ABSTRACT
The Japanese Communists naturally reject the argument that collapse of the Soviet Union is tantamount to the collapse of Communism. The Japan Communist Party (JCP) occupies that awkward middle ground in which it is not revolutionary enough for the radical fringe and not trustworthy enough for the adherents of democratic socialism. The Party membership breakdown by age is depressing. The financial crisis of 2008–2009 brought some new recruits to the Party and influenced some Japanese and foreign observers to claim a boom in JCP fortunes. The JCP's income is closely correlated with the number of subscribers to its daily and Sunday organ Akahata and other Party publications. Japanese Communists seem to hate Communist North Korea the most, followed surprisingly by Russia, the United States and South Korea, India, China, Germany, with the other West European countries off the chart, presumably not objects of JCP members' displeasure.
