Suggestion for the Japanese Communist Party

There's an election coming up on Sunday. My wife just came in to ask me...

W - "Who should I vote for? Should I vote for the Communist?"

Me - No (extra-perplexed expression) you can't vote for the Communist.

W - He's the only one who has concrete suggestions. He wants to limit class size in schools to 30... He's the Vice President of the (local) "Bring Back the Fireflies Association."

Me - (Laughing) I need to take notes on this.

W - (As I type blog entry) "...He also wants to keep the (nearby) childrens' hospital open -- everyone else is talking about tearing it down."

Me - (After some time) The parties that know they're going to lose can say anything...

Wife - "Another thing, the Communists are the only ones speaking out against Yasukuni Shrine..."

Now I remember. This morning she told me that the Communists have officially said that Yasukuni Shrine glorifies war. That simple truth is something that none of the other political parties have the willingness to declare -- I watched a string of representatives from the main parties on TV the other day saying that they need more time to study the issue and weigh public sentiment. Yasukuni Shrine may seem like a black and white issue to most of the world, but here in Japan it may be political suicide to come down solidly on one side of the issue or the other.

Again, I'm supposing that parties that are only trying for a niche vote, like the Communists, can afford to take a stand and go after the virulently anti-war types.

The idea of voting for a Communist strikes me as funny, but the communist party in Japan has a long history in the political process here. They may have even had a shot at real power after World War II, but some say that the USA actively thwarted that possibility -- and accepted (or perpetrated) the neutering of democracy in Japan with the effect of keeping the LDP in power for decades. You can read more on that in this book here (a very good read IMHO).

All that said, here in the "now" being a Communist seems like such an anachronism. Maybe it's time for a name change, or an extreme makeover. Then again, maybe it's better not to use the word "extreme" and "Communist" together at all.

The other day I was watching a news blurb about a political debate in Japan's Diet. Koizumi and another man were extolling the virtues of privatizing the postal system, and then a Communist member of the Diet offered a rebuttal. He said, in my paraphrase, that a newly privatized postal entity wouldn't be able to handle the complexities of running such a large operation, and that they would surely fail without government intervention. The man standing beside Koizumi came to the microphone and gave a quick response. He countered that companies, even complex ones, can indeed be entrusted to run themselves competently. Whereas governments that try to manage large scale business enterprises have failed, as we saw with the collapse of the former Soviet Union. I remember being impressed that he came up with such a well timed and effective cheap shot -- but the Communists really handed it to him by virtue of being themselves. It's easy NOT to take a political party seriously when they tout a name that has already failed the test of history.

Anyway, I hope you're not pigeon-holing me with a political label. I'm just suggesting that Japanese Communists might do better with an image makeover, including a new name, something like: "Social Democrats" or "Progressive Liberals." You know, there are many possibilities. "Mickey Mouse Brigades" might even be an improvement. Seriously, if you get Japanese Junior High School girls in your corner, then pretty soon you've got the whole country.

(By the way, my wife wasn't literally asking me who to vote for. It was just a request for input. She decides such things quite capably on her own.)