View source for Revolutionary Communist League, National Committee

{{Expand Japanese|Japanese article title|date=October 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox political party
| name = Revolutionary Communist League, National Committee
| native_name = {{nobold|革命的共産主義者同盟全国委員会}}
| native_name_lang = ja
| colorcode = Red
| chairperson = [[:ja:清水丈夫|Takeo Shimizu]]
| founder = [[Kan'ichi Kuroda]]<br>[[:ja:本多延嘉|Nobuyoshi Honda]]
| foundation = 1959
| split = [[Japan Revolutionary Communist League]]
| headquarters = [[Edogawa, Tokyo]]
| position = [[Far-left politics|Far-left]]
| membership_year = 2020
| membership = 4,700
| ideology = [[Communism]]<br>[[Marxism]]<br>[[Anti-Stalinist left|Anti-Stalinism]]<br>[[Anti-imperialism]]
| country = Japan
| logo = Chukakuha Logo.svg 
| caption = 
| website = http://www.zenshin.org/zh/
}}

{{nihongo|'''Japan Revolutionary Communist League, National Committee'''|革命的共産主義者同盟全国委員会|Kakumeiteki Kyōsanshugisha Dōmei, Zenkoku Iinkai}} is a Japanese [[far-left]] [[revolutionary]] group, often referred to as '''Chūkaku-ha''' ({{lang|ja|中核派}}, "Central Core Faction") in Japanese.<ref name="History">{{Cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/Results.aspx?chart=overtime&search=chukakuha|title=Chukakuha Revolutionary Army|website=Global Terrorism Database}}</ref> Their main goal is to have Japan, and the entire world, adopt [[communist]] policies. Chūkaku-ha rejects [[imperialism]] and [[Stalinism]].

The group is led by {{ill|Takeo Shimizu|ja|清水丈夫}}, who became the chairman in 1997.<ref name="TS">{{Cite web|url=http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14076996|title=Long in hiding, leader of extreme leftist group stuns police &#124; the Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis}}</ref>

The Japanese National Police Agency reports that as of 2020, 4,700 members are active in Chukaku-ha.<ref name="JAN21">{{Cite web|url=http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14143308|title=Leader of radical group, 83, claims pandemic calls for an uprising &#124; the Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis}}</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Zenshin-Sha.JPG|thumb|Headquarters in [[Edogawa, Tokyo]].]]
===Prehistory of Chūkaku-ha===
In 1957 a number of dissidents dissatisfied with the direction of the [[Japan Communist Party]] (JCP), along with a number of student activists from the Nationwide [[Zengakuren]] student federation, formed the [[Japan Revolutionary Communist League|Revolutionary Communist League]] (RCL), usually abbreviated as Kakukyōdō in Japanese.<ref name="Kapur 146">{{Cite book|last=Kapur|first=Nick|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Re5hDwAAQBAJ|title=Japan at the Crossroads: Conflict and Compromise after Anpo|publisher=[[Harvard University Press]]|year=2018|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|pages=146|isbn=9780674988484}}</ref> This group was fervently anti-Stalinist, and soon fell under the sway of the charismatic half-blind Trotskyist philosopher [[Kan'ichi Kuroda]].<ref name="Kapur 146"/> The RCL believed the Stalinist form of communism, which they saw as predominant in Eastern Europe, China, the USSR, and North Korea, did not elevate the working class as true as Marxist communism intended. Their goals at this time were to overthrow the Japanese government, end U.S. occupation of [[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawa]], and abolish the [[U.S.-Japan Alliance]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.zenshin.org/english/nc_intro.htm|title=Introduction to Japan Revolutionary Communist League|website=JRCL Website}}</ref>

The group evolved into its current form (Chūkaku-ha) after a series of schisms. In 1959, Kuroda Kan'ichi was expelled from the RCL in the wake of a scandal in which he tried to sell compromising information about the JCP to the [[Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department]] (MPD). Therefore, Kuroda, along with his right-hand man [[Nobuyoshi Honda]], founded their own version of the RCL, with the appellation "National Committee" added to the name, and took many of their followers with them to create the RCL-NC.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.zenshin.org/blogEnglish/2009/11/a-short-history-of-japan-revol.html|title=A Short History of Japan Revolutionary Communist League-National Committee (JRCL-NC)|date=November 28, 2009|website=zenshin.org}}</ref> In 1960, a youth branch of the RCL-NC was established for [[Zengakuren]] student activists as the Marxist Student League (MSL), abbreviated Marugakudō in Japanese.<ref name="Kapur 149">{{Cite book|last=Kapur|first=Nick|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Re5hDwAAQBAJ|title=Japan at the Crossroads: Conflict and Compromise after Anpo|publisher=[[Harvard University Press]]|year=2018|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|pages=149|isbn=9780674988484}}</ref> This was followed in 1961 by the creation of another youth branch for young labor unionists, the Marxist Workers' Youth League (MWYL).<ref name=":0" />

Finally in 1963, the parent organization RCL-NC split in two as the result of a disagreement between Kuroda and Honda over whether to pursue socialist revolution in alliance with others, or to focus on strengthening and expanding a single revolutionary organization, with the resultant split of Marugakudō into the "Central Core Faction" (''Chūkaku-ha''), which was led by Honda and favored allying with others, and the "[[Japan Revolutionary Communist League (Revolutionary Marxist Faction)|Revolutionary Marxist Faction]]" (abbreviated ''Kakumaru-ha'') Zengakuren, which staunchly adhered to Kuroda’s insistence on going it alone.<ref name="Kapur 150">{{Cite book|last=Kapur|first=Nick|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Re5hDwAAQBAJ|title=Japan at the Crossroads: Conflict and Compromise after Anpo|publisher=[[Harvard University Press]]|year=2018|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|pages=150|isbn=9780674988484}}</ref>

===Chūkaku-ha era===

Starting in the mid-1960s, Chūkaku-ha, became active in organizing protest activities. In 1966, Chūkaku-ha joined in alliance with two other radical student groups, the "Second Bund" (''Daini Bunto'') and the [[Japan Socialist Youth League, Liberation Faction|Liberation Faction of the Socialist Youth League]] (''[[Kaihō-ha]]'') to form the "Three-Faction" (''Sanpa'') Zengakuren.<ref name="Kapur 151">{{Cite book|last=Kapur|first=Nick|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Re5hDwAAQBAJ|title=Japan at the Crossroads: Conflict and Compromise after Anpo|publisher=[[Harvard University Press]]|year=2018|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|pages=151|isbn=9780674988484}}</ref>  As part of the Sanpa Zengakuren, Chūkaku-ha participated in the October 8, 1967 protest at Haneda Airport which attempted to block Japanese Prime Minister [[Eisaku Satō]] from visiting [[South Vietnam]].<ref name="Kapur 152">{{Cite book|last=Kapur|first=Nick|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Re5hDwAAQBAJ|title=Japan at the Crossroads: Conflict and Compromise after Anpo|publisher=[[Harvard University Press]]|year=2018|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|pages=152|isbn=9780674988484}}</ref> In 1968, they protested the visit of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, {{USS|Enterprise|CVN-65|6}}, to [[Sasebo]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Narrative Command History of USS ENTERPRISE (CVAN-65) for 1 January 1968 to 31 December 1968 |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/research/archives/command-operation-reports/ship-command-operation-reports/e/enterprise-cvn-65-viii/pdf/1968.pdf |publisher=United States Navy |accessdate=7 April 2020}}</ref> Later that same year Chūkaku-ha participated in another protest of the Shinjuku Rail Station's transportation of US forces fuel tanks, remembered as the "[[Shinjuku Riot]]."<ref name=":1" />

Beginning in 1968, Chūkaku-ha became involved in the [[Sanrizuka Struggle]] assisting farmers in violently opposing the construction of [[Narita Airport]] outside of Tokyo. Some members of Chūkaku-ha remained deeply involved in this struggle well into the 1980s.

In 1968 and 1969, the organization promoted [[1968–69 Japanese university protests|several protests at campuses across Japan]]. Throughout this period and into the 1970s, Chūkaku-ha was engaged in violent conflict with their archrivals in [[Japan Revolutionary Communist League (Revolutionary Marxist Faction)|Kakumaru-ha]]. During the conflict, Kakumaru-ha assassinated several members of Chūkaku-ha, including its leader Nobuyoshi Honda in 1975.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite book|last=Andrews|first=William|title=Dissenting Japan: A History of Japanese Radicalism and Counterculture from 1945 to Fukushima|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0CwpDwAAQBAJ|date=15 August 2016|publisher=Hurst|isbn=978-1-84904-919-1|page=157}}</ref> According to Chūkaku-ha, Kakumaru-ha was aided and protected by the police.<ref name=":1" />

Starting in the late 1970s, the group began committing armed assaults, bombings, and destruction of infrastructure in Japan. There were a fair number of casualties and injuries as a result of the dozens of attacks they conducted. Casualties included the chairperson of Chiba prefecture's Expropriation Committee, whose death delayed the area's development.

In 1986, their covert weapons factory was raided by police after two suspects were arrested for carrying an explosive in their truck.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/27/world/protests-resume-at-japan-airport.html|title=Protests Resume at Japan Airport|newspaper=The New York Times|date=October 27, 1986|last1=Haberman|first1=Clyde}}</ref> Chūkaku-ha's attacks continued into the later part of the 20th century, with the last one occurring in 2001.<ref name="History"/>

[[file:渋谷暴動事件殉職者慰霊碑.jpg|thumb|A memorial to a policeman who died during a riot in Shibuya.]]
In 2017, the [[Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department|MPD]] announced the arrest of [[Masaaki Osaka]], a known Chūkaku-ha leader accused of killing a police officer during a riot on November 14, 1971.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tokyoreporter.com/japan-news/breaking/reward-offered-in-search-for-killer-of-cop-who-died-in-shibuya-riot-45-years-ago/|title=Reward offered in search for killer of cop who died in Shibuya riot 45 years ago|date=31 October 2016|website=TokyoReporter}}</ref> On that day, a protest against the occupation of Okinawa by the United States turned violent, with students throwing Molotov cocktails at officers.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/08/world/asia/japan-fugitive-masaaki-osaka-arrest.html|title=Japan Arrests Longest-Sought Fugitive After Nearly 46 Years|first=Russell|last=Goldman|newspaper=The New York Times|date=8 June 2017|publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-40188215|title=Fugitive on the run for 45 years is caught|work=BBC News|date=7 June 2017|publisher=}}</ref>

Today, Chūkaku-ha still stages protests and operates a YouTube channel to document and publicize its activities.<ref name="TS"/> Takeo Shimizu, one of Chukaku-ha's surviving leaders, appeared in public after going underground since 1971 on September 6, 2020 at Arakawa, Tokyo.<ref>"半世紀の潜伏…姿現した過激派最高幹部　背景に世代間対立？　警察当局は注視," ''Sankei Shinbun'', October 7, 2020, https://www.sankei.com/smp/premium/news/201007/prm2010070009-s1.html, accessed June 6, 2021.</ref><ref name="TS"/> During a news conference on January 27, 2021, he criticized Tokyo for its COVID-19 response and asserted that the crisis was an opportunity for a revolution.<ref name="JAN21"/>

As of 2021, the organization has experienced a resurgence in interest among some young Japanese dissatisfied with the trajectory of the Japanese Communist Party.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hiruma |first=Takashi |date=2021-10-30 |title= 共産党は暴力革命を否定。本気で実力闘争を目指す中核派は？ 若手活動家に聞いた |url=https://nikkan-spa.jp/1790100 |access-date=2023-11-03 |website=Nikkan SPA! |language=ja}}</ref> In May 2023, Chūkaku-ha organized an anti-G7 protest in Hiroshima, denouncing the [[49th G7 summit|G7 summit]] as "imperialism for nuclear war".<ref>{{cite news |title=Watch: Japan riot police pin G7 protesters to ground |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-65663384 |access-date=22 May 2023 |work=[[BBC News]]}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.zenshin.org/english/index.htm JRCL (Chūkaku-ha) English website]
*[http://www.zenshin.org/zh/ Official website](Japanese)
*[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy4QO9DkKIximR3EmIMy0gg official video YouTube]
*[http://www.zengakuren.jp/ Zengakuren], the [[Zengakuren]] faction that is loyal to JRCL (Chūkaku-ha)
{{Communism in Japan}}
{{Japanese political parties}}
{{New Left in Japan}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1957 establishments in Japan]]
[[Category:Anti-imperialism in Asia]]
[[Category:Anti-Stalinist left]]
[[Category:Communist militant groups]]
[[Category:Communist organizations in Japan]]
[[Category:Left-wing militant groups in Japan]]
[[Category:New Left in Japan]]
[[Category:Terrorism in Japan]]
[[Category:Trotskyism in Japan]]
[[Category:Anti-American sentiment in Japan]]