This year marks the 102nd anniversary of the Communist Party’s founding, and for the first time a female chairman was appointed.
Tomoko Tamura, 58 years old. Will the Communist Party be able to expand support under its new chairman, also known as “Tamutomo”?
A month before he took office, we asked him how he would approach this difficult situation.
(Ayumi Morita)
Decide in “3 minutes”
“Eh! Me? That was the honest answer.”
Tomoko Tamura was inaugurated as the chairperson of the Communist Party at the party convention on January 18th.
This time, in an interview with NHK, he talked about his feelings when he was approached to become the committee chairman.
“I thought about it for about three minutes. I thought things would be quite different, including my personal life, but the request was a great honor and I was told to ‘grow even more.’ “It was a relatively quick decision, or rather I accepted it with the feeling that I had no choice but to do my best.At this point, it was just a proposal, and I didn’t know what the outcome would be at the party convention, so I made the decision without consulting my family.”
In fact, he was first approached in the fall of last year.
A “Personnel Subcommittee” consisting of top executives was set up, and personnel proposals were presented on the spot.
However, in the months leading up to the party convention, the change of chairman for the first time in 23 years was kept a “top secret.”
After the party convention, he reported to his family on LINE, and his daughter replied, “You’ll probably get criticized, but please do your best.”
“Looking at it from a slightly more intimate standpoint, I was moved by the fact that it was a historic event for the party, not just for me, but for the first time in its 102-year history to become the party’s chairperson. It’s a new start, so I’m nervous and nervous, but I was determined to take on the challenge.”
communist party its history
When many people hear the word Communist Party, words like “revolution” and “struggle” come to mind.
The prewar Communist Party advocated reform from the “tyrannical government” under the imperial system, and was subject to persecution.
Entrance to party headquarters (1950)
Although it restarted as a legal political party after the war, the party split in 1950 due to interference from the former Soviet Union and China.
One side formed an armed organization and waged a firebomb fight.
Since then, the Communist Party has dismissed this as a mistake, adopted a policy of “independence” that does not allow interference from other countries, and rejects hegemony.
Regarding the emperor system, the government is currently determined not to abolish it in order to protect the constitution.
On the other hand, the Public Security Intelligence Agency has determined that the Communist Party has continued to do so without denying the possibility of violent revolution, and continues to list it as an organization subject to investigation under the Subversive Activities Prevention Act. It distorts the facts of the matter.”
“Tamutomo”
What kind of person is Tamura, the leader of this historic party?
Ten years after joining the party (from Mr. Tamura’s homepage)
Born in Komoro City, Nagano Prefecture in 1965.
At Waseda University, he joined the Communist Party after becoming involved in the movement against tuition hikes.
Since 1998, he has stood for five national elections, losing each time, and was first elected in the 2010 House of Councilors election.
November 2019 House of Councilors Budget Committee
She rose to prominence through her pursuit of the Prime Minister’s “Cherry Blossom Viewing Party,” and became the first woman to serve as chair of the policy committee at the last party convention four years ago.
She started singing in a choir when she was in elementary school, and was active in a mixed choir during her university years.
He is known by the nickname “Tamutomo” both inside and outside the party.
Initially, Tamura reportedly refused to join the Communist Party for a while.
“Even when I was encouraged to join the party, I kept refusing because I knew my parents would definitely oppose it.At that time, I had a strong sense of rejection of the term ‘student movement.’
However, after that, his state of mind changed.
“It was the mid-1980s, and the United States and the Soviet Union were in a race to develop nuclear weapons, and the unreasonableness of the ever-increasing number of nuclear weapons continued to linger somewhere in my mind.The Japanese Communist Party was calling out that “nuclear weapons can be abolished.” It gave me a sense of hope that I could change politics, and that was a big reason for me to join the party.”
Party membership decreases
When Tamura joined the party in the mid-1980s, the Communist Party had approximately 480,000 members.
From data published by the Communist Party
However, the number of party members has halved in just over 30 years, from a peak of around 500,000 in 1990 to around 250,000 today.
The party’s members are aging, and the situation surrounding the party is difficult.
“This is a big challenge. During the most difficult period in the 1990s, when the socialist states of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe collapsed, we weakened our efforts to increase party membership and focused on increasing the number of readers of Red Flag for about 10 years. In the 1990s, it was said that “socialism is over. I think many people have the impression that they have no freedom.
Tamura is frankly aware of the party’s negative image. How is he trying to get rid of it?
“I would like to further promote the idea that if Japan, an advanced capitalist country, became socialist, it would be possible to create a completely different society. It is taking away people’s freedom.At the party conference, I announced that a society that can be realized by overcoming the evils of capitalism will be one that does not cause sacrifices to people or the environment, and will also be a society in which people’s inner lives are fully developed.This is very attractive. I think it will be.”
Some have suggested that the party should change its name to “Communist Party” in order to update its image, but Tamura denied this.
“It is amazing that the party has not changed its name in its more than 100-year history. Rather than changing the party name, we are focusing on the importance of continuing to inherit its proud history, such as the activities of prewar women members. I want to tell the story to people in other countries as well.If we don’t make the name “Communist Party” attractive, we won’t be able to attract many people to join the party.”
Opposition joint struggle making no progress
The Communist Party, whose number of members is decreasing, has continued to struggle in national elections in recent years.
In 2015, the Communist Party advocated the establishment of a “national coalition government” with the aim of abolishing security-related laws that include the ability to exercise the right of collective self-defense, and called for a “joint struggle with opposition parties.”
In the following year’s House of Councilors election, the opposition achieved some success, winning 11 of the 32 single-member districts.
and the 2021 House of Representatives election.
September 2021 Communist Party Chairman Shii (at the time) and Constitutional Democratic Party Representative Edano (at the time)
An agreement was reached with the Constitutional Democratic Party to “provide limited cooperation from outside the Cabinet if a change of government were to occur,” and candidates were coordinated in many constituencies. However, the Liberal Democratic Party criticized the joint struggle with the “Constitutional Communist Party” and other parties, and both the Constitutional Democratic Party and the Communist Party lost seats.
Since then, the opposition party’s joint struggle advocated by the Communist Party has not progressed as expected.
The Japan Restoration Party and the Democratic Party of Japan have said that cooperation with the Communist Party is impossible, citing differences in values regarding the constitution and national security.
Furthermore, the central organization and federation of labor unions that support the Constitutional Democratic Party, the main opposition party, has made it clear that candidates who receive support from the Communist Party cannot be recommended.
What is the future of the opposition party’s joint struggle?
Tamura analyzed the current situation of the opposition party’s joint struggle as follows.
“We are facing difficulties. In the 2021 House of Representatives election, we fought the election with an agreement on policy as well as an agreement on the government, but there were fierce attacks on our joint efforts with the Communist Party, which continues to this day.”
On the other hand, the need for a joint struggle is said to be increasing in response to issues such as the political funding parties of factions within the Liberal Democratic Party.
“The Liberal Democratic Party’s politics are really at a standstill, and many people are wondering, “Is this kind of politics OK?” Even if there is strong criticism of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Kishida administration, the opposition party’s support rate does not increase. This is a situation where the opposition parties are required to work together and show the flag that the Liberal Democratic Party will change its politics.”
How should we encourage opposition parties to work together?
“I would like to place emphasis on urgent consensus.In addition to clarifying the truth behind the slush fund scandal, the opposition parties must work together in the Diet to pursue political reforms that will eradicate the roots of money-based corruption.At the same time, When fighting elections, it is necessary to discuss policies that can be agreed upon based on the strong pillar of “protecting constitutionalism.”
On top of that, Tamura expressed his intention to focus on gaining votes through proportional representation in order to increase the number of seats for the Communist Party in the next House of Representatives election.
“In order to overcome the difficult situation in which we can fight together, we will make a bold effort to increase the number of seats for the Japan Communist Party in the next House of Representatives election.It will take considerable effort to obtain 6.5 million votes through proportional representation, but we will continue to pursue it.” To go”
In the previous House of Representatives election in 2021, the Communist Party’s proportional vote was 4.16 million.
The goal is to get this number back to over 6 million in 2014, and the bar is high.
[House of Representatives election Communist Party seats]
2012 8 seats (0 constituencies, 8 proportional)
2014 21 seats (1 constituency, 20 proportional)
2017 12 seats (1 constituency, 11 proportional)
2021 10 seats (1 constituency, 9 proportional)
Criticism of the executive department
Tamura became the new face of the party.
However, there were moments when people were quick to say, “It’s not going to be the same.”
Last year, a former party official was expelled from the party for publishing a book that went against the party’s policy and expressed its commitment to upholding the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty and calling for a vote by all party members to elect the committee chairman.
The expelled man appealed his decision and requested a reexamination at the party convention.
At the party convention, the request was dismissed, stating that “the punishment was carried out appropriately,” but Tamura harshly rebutted party members who expressed opinions that questioned the man’s punishment.
Regarding the expulsion, Tamura was asked if he was trying to “eliminate any dissent.”
“The Japanese Communist Party has positioned the abolition of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty as the first pillar of its immediate political reform.The Japanese Communist Party suddenly published a book calling for the flag to be lowered, and the opposition party’s joint struggle will not progress because the flag will not be lowered.” The party advertised itself by promoting its membership as a party member. Since attacking from outside is not a discussion within the party, the party had no choice but to expel the party. If it did not respond harshly, it would have a responsibility as a party to change politics. I can’t accomplish it.”
“There was a statement that said, “The expulsion was a bigger mistake than publishing the book,” but it was a statement that denied the fact that he had made efforts to defeat the terrible anti-communist attacks, so it was a very serious mistake. I also offered some harsh criticism.Guaranteed the opportunity to speak, and at the same time criticizing each other if we make a mistake, is a very important method of discussion for the party to remain united.”
Will the Communist Party change?
On the other hand, there are signs of change within the new Communist Party executive branch.
While some veterans remain, such as Kazuo Shii, who has served as the committee’s chairman for over 20 years, who has been the committee’s chairman, the appointment of young people is also noticeable, giving the impression of a generational change.
Taku Yamazoe, a 39-year-old member of the House of Councilors, was appointed as the policy committee chairman, and Yu Tanaka, 42, who is expected to be one of the next generation, was appointed as the acting secretary general.
In addition to promoting young people, we are also focusing on gender equality.
Tamura herself has held important positions while raising two children.
“My life as a party member was such that I was constantly being asked to take on two or three more important roles than my current one.We need to increase the number of women in decision-making bodies in various organizations. When I was small, there was a very difficult time.There was a need for reforms in Japanese society as a whole, and unless a society accepted diversity, everyone would feel suffocated, so I want to do my best in the political field as well.”
When Tamura assumed the role of chairperson, the words “women’s empowerment” came to mind.
“The heavier the responsibility, the more difficult it is for one person to shoulder it alone, so we have to create staff to support us and people we can talk to.If we don’t have that kind of organization, we won’t be able to develop.”Support me, I’ll do my best.However, there are times when I can’t do my best.” The question is whether or not we can do that.We need to reform the party into one that can make better use of the power of young people and women.”
At the end of the interview, Tamura analyzed himself as follows.
“I’m an optimist at heart, and I love talking to people. I sometimes make big mistakes, but even when I get depressed, I try to pick myself up, thinking that the world won’t end there.”
For the first time in its more than 100-year history, the Communist Party is headed by a woman.
Will the party be able to present itself as a new party and achieve its goal of increasing the number of seats it has set?
The new chairman will now take on difficult challenges.
(*Titles omitted in text)
(Broadcast on “News Watch 9” etc. on January 18th)
2024-02-09 09:10:30
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