Communist Party of Japan (Myomi Republic)

The Communist Party of Japan was a former left-wing political party which existed in Japan before 1922-1934. The CPJ was the second largest revolutionary party in Japan behind the Nationalist Party during the Civil War. Together with their Nationalist counterparts, the Communist Party founded the National Front of Japan in 1926.

History
The CPJ was founded on July 15, 1922, as an underground political association. Outlawed at once under the Peace Preservation Law, the CPJ was subjected to repression and persecution by the military and police of Imperial Japan.

After 1925 Revolution, the Communist Party of Japan joined in the revolutionary coalition with another anti-imperial movements, including the Nationalist Party of Japan. The Communist Party strength much smaller than the Nationalist Party forced the party functionaries to initiates the united front with the Nationalist which named as the National Front.

As the joint revolutionary forces won the Civil War, the CPJ briefly participates in the Republican Government. Under the Front official list, the CPJ took part in the first Republican legislative election in 1932 and gained 103 seats, second only behind the Nationalist which gained 175 seats. Seven ministerial post in the first Council of the Ministers was belongs to the CPJ.

In early 1930s. the right-wing faction and the left-wing faction of the Communist Party of Japan was divided over ideological issues.

The right wing faction composed by the Bukharinists and the Agrarianists which viewed the government's Great Economic Plan as the true succesor of Lenin's New Economic Policy and the 1925 Japanese Revolution as unique, nationalistic forerunner of Lenin's world revolution concept.

The left-wing faction composed by the pro-Comintern policy party functionaries which supported the social revolution than national revolution and favored Stalinist mass industrialization and collectivization in Japan. They also opposed the Nationalist's nationalistic-orientation of Marxism and believed only Communism as the true inheritance of Marxism.

The Japanese Communist Party Congress in 1933 marked by a series of debates between the right and the left whether the Party should adopted the Social Nationalism in their constitution or not.

The CPJ finally break in 1934. The right wing faction of CPJ joined the smaller Social Democratic Party and the ruling Nationalist Party (which later formed the Party's left-wing faction). The left wing faction of CPJ tried to contesting in the 1936 and 1940 elections as the independent candidates.

The disestablishment of CPJ benefited the Nationalist Party which later consolidated their power over the national government, the National Front and the revolutionary masses, resulted to the establishment of the de-facto one party state in Japan until recently.