Outline
The JCP is one of the largest non-ruling communist parties in the world, with about 400,000 members belonging to 25,000 branches. In the wake of the Sino-Soviet split the party began to distance itself from the Socialist Bloc, especially from the Soviet Union. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the JCP released a press statement titled, "We welcome the end of a great historical evil of imperialism and hegemonism" ("大国主義・覇権主義の歴史的巨悪の党の終焉を歓迎する"), while at the same time criticizing Eastern European countries for abandoning socialism, describing it as a "reversal of history".
Consequently, the party has not suffered an internal crisis as a result of the collapse of the Soviet Union, nor has it considered disbanding or changing its name or fundamental objectives, as many other Communist parties have done. It polled 11.3% of the vote in 2000, 8.2% in 2003, 7.3% in 2005, and 7.0% in the August 2009 election. While this represents a slow decline, the JCP still polled nearly 5 million votes, after Russia the second largest showing for any Communist Party in the Group of Eight nations. At the July 2007 elections for the House of Councillors it received 7.5%.
Read more about this topic: Japanese Communist Party
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