JCP Congress at the turn of the century

The coming JCP 22nd Congress will be held at the threshold of the 21st century. It will open on November 20. As the Congress will be taking place at the turn of the century, the proposed draft Resolution takes a look at what movements for social progress have achieved and the prospect of the future in a historical context.

There are two historical perspectives:

One is the perspective of the century. That is to look at history in a perspective of one hundred years.

The draft Resolution comprises eight sections. Section I reviews the 20th century and envisions what the 21st century will be like. Discussing the next century in a greater perspective, Section Eight (last section) concludes that the 21st century will see conditions approaching socialism ripening on a global scale. Thus, the draft Resolution begins and closes with the issue of century.

Of course this applies to the rest of the draft Resolution; the JCP as a party which has the vision on any questions of the 21st century and a party working with the firm guiding principles toward the future is being thrown into relief. This perspective persists in all sections of the draft Resolution. New issues are also raised.

For example, item eight of Section III, which is about "Remaking Japan," expresses the JCP's position of tackling new problems which will affect the fundamentals of the Japanese people's survival and lives in the 21st century, including children and education, lower birth rates, energy, and IT (information technology). The draft Resolution on the whole is a manifesto of the JCP Congress toward the 21st century.

Situation in Japan and our prospects

The other is a perspective of the 1990s, the last decade of the 20th century. It is devoted to an analysis of what Japanese society and the JCP have achieved and what we can envisage for the future.

For example, Section II talks about the position of the Liberal Democratic Party at an impasse, changes in the JCP's political positions, the present state of alignments of political parties, and lessons we have learned from the general election in order to be able to achieve a JCP advance in the next elections.

Section Three, which is about the JCP's proposal on "Remaking Japan," deal with the changes that have taken place in the 1990s in foreign policy, the economy, and so forth. The draft Resolution sharply points out the inability of LDP politics to respond to the changes, contrasting JCP policy proposals with LDP politics at an impasse.

In summary, one important thing that runs through the draft Resolution is our attitude to know where we stand in the greater historical context so that we can embark on the voyage into the 21st century with firm conviction.

What is to be done to achieve the goal of establishing a democratic coalition government?

Another important viewpoint in the draft Resolution is the effort we need to make in order to get closer to the goal of establishing a democratic coalition government in the early stages of the 21st century. This was what we decided at the 21st Congress three years ago.

In the past three years, we achieved advances and suffered setbacks as well. Based on lessons we have learned from them, the draft Resolution makes clear what is to be done towards establishing a democratic coalition government. This is also an important viewpoint that runs throughout the draft Resolution.

The draft Resolution deals with various questions, including how to develop JCP policies; how to strengthen national common actions for progressive change and democracy; how to defeat anti-communist attacks; and above all else, how to build a JCP which is strong in number and in quality. Note that all these questions are about our efforts towards establishing a democratic government. The draft also elucidates emerging problems. (Akahata September 22, 2000)