The communist shadow over post-war Japan: from Red Scare to surprising comeback

There was an election in Japan on July 20th.

If you want to understand the landscape, read this article: Japan’s Political Parties Explained: Who They Are, What They Stand For.

In a sentence, the main party for the last 70 years lost the majority because of the rise of the far right. It probably won’t change anything immediately.

But I want to focus on a party that is one of the oldest but didn’t have any chance of winning: the Japanese Communist Party.

Most people think Japan was always going to be capitalist after WWII. Safe. Predictable. Allied with America.

But that wasn't guaranteed.

For decades, the Japanese Communist Party (JCP) kept finding moments where everything seemed possible. Three times, they came close to real influence. And each time, the story reveals something different about what Japan could have become.

August 1945: The atomic bombs and a race against time

On August 15, 1945, Japan surrendered. But the timing wasn't accidental.

The U.S. didn't drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki primarily to stop communists. They wanted to avoid a costly invasion and force Japan's swift surrender.

But there's something else: without those bombs, the war would have dragged on for months.

And that would have changed everything.

The Soviet Union entered the Pacific War on August 8, 1945. Stalin's forces were already sweeping through Manchuria and preparing for more. A longer war would have meant Soviet boots on Japanese soil.

At minimum in Hokkaido, possibly further south.

Japan could have ended up split like Germany. Soviet-occupied north, American-occupied south.

The bombs ended the war before that could happen. But the communist threat wasn't theoretical, it was already building inside Japan.

1945-1950: When chaos created opportunity

Japan's surrender left the nation in ruins. No government, no economy, no hope. General MacArthur's occupation forces freed political prisoners, including JCP leader Sanzō Nosaka, and legalized the Communist Party in October 1945.

The JCP had been underground since 1922. Now they were free to operate.

And they moved fast.

• Food shortages everywhere

• Unemployment skyrocketing

• Complete distrust of the old imperial system

• Labor unions forming rapidly

By 1946, the JCP won five seats in the House of Representatives. Their newspaper Akahata gained circulation. They promised equality in a country that had lost everything.

By 1949, they held 35 Diet seats.

Was this a real threat? Unlike in China, the JCP lacked military strength and rural support. But they had urban workers and intellectuals. In a destabilized Japan, that was enough to worry U.S. and Japanese authorities.

Especially after China fell to communism in 1949.

1950-1952: The militant phase that backfired

Success made the JCP bold. Too bold.

After the Korean War started in 1950, the U.S. launched the "Red Purge". Thousands of suspected communists lost their jobs in government, schools, and industry.

The JCP's response? Violence.

Under Soviet and Chinese pressure, the party abandoned peaceful tactics in 1951. They tried armed struggle against the U.S. occupation:

• The "Bloody May Day" clash in Tokyo (1952)

• Rural "mountain village" guerrilla campaigns

• Sabotage and militant rhetoric

It was a disaster.

Japan wasn't revolutionary China. No peasant armies. No civil war. Just a stable occupation with strong state control.

In the 1952 election, the JCP lost all 35 seats. Japanese voters rejected violence completely.

1955: The smart pivot that saved them

At the 1955 Sixth National Congress, they made the crucial decision: go peaceful. Permanently.

The JCP distanced itself from Soviet and Chinese influence. They focused on democratic socialism through parliamentary elections. Anti-war, anti-nuclear, pro-equality messaging.

During the massive 1960 protests against the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty, they stayed non-violent while others rioted.

It worked. Their image slowly recovered.

But their biggest moment was still coming.

1996: The surprising comeback

After decades of marginal influence, the JCP shocked everyone in 1996: 13% of the vote and 26 seats. Their highest peak ever.

Why did it happen?

Japan's economic collapse. The early 1990s bubble burst created the "Lost Decade." Stagnant wages, rising unemployment, corporate downsizing. The Liberal Democratic Party's handling was terrible.

Their main rival imploded. The Japan Socialist Party collapsed after a disastrous coalition with the LDP in 1994-1996. Left-wing voters needed somewhere to go.

They refined their message. Under leader Tetsuzō Fuwa, the JCP emphasized social welfare, gender equality, environmental issues. Their newspaper Akahata had over 3 daily million readers in the early 1990s.

Corruption scandals. The LDP was tainted by endless scandals. The JCP looked clean and principled by comparison.

Anti-American sentiment. Opposition to U.S. military bases in Okinawa resonated. The JCP's consistent anti-militarist stance felt authentic.

But the success didn't last. Economic recovery in the 2000s, LDP reforms, and new opposition parties diluted their gains. By 2000, they were back below 12%.

(This documentary is really good if you want to understand the reasons behind the economic collapse)

What it all means

The JCP never had the power for a real takeover. But three times — 1949, the militant phase, and 1996 — they showed that Japanese politics wasn't as stable as it looked.

Each surge revealed something different:

• 1949: Chaos creates openings

• 1950s militancy: Violence backfires

• 1996: Economic discontent drives protest votes

Today, the JCP has 250,000 members and minimal Diet presence. But they're still there. Still organizing. Still waiting for the next moment when everything seems possible again.

The communist shadow over Japan was never strong enough to take control. But it was real enough to remind us that history's outcomes weren't inevitable.