Communist party in Japan abandons anti-imperialism

Calls "Abolish the emperor!" and "Fight the army!" have fallen silent at the beleaguered Japanese Communist Party, which is dropping the age-old anti-imperialist battle cries in its biggest, most bourgeois, manifesto makeover to date.

The move, a first for the party and aimed at making it more politically viable, changes its platform to tolerate the existence of the Japanese royal family with its sprawling palace in downtown Tokyo, as well as the nation's well-armed and well-trained Self-Defense Forces.

"We needed to create a more realistic platform to participate in politics," said Kimitoshi Morihara, of the party's executive committee. "This is the 21st century."

The platform changes, introduced Saturday, aim to rekindle a party that once wielded political force but has been rendered nearly irrelevant by Japan's bustling economy and renewed tensions with North Korea that have fueled anti-communist opinion.

The changes still need approval at a party congress in November, but they underscore a shift in post World War II public sentiment, when many Japanese were incensed at an imperial system that led the country into battle and suspicious of reinstating a military force of any kind.

Today, calls to send the Japanese Self-Defense Forces overseas to aid the war against terrorism or peacekeeping missions still spur debate, but get widespread support among the public. Interest in Japan's royal family has also surged following the 2001 birth of Princess Aiko, a potential royal heir to Crown Prince Naruhito.

The party's backing has slumped since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, largely due to its vehement opposition to the US anti-terror campaign. In recent elections, it has lost nine seats in Parliament, and now holds only 40 of 427 seats in both upper and lower houses.

"I would say it needs to broaden its support," said Shigenori Okazaki, a political analyst with UBS Warburg in Tokyo. "People aren't so interested in class struggle and revolution any more. It's kind of out of touch."

Instead insisting on the "overthrow" of the emperor, the new platform calls for tolerating a symbolic monarchy, as outlined by the Japanese constitution. Abolishing the monarchy is still a long-term goal, Morihara said, but because the emperor is constitutionally barred from politics "there is no urgent need to touch the system."

The new platform also makes no mention of disbanding the Self-Defense Forces, as the current one does. Instead, it only urges that the military not be sent overseas.

In another sign of the times, the new platform allows for the party to cooperate with other parties to gain a foothold in future coalition governments, Morihara said.