Kyūichi Tokuda

Kyūichi Tokuda (徳田 球一, September 12, 1894 – October 14, 1953) was a Japanese politician and first chairman of the Japanese Communist Party from 1945 until his death in 1953.

It is clear that the popular revolution must combine three demands: a life of stability for the people, national independence, and world peace. These demands must be realised through international solidarity.

It is now absolutely indisputable that Japan has been turned into a country completely dependent on America.

In reply, the working class, the peasantry, students and other sections of the intelligentsia as well as the medium and small businessmen rose in resolute struggle, acting in the spirit of the New Programme of the Communist Party.

Quotes

Movement for Democracy in Japan (1949)

From For a Lasting Peace for a People's Democracy No. 11 (38), June 1, 1949 and cited in revolutionarydemocracy.org

• Japan is the frontier of Asia in the Pacific. In the past the country's geographical position was an important factor in the development of Japanese imperialism. Today Anglo-American monopoly capitalism regards Japan as one of the steppping stones in its drive for world domination. That is why the Japanese monopolists and their agents believe that the only way to safeguard their future is to form a close alliance with international monopoly captial.
• All this is leading to a steady sharpening of class antagonisms and internal contradictions. Opposing the handful of monopolists and their agents are broad sections of the people and even certain representatives of capitalist circles and small and medium landlords.
• The struggle is no longer restricted to strikes, sabotage, demonstrations, land disputes and refusal to pay taxes. It has become a nation-wide political movement in defence of the national industry, education and culture, in defence of our national existence. This powerful offensive of the people, with the working class as the spearhead, has roused all sections of society. This anti-Government struggle is drawing into its orbit also Government officials and rank and file Democratic-Liberals and exposing the lawlessness and corruption in towns and villages. The people are becoming more and more indignant and resentful at the police and finance organs which are carrying out the Yoshida Government's anti-popular policy.
• The Communist Party is at the head of this struggle, exposing the treacherous policy of the Democratic-Liberal Party which at present holds an absolute majority in Parliament. The lower organisations of the Democratic-Liberal Party are forced to side with the people for they are afraid that otherwise they will be swept aside by the sweeping indignation of the people. As a result the big monopolists and their agents are being driven further into isolation.
• The struggle of the mass of the people for liberation from the colonial yoke and foreign independence is gaining momentum in the Far East. The leadership of this struggle has passed from the bourgeois nationalists to the Parties which are guided by the teachings of Marx-Engels-Lenin-Stalin. The struggle for democracy in Japan is one of the fronts of the world democratic movement.

New Situation and the Policy of the Communist Party of Japan (1950)

From Akahata of January 24, 1950. and cited in revolutionarydemocracy.org

• Statements and actions by the instigators of war with regard to the situation in Formosa sharpen even more the antagonisms between the various countries, and also intensify the counter-offensive against monopoly capital. That is why military intervention in Formosa is impossible. As stated, the popular forces are achieving successes of historic significance, and the domination of international monopoly capital, the headquarters of which are in Wall Street, has been shaken considerably.
• It is clear that the popular revolution must combine three demands: a life of stability for the people, national independence, and world peace. These demands must be realised through international solidarity.
• The so-called "separate peace " makes the situation quite clear and completes it. At present a separate peace is being effected "de facto", step by step. Since a separate peace is hopeless in view of the existing international situation, they want to replace it simply by a "declaration about ending the state of war ". This means that Japan will actually be turned into a colony of a certain power. At present this is becoming an indisputable and concrete fact. Consequently, a separate peace treaty does not mean a peaceful settlement. It merely confirms the fact of the loss of the independence of the nation, and its enslavement.
• The immediate policy of our Party. To overcome the crisis in which the nation finds itself, and to ensure the actual stabilisation of the life of the people, the independence of the nation and peace throughout the world, it is necessary to secure the signing of an all-round peace treaty in which the U.S.S.R. and the Chinese People's Republic will participate.
• We stress also that for the rehabilitation of our country, free trade and cultural relations with these countries are essential. More than that, we must put emphasis on the international solidarity of the proletariat. In order to achieve victory we must consolidate the democratic national front which unites all sections of the people.
• Charging individuals who disagree with the above-mentioned principles with kulak tendencies – is aimless abstract criticism. This criticism is aimed at undermining the unity of the peasants' front.
• Solving problems only from the standpoint of struggle on a national scale is the attribute of light-minded people lacking in practical experience. Success will not be attained if this struggle is not linked with the exposure of illegal transactions. It is necessary also to unite this struggle with that waged against the local administration and to weaken the latter, since this will help us reinforce our strength. When we achieve success we will be in a position to force the local autonomous bodies to take part in our struggle and, in this way, strengthen our struggle considerably both qualitatively and quantitatively. Further, we must devote special attention to the struggle of the unemployed since they are resolute in their demands and might become a powerful force in the fight.
• We must display extreme care with regard to the organisation of a united front with the Right elements of the Socialist Party during the elections. These elements have always betrayed agreements. In some cases this betrayal followed after they had been elected as a result of an election agreement. We always supported the candidates of the bloc, but they did not help us, but cast their votes for other candidates. In other cases they deliberately hindered our joint election fight, violated the agreement, nominated their own candidates and helped our opponents. Considering this situation it will be correct to say that their real intention is to help the Liberal Democrats and to deceive the people. Therefore, we must take a resolute stand and reject common action with them until we are convinced of their sincerity.
• Cultural work naturally must serve the cause of the People’s Democratic revolution and only then will it benefit the masses. It is most important in cultural work not to ignore the national traditions in form and to maintain its class character in content.
• The task of artists – members of the Party – is to be real workers in art and not professional handicraftsmen. We must not forget that workers in the sphere of art can only achieve success if they express the strivings of the people.

Basis of the New Programme of the Communist Party of Japan (1951）

From For a Lasting Peace for a People's Democracy No. 7, (171), February 15, 1953 and cited in revolutionarydemocracy.org

• Despite the repressions, women, youth, intelligentsia and clergy are actively participating in this struggle. As a result, six million signatures have been collected to date for a Peace Pact of the five Great Powers. These sentiments even affect certain sections of the big capitalists for whom trade with the U.S.S.R. and the Chinese People's Republic is at present a matter of the greatest significance. As a result, representatives of these circles, too, express a desire to take part in the international economic conference to be held in Moscow.
• Our New Programme is, in practice, becoming the programme of the whole people.
• It is now absolutely indisputable that Japan has been turned into a country completely dependent on America.
• Now, for the first time, we have been able to clear up this basic question which, hitherto, was not properly understood by us. This enabled us to publish our New Programme with the greatest confidence.
• The situation in People's China shows that in the new conditions even capitalists can participate in the national-liberation movement. Consequently, the capitalists in our country must also change their way of thinking.
• The Communist Party of Japan calls, first of all, on the workers, peasants and intelligentsia and also on the small and medium manufacturers and other capitalists to take a most active part in the united national-liberation front and to fight resolutely under the banner of peace and democracy.

30th Anniversary of Communist Party of Japan (1952)

From For a Lasting Peace for a People's Democracy No. 27 (191), July 4, 1952 and cited in revolutionarydemocracy.org

• All this shows that the revolutionary movement in Japan has become a serious obstacle to the aggressive policy of the U.S. imperialists in the Far East and that in this respect it plays an important role. This is precisely why it meets with a wide international response.
• The present rise of the revolutionary movement in Japan has become possible as a result of the 30-years' stubborn struggle, waged by the Communist Party of Japan.
• The main question on which the leadership of our Party lacked clarity was whether postwar Japan was an imperialist country or whether it had become a colonial, dependent country. The Party leadership held that Japan was, as before the war, a military imperialist state although its normal development had been disrupted. True, the leadership of the Party pointed out that, as a result of the American occupation, Japan found itself in a dependent position and that its liberation from the occupation regime was an important question. However, the leadership of the Party failed to give a clear definition to the character of the revolution as a revolution in a colonial, dependent country, a revolution the principles of which were explicitly elaborated by Comrade Stalin. The leadership of the Communist Party advanced the task of national liberation and felt that in these conditions the national bourgeoisie could become one of the active elements in the liberation struggle. We worked pretty hard on this question, but failed all the same to achieve complete clarity.
• As a result of the adoption of the New Programme which clearly outlined the aims of the Party, the entire Party engaged in still more active work.
• After the signing in San Francisco of the separate "peace treaty" with Japan and the U.S.-Japanese "security pact", which later were followed by the signing of the so-called "administrative agreement", it became clear that these treaties mean prolonged occupation of Japan by the U.S. armed forces. The enslavement of the Japanese people and the turning of Japan into a base for aggression against the Soviet Union, China, Korea, Viet Nam and other countries of the Far East.
• In reply, the working class, the peasantry, students and other sections of the intelligentsia as well as the medium and small businessmen rose in resolute struggle, acting in the spirit of the New Programme of the Communist Party.
• The demand for a revolutionary land reform and for handing over the forests, waste land, the irrigation systems, etc. became particularly widespread in the countryside after the publication of the New Programme of the Communist Party.
• The International Economic Conference in Moscow showed that a certain part of the capitalists in many countries, including the U.S.A., faced with the threat of bankruptcy as a result of switching the economy of these countries onto a war footing, seeks peace with the Soviet Union, the New China, the People's Democracies and the German Democratic Republic and the development of trade with these countries. This is also true of many capitalists on Japan. Many delegates are anticipated for the Peace Conference for Asia and Pacific Region, scheduled for September in Peking. Three representatives of Japanese capitalist circles who recently participated in the International Economic Conference, represent Japan on the Preparatory Committee of this Conference.
• Our task is, persistently to conduct the class-political training of the membership, to master the art of combining legal work with underground work, to eliminate the shortcomings that we still meet in our work, to base our entire activity on maintaining the confidence of the masses and not to lag behind the revolutionary struggle which is developing at a rapid rate.