The impact of the Sino-Soviet conflict on the Japanese Communist Party, 1961-1968
Authors:   , Rhee Sei Young 
Published: June 2024

The magnitude and intensity of the Sino-Soviet conflict since 1956 have had a profound impact on East- West international relations, the intra-bloc relations of the Communist political parties, particularly those in Asia. The primary purpose of this study is to examine the general issues of the Sino-Soviet conflict in the specific setting of the Japanese Communist Party during 1961-1968. The aims are to delineate the ideological and political ~ffects of the Sino-Soviet conflict and to assess the pertinent factors leading to the JCP policy declaration of "autonomy and independence" in 1966. The contents are organized into eight chapters. Chapter I includes the statement of purpose, scope and method (documentary research, content analysis, and elite study), analytical framework, and three hypotheses about the JCP's behavior in the Sino-Soviet conflict. Chapters;II and III are devoted to a brief historical account of the rise, demise, and resurgence of the JCP, covering the period from the late nineteenth century to 1955. They examine the early Comintern-JCP relationship and the CCP-JCP relationship (1940-1945). They also analyze Nosaka Sanzo's strategy of "peaceful revolution," the Sino- Soviet collusion to criticize the JCP strategy, the intra- party factional alignments of the JCP, the "hard-line" policy (1950-1953), and the return to legalism in 1955. Chapter IV discusses the general aspects of the Sino-Soviet dispute in the context of three dimensions of analysis: a) background and level of escalation; b) five major polemical issues; c) post-crisis assessment of the dispute. Chapter V attempts to analyze the specific impact the Sino-Soviet conflict had on the JCP from 1961 to 1968. This chapter focuses on the growing JCP desire for "Self- Assertion" in the intra-bloc relationship and its capacity to attain it. Chapters VI and VII contain quantitative analyses. Chapter VI deals with a time series content analysis of the JCP organ Akahata. This chapter adopts frequency and intensity measurement of total Akahata articles, an atti- tudinal scale measurement of Akahata editorials, and a multi-variable frequency measurement on ten major issues in the Sino-Soviet conflict. Chapter VII analyzes the overall transformation of the JCP elites from 1922 to 1970. Based on the available biographical data, the JCP elites are divided into three groups--24 members of the JCP Central Executive Committee (1922-1927), 45 Moscow-trained middle echelon activists of the 1930's, and 154 post-war members of the JCP Politburo/Presidium, the Secretariat, and the Central Committee (1945-1970). The conclusion follows in Chapter VIII. The study reveals that the JCP has skillfully maneuvered the Sino-Soviet conflict to enhance its ability to pursue an "independent line" policy. The internal factors favoring the continued growth of the JCP are a growing sense of nationalism, the increase of mass membership, self- sufficiency in party finances, and the recent increase of parliamentary seats (1972 general election). There is also sufficient evidence of intra-bloc coalition among the JCP, the Korean Workers' Party, and the Vietnamese Workers' Party, which share a similar outlook toward "autonomy and independence" in the Sino-Soviet dispute. In the ideo- logical realm, the Sino-Soviet conflict has hastened the JCP policy of parliamentary struggle. As for the political impact of the Sino-Soviet conflict, two conclusions can be drawn. First, though it had a certain de-stabilizing effect on the JCP top hierarchy, Secretary-General Miyamoto Kenji's Mainstream faction was continually successful in the intra-party power struggle. Second, the Sino-Soviet conflict had a "house-cleaning" effect of purging the troublesome pro-CPSU and pro-CCP splinter group.