Japan: Tetsuzo Fuwa, a senior ideologue and former JCP chairman, passes away at age 95

Japan: According to Kyodo News, Tetsuzo Fuwa, a former chairman of the Japanese Communist Party (JCP) and its “theoretical pillar,” passed away at the age of 95.

According to party authorities, Fuwa died on Tuesday. Born Kenjiro Ueda, he became one of the most significant theorists in the JCP after joining the party in 1947 while still a high school student.

Before he resigned from his position as the party’s top executive owing to old age, Fuwa continued to play a significant role inside the party as the director of its think tank, the Social Sciences Institute, after standing down as chairman in January 2006.

Fuwa, a native of Tokyo, started his career as a secretary for the iron and steel workers’ union after graduating from the University of Tokyo’s Faculty of Science. He joined the JCP full-time in 1964, and in 1969 he was elected to the House of Representatives, where he served 11 terms in a row.

Fuwa progressively advanced within the party throughout his time in parliament, becoming the helm of the JCP secretariat in 1970 and taking the oath of office as party chairman in 1982. Prior to being elected chairman of the Central Committee in 2000, he co-led the party from 1990 with Kazuo Shii, who is now the Central Committee chairman.

After the lower house was dissolved in 2003, he resigned from parliament and turned his attention to party internal problems.

In this capacity, Fuwa oversaw a significant rewrite of the JCP’s platform in 2004—the first in about 43 years—that essentially acknowledged the imperial system and the Self-Defense Forces.

Fuwa was a well-known opposition voice throughout his time in parliament, challenging 18 prime ministers of the Liberal Democratic Party during Diet interrogation and became a key player in the legislature.

In the post-Miyamato era, he also played a key role in changing the JCP’s image from one of revolution to one of pragmatism and moderation, emphasizing reform and collaboration with other opposition groups.

Fuwa continued to be active in the JCP, sitting on its standing committee until 2024, despite giving up the party’s highest positions.

In a statement released on Tuesday in response to his passing, JCP Central Committee chairman Kazuo Shii said, “It is a source of profound sorrow to have lost a senior figure who made such an enormous contribution, both theoretically and politically.”