The Japanese Communist Party, which has long regarded the United States as its sworn enemy, has made what appears to be a historic change of its policy stance — at least for now.
On Thursday JCP Chairman Kazuo Shii, speaking at a news conference in Tokyo, pledged to maintain the Japan-U.S. military alliance if ever opposition parties join forces to form a coalition government whose primary goal is to abolish contentious security legislation enacted last month.
"We would maintain our policy to abolish the (Japan-U.S.) security treaty, but a coalition government would 'freeze' this, meaning we would act within the current treaties and laws" except for the security legislation, Shii told a news conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan.