is a Japanese politician who has been the chairman of the Central Committee of the

Japanese Communist Party The is a communist party in Japan. Founded in 1922, it is the oldest political party in the country. It has 250,000 members as of January 2024, making it one of the largest non-governing communist parties in the world. The party is chaired ...

(JCP) since 2024. He previously served as the chairman of the Executive Committee of the Central Committee of the JCP from 24 November 2000 to 18 January 2024. Born in

Yotsukaidō is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 95,266 in 43,191 households and a population density of 2800 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Located inland on the Shimosa Plate ...

Chiba Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama ...

, Shii first joined the JCP while studying

engineering physics Engineering physics (EP), sometimes engineering science, is the field of study combining pure science disciplines (such as physics, mathematics, chemistry or biology) and engineering disciplines (computer, nuclear, electrical, aerospace, medic ...

at the

University of Tokyo The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era ins ...

. He participated in the JCP's Tokyo Committee after graduation, and worked in the Party Central Committee from 1982. He became the head of the secretariat in 1990, and was elected as a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

in 1993. He became the chairman of the Party Executive Committee in 2000. He led the party until 18 January 2024, when he resigned as the executive committee chairman, and was succeeded by

Tomoko Tamura is a Japanese politician who is the current chairwoman of the Japanese Communist Party (JCP). She was a member of the House of Councillors from 2010 to 2024. Early life Tamura was born on 4 July 1965, in Komoro, Nagano Prefecture, to parent ...

. On the same day, Shii was appointed as the chairman of the Central Committee.

Early life

Shii was born in

, the son of two schoolteachers. He graduated with the

Bachelor of Engineering A Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) or a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded to a college graduate majoring in an engineering discipline at a higher education institution. In the United Kingdom, a Ba ...

degree in

Physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

and

Engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

from the

. He joined the JCP during his first year at the university and became an active participant in the party's student wing. After graduation, he got a job in the JCP-Tokyo Committee to lead

Waseda University Waseda University (Japanese: ), abbreviated as or , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the Tōkyō Professional School by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the fifth Prime Minister of Japan, prime ministe ...

's youth

student movement Student activism or campus activism is work by students to cause political, environmental, economic, or social change. In addition to education, student groups often play central roles in democratization and winning civil rights. Modern stu ...

. He worked in the Central Committee of the JCP from 1982.

Political career

Head of the Secretariat (1990–2000)

On 13 July 1990, Shii became the head of the party's secretariat. In 1993, he was elected as a member of the

for the first time for Chiba 1st district, then a multi-member electoral district with five slots, narrowly coming in last at 5th place with just 1,020 votes over sixth-place LDP candidate Kazuo Eguchi.

Chairman of the JCP Executive Committee (2000–2024)

Shii became the party's leader on 24 November 2000. In 2006, Shii became the first JCP chairman to visit

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, where he traveled to an international conference of Asian political parties. He visited the site of

Seodaemun Prison Seodaemun Prison History Hall () is a museum and former prison in Seodaemun District, Seoul, South Korea. It was constructed beginning in 1907. The prison was opened on October 21, 1908, under the name Gyeongseong Gamok. During the early part of ...

and paid tribute to the memory of Korean anti-colonial activists who were imprisoned during the period of Japanese colonialism. Shii also met the speaker of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

, the chairman of the

Uri Party The Yeollin Uri Party (), generally abbreviated to Uri Party (), was the ruling social-liberal political party in South Korea from 2003 to 2007. A liberal party, it was created to support then-President Roh Moo-hyun. Chung Sye Kyun was the last ...

, and the floor leader of the

Grand National Party The Liberty Korea Party () was a conservative political party in South Korea that was described variously as right-wing, right-wing populist, or far-right. Until February 2017, it was known as the Saenuri Party (), and before that as the Han ...

. He also became the first JCP leader to visit the United States, doing so in April 2010. In 2016, Shii proposed a "national coalition government", promoting the joint fielding of candidates with other opposition parties. That year, he amended the JCP constitution to accept the

Japan Self-Defense Forces The are the military forces of Japan. Established in 1954, the JSDF comprises the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. They are controlled by the Ministry of Defense ...

and the Imperial House for the time being. In early 2023, it was rumored that Shii was facing turmoil within his own party due to his failure to gain the party traction and his length of leadership. At a press conference on 19 January, former party foreign policy committee director Nobuyuki Matsutake called it "far from the common sense of the people" for Shii to hold onto his position for over 20 years and advocated for the reform of the party leadership election system so that the party leader would be elected directly by the party members. On 21 January, party newspaper ''

Shimbun Akahata is the daily newspaper of the Japanese Communist Party (JCP) in the form of a national newspaper. It was founded in 1928 and currently has both daily and weekly editions. ''Akahata'' has journalists based in the capitals of ten countries arou ...

'' published commentary piece titled "Clear deviation from the constitution and platform", rebutting his words and actions; Shii called the commentary "correct" at a press conference on 23 January, saying calls to introduce a public election system was a violation of the party constitution.

Chairman of the Central Committee (2024–)

At the JCP convention on 18 January 2024, Shii's resigned as the Party chairman, with

succeeding him. On the same convention, Shii was appointed as the chairman of the Central Committee, a post that has been vacant since 2006.

Political positions

Foreign relations

In 2020, under Shii's leadership, the Japanese Communist Party denounced the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

and the Chinese government for its activities in the East China Sea, in the South China Sea, and elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region. A position paper issued by the party said that China's "great-power chauvinism and hegemonism" were "an adverse current to world peace and progress." At the party's conference in

Atami is a city located in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 36,865 in 21,593 households

Shizuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,555,818 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Pref ...

, Shii said that "the Chinese leadership’s mistake is extremely serious. That action does not deserve the name of the Communist Party." The Japanese and Chinese communist parties had previously been diverging for decades. He has been sanctioned by Russia over his support for Ukraine.

Personal life

Shii plays the

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

; he has said music is "a part of his life" and seriously considered becoming a musician. When he was about to begin university, he considered majoring in

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

, and chose physics in the end.公式プロフィール
/ref> Shii says his favorite composers are

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

and

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and thereafter was regarded as a major composer. Shostak ...

. Despite being on starkly opposite ends of the ideological spectrum, Shii took part in a dialogue with former prime minister

Junichiro Koizumi Junichiro Koizumi ( ; , ''Koizumi Jun'ichirō'' ; born 8 January 1942) is a Japanese retired politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) ...

in 2020, where they discussed their mutual love for

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

Works

* *

References

External links

*
Interview with C. B. Liddell in ''Metropolis'' magazine.
Published 15 January 2009.
Kazuo Shii: Comments from the Japanese Communist Party on the upcoming election.
YouTube video (in English) of Kazuo Shii discussing the

2014 Japanese general election General elections were held in Japan on 14 December 2014. Voting took place in all List of districts of the House of Representatives of Japan, Representatives constituencies of Japan including proportional blocks to elect the List of members of t ...

. Uploaded 8 December 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Shii, Kazuo 1954 births Living people People from Yotsukaidō Japanese Communist Party politicians Politicians from Chiba Prefecture University of Tokyo alumni Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2003–2005 Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2005–2009 Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2009–2012 Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2012–2014 Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2014–2017 Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2021–2024 Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2024–