this forms of work?

This relatively new thread:

http://www.revleft.com/vb/positive-lessons-labourism-t146759/index.html

Has a paper and an article.

The paper provides one framework for defining "precariat." I disagree with its inclusion of the long-term unemployed, who may in fact be lumpen.

1) For me, "precariat" ranges from the purely proletarian sections of the cross-class strata that I'm about to mention to the cross-class strata itself, consisting of poorer sections of productive labour, unproductive labour (like housemaids), and the proper lumpenproletariat (prostitutes where illegal).

2) It's defined mainly by income (for once, the liberal emphasis on income for "class" analysis has a point), though other factors are relevant.

3) Some factors are iffy. For example, seasonal labour may or may not be precarious.

P.S. - I wrote a separate commentary re. political program and the precariat (http://www.rabble.ca/babble/labour-and-consumption/hyman-minsky-full-employment-and-political-demands).

[Blackscare]

I wouldn't say they opposed it due to Russian or Non Japanese influence.

I think it had to do with a little something called, you know, cultural conservatism.


Which never takes the form of xenophobia :rolleyes:

[Wanted Man]

Japan Russian relations were very tense, they had a war in northern china during the chinese revolution and during imperial russia there was another war in far east russia, so it was probably the same reason the U.S. Was anti-communist. Above that Japan was one of the most backward countries in terms of government and culture, so they were opposed to almost anything non japanese. That's what my guess is to why Japan was anti communist.

Yeah, Japanese culture was totally "backwards". :lol: Doing stand-up?

[Lord Testicles]

If Japan in the 1930s was rabidly anti-communist could it have something to do with Japan being a class society and the privilaged class trying to preserve it's position? I don't know, just a guess...

[Princess Luna]

anti-communism in 1930's japan went far beyond anti-communism in many other countries of the same time , anyone who spoke out in support of leftism risked torture and/or execution and this was not just "anti-Russian" as many anarchists were also killed

Yeah, Japanese culture was totally "backwards". :lol: Doing stand-up?
At that time the entire country seemed to revolve around war and militarism , boys were taught in school how dieing in war was the greatest glory one could achieve so yea at that time japanese culture was in fact "backwards"

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

Read the article Japan's Red Purge: Lessons from a Saga of Suppression of Free Speech and Thought (http://www.zcommunications.org/japans-red-purge-lessons-from-a-saga-of-suppression-of-free-speech-and-thought-by-tetsuo-hirata)

A major event that illustrated the kind of climate that existed in Japan was the Amakasu Incident in 1923, in which prominent anarchists Sakae Osugi and Noe Ito (and Sakae's six year old nephew) were executed by police.

Charges were brought on famed author Osamu Dazai for belonging to the banned Communist Party, and many others were blacklisted, arrested, killed, etc.

The Japanese movie "Kabei: Our Mother" (2008, highly recommended) paints a good picture of the atmosphere in Japan during WW2. A major part of the story involves the main character's husband being jailed for being a "red." The nationalist indoctrination of the time is also shown.

The Communist Party is now growing, but it's about as "communist" as its counterpart here in the U.S. More promising may be the rise of old "proletarian literature" to best seller status:

"In February 2009, I was in a book store in the international terminal of Tokyo’s Narita Airport when I saw it: Kobayashi Takiji’s 1929 novella Kani Kosen (The Factory Ship) on the endcap sporting the best-sellers of 2008.

"Two young Japanese women paused near the endcap, and then one picked up the book. I asked them why they were interested in it, explaining that I research Japanese proletarian literature. One woman cautiously answered, 'Kani kosen has been discussed a lot lately.' Neither woman had read it, nor did they buy it then.

"'Discussed a lot lately.' To the surprise of many, circulation of the nearly 80 year old proletarian novella Kani kosen jumped from approximately 5,000 copies per year to over 500,000 in 2008, and that does not include sales of the four manga [comic book style] versions which may have reached many more readers.

".... Takiji (1903-1933), as he is called by his admirers, participated in the proletarian literature movement as an author, activist and member of the then illegal Communist Party until he was tortured to death while under interrogation by the special higher police on February 20, 1933. He was 29 years old." - Why a Boom in Proletarian Literature in Japan? The Kobayashi Takiji Memorial and The Factory Ship (http://japanfocus.org/-Heather-Bowen_Struyk/3180)

A manga of Marx's Capital was created recently too: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/3475913/Das-Kapital-turned-into-a-manga-comic.html

[Wanted Man]

At that time the entire country seemed to revolve around war and militarism , boys were taught in school how dieing in war was the greatest glory one could achieve so yea at that time japanese culture was in fact "backwards"

Look up "culture" in the dictionary maybe?

As if Japanese culture (even at that specific time) can be limited to militarism.

[Princess Luna]

Look up "culture" in the dictionary maybe?

As if Japanese culture (even at that specific time) can be limited to militarism.
culture (plural cultures (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cultures#English))


The arts (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/art), customs (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/custom), and habits (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/habit) that characterize (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/characterize) a particular society (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/society) or nation (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nation).
The beliefs (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/belief), values (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/value), behaviour (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/behaviour) and material objects that constitute a people's way of life.
(microbiology) The process of growing (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/growing) a bacterial (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bacterial) or other biological (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/biological) entity in an artificial medium (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/medium).
(anthropology (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/anthropology)) Any knowledge (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/knowledge) passed from one generation (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/generation) to the next, not necessarily with respect to human beings.
The collective noun (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/collective_noun) for a group of bacteria (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bacteria).
(botany (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/botany)) cultivation (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cultivation)

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/culture
in the case of #1 yes i would say Japanese culture was to a large degree backwards at that time , does that mean every facet of there culture was? no but a great deal in the 20's/30's of it seemed to center around extreme militarism and nationalism and before you accuse me of racism , EVERY country/nation has had its backwards moments

[PhoenixAsh]

Wait, he gets paid 100 dollars a day?

God dam, thats a hell of a good paying job!

Not so much when you consider the cost of living. A 350ml beer costs about $5. 10 eggs cost about $3.5 8 rolls of toiletpaper cost about $5 dollars. 1 liter milk is about $2.5.

A 1 bedroom appartment avarages somewhere around $ 950 depending where you live these prices can vary.

Its insanely expensive in Tokyo.

[Meridian]

Not so much when you consider the cost of living. A 350ml beer costs about $5. 10 eggs cost about $3.5 8 rolls of toiletpaper cost about $5 dollars. 1 liter milk is about $2.5.

A 1 bedroom appartment avarages somewhere around $ 950 depending where you live these prices can vary.

Its insanely expensive in Tokyo.
It's the same here, I still think it's a decent pay. Though it's around the minimum I guess.

[Die Neue Zeit]

The Communist Party is now growing, but it's about as "communist" as its counterpart here in the U.S. More promising may be the rise of old "proletarian literature" to best seller status

It is much more left-oriented than the CPUSA. It refuses coalitions and refuses to give blatant left cover to whichever "center-left" party opposes the Liberal Democratic Party machine.

[PhoenixAsh]

It's the same here, I still think it's a decent pay. Though it's around the minimum I guess.

I don't know...the avarage is somewhere about 3200 after tax.

[Red Commissar]

It's not related to Communism, but it affected the reformists in the country as well shortly after WW II. There were arguments over political program, especially after their leading figure got whacked:

D4KROpdUkrM

[x359594]

It's not related to Communism, but it affected the reformists in the country as well shortly after WW II. There were arguments over political program, especially after their leading figure got whacked

It's important to recall the context of the Asanuma assassination. It came in the aftermath of the AMPO demonstrations and a popular swing to the Left by the Japanese public.

Asanuma's killer, Yamaguchi Otoya, was a member of a far Right organization called Dai-nippon aikokutothat that was funded by the CIA as revealed by documents obtained in 1996 by Japanese journalists under FOIA. Since that disclosure, there's been speculation that Asanuma was the victim of a CIA hit. Yamaguchi committed suicide while in jail.

Whether Yamaguchi was a lone assassin or a CIA cut out, the effect on Left politics in Japan was chilling.

[x359594]

...a great deal in the 20's/30's of it seemed to center around extreme militarism and nationalism and before you accuse me of racism , EVERY country/nation has had its backwards moments

You're wrong about the 1920s. That was the era of Taisho Democracy and the flourishing of proletarian art in literature, theater and cinema; Crab Canning Boat (referenced several time is this thread) was written and published during the 1920s. The 1920s also saw an increase in union activism and the formation of many Marxist and anarchist study groups. The crack down started with the Manchurian Incident of September 1931. Thereafter repression was ramped up incrementally and then dramatically after the war with China started and again after the Pacific War commenced.

Even during this period of repression there was resistance; John Dower devoted a chapter of his book Japan in War and Peace to popular resistance during the Pacific War based on an examination of surviving Tokka records.

[Red Commissar]

Whether Yamaguchi was a lone assassin or a CIA cut out, the effect on Left politics in Japan was chilling.

Yeah, that was what I was getting at- while actions like this one was more visible, there was a lot of smaller actions occurring on the streets severely hampering what energy the socialist movements could draw on, and rather continue to push them more towards an acceptable reformist position.