Kyuichi Tokuda Quotes

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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 stepping 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 capital.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.