(5) For Three Basic Changes to Japan's Political Course

At the bottom of the ongoing political turbulence is the serious impasse and the contradictions created by Liberal Democratic Party politics which has continued for about 50 postwar years. This protracted reign of LDP politics has taken Japan to a critical abyss and if as the ruling party it stayed on the present set course, it would be like being at the helm of a rudderless wrecked ship.

The argument for justifying the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty system as "defending Japan against Soviet threats" has, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, lost any basis and consequently the reason for the treaty's existence is now being fundamentally questioned. This system is now being transformed into a military alliance openly spearheaded at Asia and the Pacific. And such transformation has intensified more than ever the contradiction between the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty system and the Okinawa prefectural people who suffer from the heavy pressure of the existence of the U.S. military bases in Okinawa, and between it and the Japanese people who are calling for peace and sovereignty, and between it and the Constitution's peace principles, and between it and the peoples of Asia.

The formula of economic development by which priority is given to ensuring the profits of a handful of major businesses is at an impasse, and Japan now faces many economic contradictions and a serious position of bankruptcy in its national finances, without parallel in other developed capitalist countries. The reactionary policy of trying to resolve these contradictions by giving priority to subordination to the United States and to ensuring the profits of big business, and by increasing tax on the ordinary people and cutting welfare and the peoples living standards, has made the difficulties in the people's living conditions more unbearable.

Democracy is in the most serious crisis. The grave thing has been the introduction of the single-seat constituency system which distorts the people's will, as a threat to the very basis of parliamentary democracy, with the serious consequence of the resurgence of open attempts to adversely revise the Constitution and for the complete revival of militarism. The evil effect of political donations by which donating companies can distort politics was made clearer than ever in relation to such questions as the "jusen" (housing loan companies) and the HIV/AIDS infection from unheated blood products.

We cannot allow this kind of politics to operate for Japan's future in the 21st century. It is now necessary for fundamental changes to be made in Japanese politics. This is not for the immediate aim of a socialist Japan. The changes are necessary for making a more democratic Japan in which the people, within the framework of capitalism, become the sovereign power and can live a peaceful, affluent, free life worthy of human beings. Such changes consist of the following three points:

--An independent, non-nuclear, non-aligned and neutral Japan by which the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty is abrogated, and which contributes to world peace by developing genuine relations of friendship with the United States and the Asian countries.

--A Japan in which its extraordinary world position of "capitalism without rules" is remedied, and big business is made to fulfill its social responsibility, and in the course of economic development, priority is given to the people's living conditions.

--A Japan which checks any moves to adversely revise the Constitution and to revive complete militarism; a Japan in which all aspects of democracy will flourish and the people are respected simply as human beings.

(6) Abrogate the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty and Contribute to Peace in Asia and the World

The first is to change Japan to an independent, non-nuclear, non-aligned and neutral country which abrogates the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty and which develops genuine relations of friendship with the United States and the Asian countries, and contributes to world peace.

1. This is the 45th year since the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty came into effect and the danger from the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty has now become more grave and serious than at any time.

The April 1996 "Japan-U.S. Joint Declaration on Security" perpetuated the U.S. military bases in Japan into the 21st century, increased the coverage of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty to Asia and the Pacific region and the whole world. It is intended to create a framework for the general mobilization of Japan's military and economic power for military action abroad in the event of a United States designated emergency. It means de facto a major qualitative change of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty and major adverse revision of it in a more dangerous direction.

Review of the "Guidelines for Japan-U.S. Defense Cooperation" based on the Japan-U.S. Joint Declaration on Security is being worked on, and a blueprint is being rapidly prepared for Japan-U.S. combined military operations abroad. The major focus of the review is on setting up a framework for Japan to automatically participate in war, without Japan's sovereign judgment, in the event of a U.S. military incursion under the heading of "an emergency in areas surrounding Japan," even though Japan is not under armed attack. Making the Self-Defense Forces duty-bound to undertake military action such as mine-sweeping and inspection of ships, providing information, and transportation of weapons, ammunition and personnel could make Japan into a country which not only provides the United States with military bases but an immediate participant in a U.S. war. Clearly this is a terrifying lawless system which not only violates Japan's Constitution but has no basis in the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty or international law.

The moves for legislation on emergencies to accompany the review of the Guidelines for Japan-U.S. Defense Cooperation has the aim of setting up a legal framework for mobilizing the Self-Defense Forces in a war induced by the United States and also coercing local governments and civil sectors into total cooperation. Such a legal framework cannot but infringe in a fascist way, the Constitution's principles of peace and local self-government, and fundamental human rights.

The pro-legislation forces are seeking, based on the general assumption that "U.S. action is always just," maximum possible cooperation by Japan. But this argument contains a dangerous pitfall.

The U.S. Department of Defense's official documents, which were the basis for the Japan-U.S. Joint Declaration on Security, attempt to justify the U.S. war of aggression against Vietnam as a "just war," on which the judgment of history has already been made. On the U.S. aggression against Grenada and Panama, which the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolutions condemning the U.S. actions as aggressive military intervention, the United States also continues to lack any self-criticism and remains arrogant about its actions. The United States has declared to the world its world strategy by which it is allowed to impose military sanctions on countries which they describe as "rogue states." And the United States actually put this strategy into practice, when it launched a military attack on Iraq in 1996, which was internationally criticized.

Japan's government has taken a shameful position of complete support for the U.S. argument and its action of military hegemonism. The Japan-U.S. Joint Declaration on Security clearly states that the Japanese and U.S. governments take action on the basis of "common values." But there is no more grave danger for peace in Asia and the world than the setting up a system for joint military action based on the "common values" by which illegal military incursions in other countries are regarded as justified.

Some argue that the point at issue on the review of the Guidelines for Japan-U.S. Defense Cooperation is whether Japan should be allowed to exercise "the right of collective self-defense" or not. But the need is to see in a straightforward way that setting up a system of military cooperation with the United States, which is now being pursued, has nothing to do with Japan invoking "right of self-defense" against an illegal armed attack on it. Such a system will pave the way with the danger of Japan becoming a partner in U.S. military aggression.

The Japan-U.S. Joint Declaration on Security, the review of the Guidelines for Japan-U.S. Defense Cooperation, and the moves for "legislation on emergencies," the last two for giving the first concrete shape, mark a new serious stage for reviving and strengthening Japanese militarism under United States subordination. It is not accidental that from the Asian countries serious voices of caution and criticism have been heard. An urgent serious task is to develop struggle in opposition to the moves for major adverse revision of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, which could mean the greatest menace to Asia.

Since the autumn of 1995, there has been a great upsurge in the movement, with the Okinawa prefectural people in the lead, demanding the reduction and withdrawal of the U.S. military bases and a review of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). The government has no perspective for settling the base question, but forced through the adverse revision of the Special Arrangement Act for land expropriation for U.S. forces which is against the Constitution. This exposed bare the central government's intention that the United States could continue to use not only its military bases in Okinawa but all its bases throughout Japan on a semi-permanent basis. Behind this intention are the government's moves for the major adverse revision of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty based on the Japan-U.S. Joint Declaration on Security. The fundamental course for overcoming the hardships of the Okinawa prefectural people is the complete withdrawal of the U.S. bases by abrogating the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty. But before this can be achieved, Okinawa's extraordinary situation must be changed; in Okinawa 75% of the U.S. forces facilities in Japan are concentrated. The strong need is for an advance of the Okinawa people's movement based on agreed tasks such as opposition to the relocation of the bases, demand for the U.S. Marines to be withdrawn and a drastic review of the SOFA, and also for developing the national movement in solidarity with the Okinawa movement. Also important is the struggle of opposition to the transfer of U.S. live shell exercises from Okinawa to other places on mainland Japan.

The JCP will make the utmost effort to develop and heighten public opinion and the movement which clearly raises the question of Yes or No in relation to the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, the dangerous character of which is now more apparent than ever, and to work for abrogation of the treaty; it will combine this with the struggle in opposition to the aggression-oriented strengthening of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty system with the aim of getting the U.S. bases withdrawn. The Japan-U.S. Security Treaty as provided in Article 10 can be abrogated within one year of either party to the treaty giving notice of its intention to terminate the treaty. The JCP will do its utmost to establish a majority of people in favor of abrogating the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty.

2. Abrogation of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty will relieve the Japanese people of the heavy pressure from the U.S. military bases, and free them from the dangerous path of being mobilized to take part in a war caused by the United States. This would also create great hope for change toward peace in Asia and the world.

An independent neutral Japan, freed from the Security Treaty bondage, could establish true friendly relations with the United States based on equality. A Japan-U.S. amity treaty of peace and friendship could be concluded, which provides for mutual respect of sovereignty, no territorial violation, settlement of disputes by negotiations, and economic exchange based on equality and mutual benefit. Although the JCP strictly criticizes the U.S. security and military base policies, we see many valuable things in the U.S. Declaration of Independence and their democratic history which followed. If relations between Japan and the United States, which represent 40% of the world's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), develop to a true basis of friendship, neither prewar antagonism nor postwar subservience of Japan to the United States, it could make a great contribution to world peace and progress.

If Japan seceded from the Japan-U.S. military alliance, it would make a big change to the tense situation in Asia, and the road would be opened for creating a new peace framework in Asia. It would be an historic turning point in the whole Asia situation. An independent, neutral Japan would bring the peace principles of Japan's Constitution into full play, and make every active effort to develop peaceful relations with all East Asian countries. Such efforts would involve:

--Clearly declaring at home and internationally that Japan is a non-nuclear weapons country, which would be encouragement for the non-nuclear trend in East Asia. New moves are developing in Asia for expanding the nuclear-free zone, as seen by the conclusion of the South-East Asian Non-Nuclear Zone treaty by ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries. Japan as the only nuclear-bombed country in the world, will take a lead in the movement to expand this current to cover the North-East Asian region.

--Joining the summit of the non-aligned nations, and making every effort to get the military blocs in Asia disbanded, and all foreign military bases removed. U.S. bases have been withdrawn from Thailand and the Philippines, which once provided bases for the United States for its war of aggression against Vietnam. The 23 countries in Asia except Japan, the Republic of Korea and China, have joined the non-aligned movement. For Japan to join would be a major contribution to the movement.

--As a country with peace principles as part of its Constitution, Japan would take the lead for a drastic cut in arms. With U.S. military involvement, East Asia is the only region in the world in which military expenditure is increasing. Taking the place of the Middle East, East Asia is now the area with the greatest import of arms. The fact that Japan has been pursuing a policy of military expansion has been a serious factor for accelerating the arms race in Asia. Japan would itself end this vicious circle, and reinforce the current for arms reduction in the region. As a country which follows the Three No-Arms-Export Principles, Japan would call for the control and prohibition of the import and export of arms.

--Not allowing any sort of hegemonic policy, Japan would make efforts for the peaceful settlement of disputes. There are issues in this region which could hold a seed of conflict, such as confrontation between different ethnic and national groups and territorial questions, but such things can only be correctly settled by negotiation based on international reason, not by military force.

--Making clear at home and internationally the past mistakes of Japanese militarism. That successive Liberal Democratic Party governments consistently avoided reflection on Japan's wars of aggression and its colonial rule, but even glorified them, is the root cause of the distrust of Japan by the countries in Asia. The correction of this is the basic prerequisite for establishing open-minded friendly relations with the peoples of South and North Korea, China and the South East Asian countries, who were victims of Japanese militarism. It is natural that the unsettled questions of postwar reparations should be sincerely resolved.

--Democratizing economic cooperation with the Asian countries. To end the tyranny in Asia by Japanese monopoly capital, which now takes the form of transnational corporations, and to impose democratic control on them. To correct the bias of the ODA (Official Development Assistance) policy, which has become the tool for economic advance by the big enterprises, and to change it to one which is useful for the people's lives in the ODA recipient countries. Economic cooperation will be changed to respecting the economic sovereignty of each country, based on real equality and mutual benefit.

3. The JCP 20th Congress resolution highly evaluated the pioneering significance of Article 9 of Japan's Constitution, and said about the security of an independent neutral Japan following its abrogation of the Security Treaty, as follows:

"When Japan takes the road of independence and neutrality, the country's security should be based on a firm government stand backed by the unity of the people, of rejecting any violation of the sovereignty of a neutral Japan. Against any urgent and unjust violation of Japan's sovereignty, there should be measures for self-defense by the use of police force and a voluntary self-defense organization, which do not conflict with Article 9 of the Constitution. The renunciation of all war potential which is provided in Article 9 totally conforms to the ideals of socialism and communism which the JCP aims for, as is clearly stated in the JCP Program."

The JCP is convinced that this is the only way to sincerely observe the Constitution. At the same time, it is obvious that "to renounce all war potential" is not the sort of policy which can immediately be invoked following the establishment of a government which intends to abrogate the Security Treaty. Naturally there is a difference between the people's consensus on abrogating the Security Treaty and disbanding the Self-Defense Forces. Along with abrogating the Security Treaty, we will tackle a sizable reduction of the Self-Defense Forces, ending SDF subservience to U.S. forces, and bringing home to the whole SDF that it must be politically neutral. But complete implementation of Article 9 in the Constitution, disbanding the Self-Defense Forces, will proceed in keeping with the maturing of the people's consensus on the question. This is the JCP's position.

The establishment by an independent, neutral Japan of true friendly relations of peace with the United States and the Asian countries, will pave the way for providing the surest guarantee for Japan's security. From the facts, it will become obvious that the "threats," which advocators of Japan-U.S. security claim exist, are groundless. By taking this course and if new relations of peace spread in Asia and understanding of this reality by the Japanese people develops, it will, in an epoch-making way, encourage and facilitate the forming of a people's consensus for the Constitution's peace principles to be completely implemented.

Today world historical development has reached the stage in which Japan's peace and security can be guaranteed without a permanent military force. Until World War I, aggression was an accepted practice. But resulting from the two world wars, a ban on the use of arms and the peaceful settlement of disputes have become an international rule. Human history has developed to this point. Since World War II, there have been well over one hundred armed conflicts in the world. But most of the aggression was caused by the existence of military alliances which were used as levers, or by conflicts between ethnic and national groups and territorial disputes which were used as pretexts. A Japan which declares itself independent and neutral, and which develops true friendly relations with foreign countries and secures its national sovereignty based on its people's unity, would consist of nothing which could be used as a pretext for aggression against it by any other country. We live in such an era, in which Japan can guarantee its security without having to depend on a permanent military force.

(7) End "Capitalism without Rules" and Achieve Economic Development Oriented toward People's Better Living Conditions

Second, Japan must be changed into a country in which "capitalism without rules," unprecedented in the world, is ended, with major corporations being compelled to assume their social responsibility, and economic development reoriented toward priority for the people's living conditions.

1. Since the beginning of the 1990s, the Japanese economy has suffered the aftereffects of the bursting of the economic bubble and protracted recession. The impasse it now faces is so serious that even an official government white paper on Japan's current economic situation says disappointedly that Japan is experiencing "exceptionally low growth among the developed countries." Faced with this situation, big business vociferously says, "The world economy has entered an age of mega-competition and Japan's economic and social system faces an impasse. If left as it is, the country could decline, and be left behind in the competitive race. Restrictions on the activity of companies must be ended once and for all."

Responding to this big business call, the Hashimoto cabinet is carrying out "six big reforms" in "administration, fiscal policy, social security, economics, financial system and education." This could be described as "state restructuring" by which the cabinet aims to overcome Japan's current economic impasse by exercising every effort in favor of big business. The ongoing move to "reorganize the central ministries and agencies" is aimed at changing them into being a more efficient and authoritative part of the state machine in the interests of reactionary ruling forces.

The main plank of the "Hashimoto reform" is to eliminate all uncongenial rules on the major corporations, to enable them to behave in a more self-centered way--a reform based on the philosophy of "deregulation as the panacea." The government has already adversely revised the labor law by abolishing the provisions for protecting the health of women workers, took the teeth out of the Large Retail Store Law which restricts the opening of big retail stores, adversely revised the Antimonopoly Law and ended the ban on share-holding companies, and abolished the Staple Food Control Law which supported the rice price for producers.

The second is to achieve wholesale adverse revision of the social security system. Following the 1997 adverse revision of the health insurance system with a further burden of 2 trillion yen on the people, the government plans to force through adverse revision of the medical care and pension systems over three consecutive years. Such successive attacks on the social security system are unprecedented in postwar history, and threaten the people's right to life as guaranteed by Article 25 of the Japanese Constitution.

The third is to reduce to a minimum government responsibility for defending the people's living conditions. By discontinuing the Japan Housing and Urban Development Corporation, the government is abandoning its administrative responsibility for supplying public housing. It is also planned to privatize the three post office undertakings (postal services, savings, and insurance) so that they will become new profit-making businesses for big finance capital.

Where will such moves lead Japan in the 21st century? They will mean that in the 21st century the country will be in the position of the "transnational corporations prospering with the people suffering increased unemployment and reduced welfare." Those who are socially weak will be left high and dry, and the gap between the rich and the poor will be wider. Basically the root cause of the current long-standing recession is the abnormal distortion in Japan's economic structure in which the majority of the wealth is owned by a handful of major corporations, ranking top in the world, while the people's living conditions remain the lowest of the developed capitalist countries. Hashimoto cabinet's "reform" will exacerbate such distortion and lead the economy into a still further serious impasse. We must stop this reactionary plan which, in the name of "reform," will create a hopeless future for the nation.

2. Raising the people's living standards is the only way to put Japan's economy on the correct track of development. What is needed for Japan, in which "capitalism without rules" is prevalent, is not "deregulation" to allow further outrageous activity by the major corporations, but democratic control over them to make them conform to democratic rules and to assume social responsibility commensurate with their economic power. To introduce such economic democracy will not only pave the way for bettering the people's living conditions but can provide the surest guarantee for correcting the distorted structure of Japan's economy and to put it on the correct track for sound development.

Labor conditions: Japan has only ratified 25% of ILO-related conventions. It has not even ratified the conventions which European countries adopted a long time ago such as those concerning the eight-hour day, the forty-hour week and three-weeks paid holidays a year for those who have worked for a year. Japanese workers in 1995 worked 1,900 hours; this figure is from government statistics and is down a little because of the prolonged recession, but is still 400 hours more than German workers and 300 hours more than French workers. Under the system of long and intense labor, "karoshi," death from over work, is again increasing; such deaths in European countries are considered unbelievable. "Restructuring" by the major corporations and the transfer of production bases abroad have increased unemployment to an all-time record of 3.5%.

To realize labor and living conditions worthy of human beings, it is imperative that we get increased wages, drastic revision of the Labor Standards Law and the end of long intense labor. The unreasonable sacking of workers in disregard of human rights must be stopped, and laws enacted to restrict sackings; restrictions on the transfer of production bases abroad which neglects the needs of local employment and the economy, must immediately be applied. Such measures are included in the social labor charter the EU (European Union) Council has adopted and are regarded as the social rules countries are asked to respect.

Social security: In 1992, social security provision as a percentage of national income was as low as 14.6% in Japan, compared to 26.9% in Britain, 31.5% in Germany and 35.6% in France. Japan's very low percentage comes from its smaller official expenditure and also from its smaller contributions by major corporations to social security expenditure compared to European countries. In addition standard medicine prices in Japan, which are 1.5 to 3 times higher than in Europe, also produce a situation in which the big pharmaceutical companies take a great part of the money in the health insurance fund which originally is at a low level. It is urgent to end this and other bad practices and get the major corporations as well as the government to assume their responsibility for social security.

Small- and medium-sized enterprises: The exploitation of small- and medium-sized enterprises by the major corporations is practiced on a larger scale in Japan than in other countries. When the country experienced the appreciation of the yen, the major corporations unilaterally imposed lower unit prices for manufactured goods on their small- and medium-sized subcontractors; their exploitation was so severe that it was described as "they are wringing out an already dry towel to get any last residue of water out of it." Shopping areas consisting of small shops which helped to create the prosperity in local towns have continued to disappear following the relaxation of the Large Retail Store Law based on agreement in the 1990 Japan-U.S. Structural Impediments Initiative talks. In European countries, there are severe restrictions imposed on the opening of big retail stores. In France the law was revised to restrict more severely the opening of big retail stores. In this field, too, the abnormal position of Japan is outstanding, which makes it necessary to establish rules for protecting small- and medium-sized enterprises from the self-centered activity of the major corporations. To stop forced tax collecting carried out with no regard for human rights, and for the rights of taxpayers to be protected, it is ever more urgent that a Taxpayers' Charter be established.

Financial system: The cases of the "jusen" (housing loan companies), the Nomura Securities Co. and the Dai-ichi Kangyo Bank have made it known to the world how much Japan's big financial institutions ignore the law. The major Japanese banks have no moral sense when they engage in land speculation and transfer bad loans to their affiliated companies. In the United States, such action would be seriously punished. Also among the advanced capitalist countries Japan is exceptional because its financial institutions make extremely insufficient disclosures. When Japan's big financial institutions do not adhere to even these basic rules, it is quite outrageous to promote, in the name of a "financial big bang," liberalization to allow Japanese and foreign financial institutions to engage in still more self-centered activity. It is now essential to establish democratic rules which will compel them to assume their public responsibility.

Agriculture and food problems: The government has forced through policies to devastate Japanese agriculture still more, by liberalizing the import of agricultural and livestock products under the WTO (World Trade Organization) agreements and by enacting the new food law designed to leave the price and distribution of rice to market forces. Underlying this is not only U.S. pressure on Japan to open up its market to foreign agricultural products, but also the desire of big business to shift the burden of international trade friction onto the farmers and to get new profit-making agriculture businesses by buying up farmers' land. If, on top of this, rice imports are completely liberalized, then Japanese agriculture will descend into an extremely serious situation.

While since the 1960s the European countries have made efforts to raise their food self-sufficiency ratio, Japan's ratio continued to fall annually to 42% in fiscal 1995. The budget of the EU countries for supporting the prices of agricultural products and farmers' income has increased more than three times in the past 15 years, and accounts for nearly 90% of the total agriculture budget. But in Japan, in the same period, the price and income support budget has been cut to less than half what it was and now accounts for only 10% of the total agriculture-related budget. On the other hand, spending on public works makes up more than 50% of the whole agriculture-related budget, an abnormal situation without parallel in the world. Fundamental change in agricultural policy is necessary away from the policy which benefits big business and the general contractor construction companies to a policy which regards agriculture as a key sector of production and helps to stabilize farmers' businesses and systematically increases the country's food self-sufficiency rate. It is also urgent for fisheries and forestry, which are in serious crisis, to be reconstructed.

Environmental problem: Japan is less advanced in this field, too. Though the environment assessment law was finally enacted, it is still behind the achievements in other advanced countries; for example, it has no mechanism by which local residents can give their opinions on policy. Also a serious question is how to dispose of industrial waste, and of garbage and rubbish, the burning of which causes dioxin pollution, plus air pollution and acid rain problems. An international convention to restrict carbon dioxide emissions and prevent global warming was signed in 1992, but the Japanese government was strongly criticized in the world when in this year's summit of advanced capitalist countries, it joined the U.S. government in demanding postponement of the goal to a more distant future; an attitude which reflects the demand of Japan's business circles. Huge land developments by draining tidal land are underway across the country, including the reclamation work in Isahaya Bay. Internationally speaking, they are shameful undertakings because they signal that Japan has given up its international responsibility for protecting migratory birds. We will strive to build a Japan which will take some leadership for protecting the global environment, a country which will strive for industrial development compatible with environmental protection, by imposing democratic control over the activity of the major corporations and the transnational enterprises.

In the last few years there have been many nuclear power plant accidents, including those at "Monju" the fast-breeder reactor, and at nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities. In spite of this, the government is proposing to build new nuclear power plants, clinging to the myth that "nuclear power plants are absolutely safe." The safety of all existing nuclear power plants must be examined, and based on such examination, measures and other necessary steps must be adopted for suspending operations, and the construction of all new plants stopped. Japan is now the only country which is still pursuing the development of the fast-breeder reactor, and it is urgent that there should be a fundamental review of this abnormal nuclear fuel recycling policy based on plutonium.

3. Japan's official national and local treasury has accumulated about 500 trillion yen debt, and of the summit countries it has the worst financial crisis. This huge debt has been created by the combined factors of the increased military expenditure, the second highest in the world, and the swollen wasteful public works expenditure now amounting to about 50 trillion yen a year, covering both central and local expenditure, and Japan's peculiar tax system which grants special favors to the major corporations.

In particular, the Japanese government promised the United States to carry out the "basic plan on public investment" totaling 630 trillion yen, and this accelerated the trend toward increasing public investment. The abnormality of both central and local governments spending 50 trillion yen a year on public works can be easily seen when compared to the about 20 trillion yen the public treasury spends on social security. No other summit country spends as big a share of its gross domestic product as Japan on public works. Japan is the only summit country which allocates such big expenditure in its official budget to public works greater than for social security. Herein is the worst distorted aspect of the national finances in Japan. The government has used the "bankrupt position of social security finance" as the pretext for the adverse revision of the medical care and pension systems. But what must be done very urgently now is to correct this distortion in national finances, by drastically cutting the swollen wasteful expenditure on public works and by increasing budget expenditure on social security and increasing the number of personnel working on social security.

But the "fiscal structural reform" the Hashimoto cabinet is promoting does not seriously examine the causes of the present fiscal crisis. Instead it is exclusively proposing, under the slogan "no budget item is sacrosanct," to cut the budget items related to the people's living conditions such as social security, education, small- and medium-sized enterprises and agriculture, forestry and fishing. In contrast, it is proposing to reduce the tax and social security costs of the major corporations on the pretext that "we must win in the race of global competition." If we allow this policy to be pushed ahead, suffering of the people from further undermining of their living conditions will be unavoidable and with even another consumption tax rate increase to two-digits. The movement for stopping another consumption tax rate increase and for ending the tax itself once and for all increases in importance; the JCP will do its best to expand and strengthen the "National Association to End the Consumption Tax" which is now over 900,000-strong.

The JCP put forward its "10-year fiscal reconstruction plan" for the national treasury, at the time of 1996 general election, in which it proposed the need for efforts to carry out the democratic reconstruction of the national treasury with priority being given to dealing with the real causes of the fiscal crisis and to improving the people's living standards and improving social security toward the forthcoming aging society. It aims at taking Japan's economy onto the track of sound growth based on increasing personal consumption and thus creating a natural increase in tax revenue, which will make it possible to end the consumption tax itself. This is the only way for the country to overcome its serious fiscal crisis and to avoid national bankruptcy.

4. Granting aid to individual sufferers from the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake is another urgent issue which must be tackled without delay, in light of their present living conditions. It is a basic responsibility of a government in a civilized country to assist earthquake and other natural disaster sufferers to help them rebuild their lives. This is clear from the fact that sufferers from recent earthquakes in Mexico, Egypt, and Los Angeles in the United states have had such assistance from their respective governments.

(8) Stop Moves for Adverse Revision of the Constitution, and Establish a Japan in Which Democracy Blooms and All People Are Respected

The third is to change Japan to a country in which any adverse revision of the Constitution and the complete revival of militarism are prevented, and democracy is practiced in all spheres and every person is respected as a human being.

1. It is now 50 years since the Constitution came into effect, and it now faces the most serious danger in postwar history. It is especially serious that the "Dietmembers League for Constitution Research Committee" was established by Dietmembers of the Liberal Democratic Party, the New Frontier Party (Shinshinto), the Democratic Party of Japan (Minshuto), the Sun Party (Taiyoto) and the Harbingers (Sakigake). This is aimed at having an official foothold in the Diet, the only body which can initiate amendments to the Constitution, and is for developing maneuvers for adversely revising the Constitution to a new dangerous level.

As history shows, proposing amendments to the Constitution involves great political danger, even for the proposers, and can directly affect the political life of an existing cabinet. But the establishment of a Diet standing committee on the Constitution means that a permanent system has been set up to enable the Diet to directly initiate at any time amendments to the Constitution. In such circumstances the cabinet itself does not have to run the risk of proposing to the Diet amendments to the Constitution.

It is clear that the main target of the forces which want to revise the Constitution is the removal of Article 9 and other peace principles from the Constitution. Underlying this current is the reactionary motive of wanting remove the Constitutional restrictions which hinder implementation of the Japan-U.S. Joint Declaration on Security for sending Japan's armed forces abroad. This is a very dangerous course toward the complete revival of militarism and Japanese-style fascism.

But the forces which want to revise the Constitution, do not clearly present their aims, but work in a cunning way for winning the people to discuss revising the Constitution. Such moves must be strictly monitored. They are saying that discussion on revising the Constitution is necessary because the present Constitution makes no reference to the people's rights to protect their environment and privacy, and thus does not deal with new problems. But Japan's Constitution contains the most pioneering provisions on human rights, including the people's right to economic life. Based on these provisions, even the problems of the environment and privacy can be dealt with properly.

The Constitution specifies the following five progressive principles: people's sovereignty and state sovereignty, lasting peace, fundamental human rights, parliamentary democracy and local autonomy. These are advanced principles which should be defended and developed as guidelines for Japan toward the 21st century. The forces who want to revise the Constitution say that the Constitution is out of date. What is really out of date is the LDP framework which has promoted politics in conflict with the Constitution's progressive principles, this is old and unable to deal with today's situation. The JCP will make every effort to establish a united front including broad sections of the people, with the aim of frustrating the scheme to adversely revise the Constitution and the moves to completely revive militarism, and for total implementation of the Constitution's peace and democratic principles.

2. The introduction of the single-seat constituency system and government subsidies for political parties are serious reverse currents in Japan's democracy. In the 1996 general election based on the single-seat constituency system, the total JCP votes were equivalent to 40% of the total LDP votes but JCP seats are only equivalent to 10% of LDP seats. In other words, the composition of the Diet is far from reflecting the people's wishes. The singe-seat constituency system has worked as a lever for accelerating the position of all parties, except the JCP, just mimicking the LDP, which has taken the teeth out of the Diet. New parties were formed to get government subsidies and politicians have repeatedly engaged in divisions and mergers. Such political corruption, including the sharing of taxpayers' money against the Constitution, leaves one speechless.

It is serious that the reactionary forces which enjoy big gains from this bad law, are strengthening their maneuvers to get the proportional representation section in House of Representatives elections either reduced or abolished. As measures to stop the JCP advance, the reactionary forces are trying to further adversely change the election system. We must give such moves great attention and be extremely alert about them. We will make efforts to preempt these moves by developing the "people's movement for abolition of the single-seat constituency system" and other movements. What must be abolished is not the proportional representation constituency system, which reflects people's opinions, but the single-seat constituency system. The JCP will continue to make the utmost effort to end as early as possible the single-seat constituency system and government subsides for political parties. As the multi-seat constituency system has been abolished, the most reasonable election system for the House of Representatives is the proportional representation system composed of the 11 bloc constituencies covering the country, with the necessary increase in seats, and abolition of the single-seat constituencies, with no reduction in the total number of seats in the House.

To end donations from companies and organizations is a prerequisite for achieving democracy in Japan's politics. This has become clear through the series of incidents which have recently taken place. The question was not only that there were bribes and illegal donations behind the criminal cases involving politicians and high officials, as in the corruption involving the Health and Welfare Ministry, and the suspicions involving the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) and the Ministry of Finance, plus the Orange Kyosai Kumiai (mutual aid association) scandal; but that it has become a serious social problem that politics and government have been controlled by corporate donations, as shown by the connection between the jusen (housing loan companies) question and donations from banks, the connection between the damage caused by some medicine plus high medicine prices and donations from the pharmaceutical industry. Because of the criticism by the JCP and public opinion, the LDP and others took some temporary steps to practice self-control, with no reconsideration of their position at all, and after a while when the intense criticism had quietened down they again started, as if nothing had happened, to solicit donations from companies and industries.

Prime Minister Hashimoto appointed Koko Sato, who was found guilty of accepting a bribe in the Lockheed scandal case, to be director general of the Management and Coordination Agency, but faced with enormous public criticism, he was forced to replace him. This affair clearly revealed the outrageous insensitivity of Prime Minister Hashimoto and the LDP to political ethics and their moral degeneration.

Here also is the abnormal position of Japan's society when compared internationally. In the United States, a ban on donations by companies and trade unions was made law in the early part of the 20th century, although there are many loopholes in the law. In Great Britain, there are measures to make political donations from the general accounts of employers' organizations and trade unions illegal. In France, a law was recently enacted which prohibits corporate donations.

The JCP has proposed several draft bills which if enacted would solve these problems. One is for banning donations by companies and organizations to political parties; another for banning the parachuting of retired high-ranking government officials into posts in major corporations and civil/semi-public bodies; and another for making information open to the public. The JCP will continue its efforts to get these draft bills enacted into law. This is an important task in national politics.

3. As the political situation gets worse with degeneration and corruption and the economy is in a state of serious deadlock, society is awash with serious distortion and anxiety. There are various abnormal phenomena prevalent in society, such as school bullying, the serious position of juvenile prostitution and other forms of sexual degeneration, increase in crime by young people and the emergence of violent anti-social groups such as the AUM Shinrikyo sect.

The JCP will give attention to such abnormal phenomena in society and respond to the people's anxiety, and act in their interests by developing a joint movement for combating such developments. The JCP will take a lead in the struggle against the trend to belittle and neglect people as human beings in all of their homes, schools, localities, workplaces and in the political arena and will work to help establish sound moral standards among the people.

In the 1970s and 80s, the JCP, in stressing the importance of education for ensuring that children improve their intellectual and physical capacity and feelings, plus their morals as future citizens worthy of developing democratic society, proposed the following to be included as part of their education. These are part of the natural implementation of the Constitution's democratic principles and the Fundamental Law of Education and are important for today's social situation.

--To respect human life, mutual regard for individuality and rights, with consideration for others. --To highly regard truth and justice, and have courage to reject all forms of violence, lies and deception. --To appreciate the significance of work and labor as an essential part of production in society, and to respect working people. --To develop independence to carry out one's own responsibility while doing the best to cooperate with others. --To develop love for parents, brothers, sisters, friends and neighbors. --To acquire public morals essential for the lives of democratic citizens. --To understand the basis of equality between men and women and for sound moral relations between them. --To raise self-awareness of being part of the sovereign power to shoulder future society. --To love true peace and not glorify wars of aggression and violence. --To cultivate true patriotism and friendship with other nations, with no hostility and the despising of other nations.

The JCP has made proposals for overcoming the school bullying problem and has held symposiums on the question in many parts of Japan. Such efforts should be further increased and strengthened in many other fields.

In these efforts, there should be continuing emphasis on working to correct the distortions in education. Government educational policy advocates discrimination, selection, and control as the basis of education, which is forcing much suffering on children, teachers and staff and parents. Far from correcting this wrong educational policy, the Hashimoto cabinet's "educational reform" will increase the distortion even more by taking school education from the position of compulsory education to a "multiple track" system, thereby introducing selection for developing an elite and competition between children at an early age. We cannot allow the future of children to be determined by such a course. The JCP will make efforts to get educational conditions improved, including the size of classes limited to 30 pupils, and to change the excessive competitive, control based form of education, and to aim for the Convention on the Right of the Child to be fully implemented. The party will make further efforts to develop educational policies and movement for achieving a system of education in which humanity is respected.

As part of the development of democracy, it is important to protect the life and rights of the Ainu people, an ethnic minority in Japan, and for foreign residents in Japan to have voting rights in local politics and their human rights guaranteed.

During the JCP's 75 years history, it has consistently taken the position of respect for human beings, as shown by its opposition to the war of aggression, the worst criminal act against human beings, at the risk of its members' lives. As declared in the JCP "Manifesto on Freedom and Democracy" which the 1996 5th CC Plenum revised, the JCP is a party which stands for defending and developing at all times, freedom and democracy in every political, economic and social field. The JCP will do the utmost for building a Japan for the 21st century, in which all people are respected as human beings.

(9) Let's Mobilize the Majority of the People to Bring about Democratic Change in Japan

1. The JCP 20th Congress pointed to the increasing vitality developing today of the following three objectives for progress, with the direction showed by the JCP for unity between the JCP and the progressive forces, to break through LDP politics: (1) to break free of the Japan-U.S. military alliance and to build a truly independent, non-nuclear, non-aligned and neutral Japan; (2) to defeat the politics which gives priority to big business and arms expansion, and to realize politics which will defend the people's life and living conditions including education; (3) to oppose the complete revival and strengthening of militarism and the implementation of Japanese-style fascism, to achieve democratic management of the Diet and to further develop democracy. The 20th JCP Congress also called for developing cooperation with broad strata of the people who are opposed to bad politics, saying, "Now is the time that cooperation with broader sections of those people who are working for a better life and future is possible, those who have not yet consciously accepted the three objectives for progress but who are opposed to the anti-people mal-administration of the LDP and its successors."

In our struggle during more than three years, such cooperation has been developing with more fruitful results than ever before. The new characteristic is that wide sections of organizations and individuals, including some who have been regarded as the base for the conservative parties, are now making moves in various ways toward cooperation with the JCP and the conscious democratic forces.

At the call of the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren), some workers and trade unions affiliated to the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo) are now taking part, on an unprecedented large scale, in concerted action as part of the struggle for such urgent demands as improvements in working conditions and opposition to the ending of government regulations for protecting women workers. Through action against the consumption tax rate increase and the rapid intrusion of big stores into the localities, the JCP is now developing cooperation with local organizations of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry and shop dealers' associations in various districts. Also in the struggle against the adverse revision of the medical insurance system, similar cooperative links have developed between the JCP and the medical associations, old people's clubs and residents' associations in various places. Interviews with chairpersons of prefectural medical associations have regularly appeared in the daily Akahata. On the problem of the introduction of the "soccer lottery," similar ties have also developed with Parent, Teachers Associations (PTA), women's organizations and sports organizations. On the agricultural problem, the JCP has sponsored symposiums in many places which were participated in by local agricultural cooperative heads and local government officers. Cooperation has also developed with various civil movements and voluntary associations.

This all indicates that the people's anxiety about Japan's current situation and their energetic efforts for change have spread on a very wide and deep scale beyond the old framework. The JCP will make efforts to fully develop concerted action based on urgent demands in various fields and to unite them into a single stream to establish a national majority for bringing about democratic change in Japan.

2. To establish a national majority for democratic change, the role of the National Forum for Peace, Democracy and Progressive Unity (National Progressive Unity Forum) has become more important as the hinge for this movement. This forum is working for concerted action based on the three objectives for progress, but at the same time working to influence all organizations and individuals that want to cooperate on an agreed point of opposition to bad government, even though agreement may not be possible on all three goals, thus seeking national cooperation. In this case such an approach should be made in accordance with actual conditions. Such a new movement has developed throughout the country, involving not only progressive but also conservative non-party people.

In the JCP 15th Congress in 1980, in face of the situation in which the Socialist Party had degenerated to the right by concluding the "Socialist-Komei agreement," the JCP called for cooperation between the JCP and progressive non-party people, not to start from the argument for a united front based on political parties combining, but for progressive political goals, viz. the real requirement of Japanese society and politics. The correctness of this policy has been confirmed by the development of the Progressive Unity Forum movement. In the present situation in which there has been many-sided development on cooperation between the JCP and non-party people, the Progressive Unity Forum as the movement which can actually unite the people to establish a people's majority, is required to develop forums everywhere in districts and workplaces and to take a leap forward onto a higher level, both in quality and quantity.

Cooperation between the JCP and non-party people has now become the basis, in many places, for forming an actual administration. This is bearing fruit in the increase of progressive and democratic local governments in which the JCP is the only ruling party, in cooperation with many residents, to promote politics based on "the residents as the key players." For the progressive and democratic local governments to gain further trust of the people through their administrative achievements, is of vital importance for the progressive and democratic forces to be trusted by the people for becoming a government party in national politics.

By making efforts for developing cooperation with non-party people, the JCP will work to realize a democratic coalition government in the early stages of the 21st century, a coalition of all political parties, organizations and individuals that have common views on the need for a progressive change in politics.

HOME:www.jcp.or.jp/english The Central Committee of the Japanese Communist Party 4-26-7 Sendagaya,Shibuya-ku,Tokyo 151-8586 E-mail:info@jcp.or.jp © .JCP