Sen Katayama
Source: The Communist International, October 1922, No. 18, pp. 270-275 (5,920 words)
Transcription: Ted Crawford
HTML Markup: Brian Reid
Proofread: Andy Carloff, 2010
Public Domain: Marxists Internet Archive (2007). You may freely copy, distribute, display and perform this work; as well as make derivative and commercial works. Please credit “Marxists Internet Archive” as your source.
Modern Japan, dominated by a well organised imperialist gang and a greedy capitalist class, has become an object of fear to the eyes of white countries, and the Japanese are the most despised and hated people on the earth. Especially this is the case in the United States of America, Canada, Australia and other British possessions. By most of those countries the Japanese are not only despised and hated, but they are also entirely excluded from entering the country as long as they belong to the working class.
Their fear of imperialist Japan is not unreasonable as viewed from the standpoint of rival countries, equally dominated by both imperialism and capitalism. But for the proletariat of those countries to despise the Japanese, especially the Japanese workers, and to couple their contempt with extreme hatred is not by any means reasonable. No doubt present imperialist Japan must appear to them to be an immediate menace to other imperialist nations, like Great Britain and the United States of America, but that fact does not give any reason to the proletariat of those countries for despising and hating the Japanese proletariat. No, it cannot be justified from the standpoint of the class-conscious labour movement. Japan’s last census, taken in 1920, shows that there are in the two above-named countries about half a million Japanese out of seven million living outside Japan. Of those less than a quarter of a million in the United States of America and its territories, the chief of which are the Hawaiian Islands. And these Japanese sugar plantation workers were mostly imported by the very capitalists of America, before Hawaii was annexed by the American imperialists. The rest of the Japanese are scattered all over the globe. Two hundred and fifty thousand Japanese in America out of over one hundred million people are talked of as the future cause of war that is to be the greatest and deadliest, namely, the bloody racial war!
Recently the Chinese and the Koreans have joined in the world wide anti-Japanese movement. They have apparently a good reason for despising and hating the Japanese on account of the brutally oppressive policy of the Japanese imperialism. But even in this case it is not the poor Japanese proletariat that they should make it their object of despising and hatred. The Japanese proletariat is powerless under the present imperialism. It is itself the victim of imperialism and capitalism, to be pitied but not despised and hated. It is Japanese imperialism and capitalism that they, as well as we, should despise and hate. Nay, more, we all should endeavour to destroy them both by our common effort, nationally and internationally combined. Yes, we must destroy imperialism and capitalism in every country in order to establish the workers’ government in every country and then form a world-wide Federation of the Communist Republics. The proletariat of one county despising and hating that of other countries without any cause or reason whatever is nothing but suicidal act that will weaken the position of the proletariat in that country. This is what the capitalist and militarist classes want, in order to use or rather abuse the proletariat of one country against another country’s proletariat as cannon fodder in an imperialist and capitalist war. Thus the proletariat misguided by opportunistic yellow labour leaders and prejudiced against the workers of other countries, is in peace time exploited by the capitalist class for their own profit making and also used for the preparation of another war. It becomes a perpetual victim of capitalism and imperialism. The proletariat of modern capitalist and imperialistic countries, beside being trained in nationalistic and jingoistic bias, is played upon its basest feelings of racial prejudice and racial selfishness, by the ruling classes which labour for their own benefit and prepare the workers-for the next imperialist war. This is the saddest feature of the trick played and practiced upon the proletariat of the United States of America, Canada, Australia and other British colonies, by the capitalist and imperialist classes of those countries. The English speaking proletariat of these countries, influenced by a conception of racial selfishness and the superiority the white domination of the world over the rest of mankind, and perpetually fed upon the racial prejudice and racial hatred against other races and, moreover, supported by the leaders of the Second International, such as Hilquit, Berger and Co., as well as the yellowest labour leader Sam Gompers, has been since the war of 1914-1918, serving the cause of capitalism and imperialism of their own respective countries.
It should be one of the most urgent tasks the Third Communist International to break up this mistaken conception of the White domination and its inherent racial hatred and prejudice, and instead, to build up the movement of World Communism. Our chief aim and work must be the destruction of imperialism and international capitalism as the fundamental work of the Communist International, based on the Soviet System. The destruction of the Japanese imperialism will be profited by not only the Korean, the Chinese, but also by the Japanese proletariat as well. And the ruin of the British imperialism will be profited by far greater number of peoples and races than the destruction of the Japanese imperialism. As for the collapse of the American imperialism, the Mexican Negroes, the peoples of Cuba, Haiti, San Domingo the Philippines and Central America will be profited. This cannot, however, be achieved by the destruction of one imperialism by another. Such a process not only would not do away with imperialism, but would strengthen the victorious imperialism, as has been well demonstrated in the last imperialistic war. And the proletariat of all the countries, victorious or defeated, will suffer more and more and be exploited more than ever. Under the capitalist regime the destruction of one imperialist country means the strengthening of some other, and the oppression of imperialism will become stronger than ever before. The destruction of imperialism, hence, must be the work of the proletariat of all the countries, which should be aimed at the entire imperialism of all countries. That, and only that should be the ultimate aim and purpose of our Communist movement and its propaganda in every and all countries.
To promote this Communist international movement, it is necessary, first of all to analyse the exiling imperialism of each and all the countries; and its relation to the proletariat of the respective countries. The proletariat of England has been for more than a century benefited by English imperialism. At least the majority of the English proletarians have felt that they profit by it. Really the English workers feel, and not without apparent reason, that their very life depends upon the imperialism. This has been the chief reason the English workers did not accept even the socialism of the Second International, and still more the Communist principles of the Third Communist International. They know very well that the whole tenure of industry has been built upon the world wide imperialism. Thus the continuation and prosperity of British imperialism is essential to the very life and prosperity of the industry and commerce of Britain. That was and still is the very reason why the English workers supported the late world war, as they did the Transvaal war, and just as they suffer the English soldiers to butcher so long the Irish proletariat today! The English proletariat, however, sooner or later, must see and realise that British imperialism will not last for ever under the light of the Third Communist International. It will and it must see, if it has not already done so, that the proletariat of India has already seen the light of the Communist dawn. Every day India has been slipping out of the grip of British imperialism and coming under the influence of Communist or Bolshevik Russia. The proletariat of England must realise the fact that it can not and ought not to live on the imperialist exploitation of India or any other British colonies! The doom of the British imperialism has been sealed: it has had to bow to the power and influence of the Third Communist International, when after its complete failure and utter powerlessness in little Ireland, it has had to resort to the utmost brutality and barbarity and when it signed the Russo-British Commercial Treaty on the 16th of March 1921. We know that the British imperialism is also a historical product in the course of the world’s progress. Indeed, the British imperialism is more concretely a product of modern capitalism, sprung up from historical facts. With the inevitable doom of modern capitalism, the British imperialism must go down to destruction, as all the other empires and imperialisms will meet the same fate!
American imperialism differs somewhat from the British imperialism, in respect to the economic conditions of the country. The former has unbounded natural resources within the territories of its own country, while the latter, with the exception of coal and iron, has almost none. The latter must look for all the necessities of life either among its own colonies or some other people’s territory. To be supplied by its own colonies has been, therefore, to the British imperialism a matter of life or death, while to the American imperialism it is a question of secondary importance. American imperialism wants markets for its products above everything else, while British imperialism wants both markets and colonies. We can see that recently American imperialism became more and more thirsty after colonies too, yet the American workers do not accord with the desires of the former, as the British proletariat tacitly does. Today all the imperialist countries want to have their own exclusive market, and America’s imperialism is more for the market than for the colonies. Only the difference between the two imperialisms is this: The English is open and haughty and above all aggressive, while the American is out to satisfy its appetite for territories under the cover or guise of that famous Monroe Doctrine—which was very flexible in its interpretation, by the upholder and ever more haughtily interpreted by successive American statesmen! They have already “scented”, the economic interests of entire Central America, of Mexico and some weaker Latin American countries. The coming fight for the imperialist countries’ markets will be centered in China and on the Pacific Ocean.
America’s proletariat in general is far behind that of European countries as a factor of the coming social revolution; especially so long as it is led by yellow leaders, like Sam Gompers and Co. In fact American proletarians are opportunistic, as are most of their leaders. It is the least class conscious proletariat in the world in the revolutionary meaning of the word. This is true not only of the trades union movement, but also of the political movement, including the socialist and even the Communist movements. American opportunism is largely due to its historical condition and training. Every American boy is taught in school that he is entitled to be a President and his sister a Mrs. President of the United States! Every teacher tells his pupils proudly that that President had been a poor tailor, this President had grown up in a log cabin or he himself had been a cow boy or again a poor janitor in a college! But feeding boys’ and girls’ minds with the most glittering opportunism in the political sphere is not the only educational factor: there are also many inviting living examples in the industrial, and commercial spheres that mislead ambitious youths to opportunism. The extraordinary rapid growth and development of American capitalism has given birth to a countless number of millionaires and multimillionaires, sprung up like mushrooms after a rain: many among them have risen from a common labourer or a street sweeper or a newsboy. It is pointed out repeatedly with all possible emphasis by bourgeois teachers in and out of schools that every one in America can follow these examples and could succeed if he is earnest and intelligent! These false teachings poison the youths of America, who become fatal opportunists. Every one in America is after fame and money. The American is always proud of his common sense. American common sense means his ability to change his occupation from one to another without the least difficulty. This common sense means that an American can change his standpoint or his position to suit his convenience. It is common knowledge in the Far East, especially in China, that the American is mostly a man of change! Today he is a good missionary preaching the Gospel; to-morrow a manager in some mercantile house selling American goods; next day—an army officer, or a journalist, or a spy or what not! Americans are proud of their cleverness and versatility. I think really they are, without the least doubt! This is the very reason why our Communist movement in America has been so slow in spite of so many Russian comrades working for the cause and in spite of so many books on Bolshevism and its activities having been published and spread (especially it has been the fact since the movement became illegal.) The membership fell down, after the big raid of January 1920, to an insignificant quantity. What was left in the Party were mostly foreigners, who have been trained in the underground party work in their own country. The American proletarians are mostly opportunistic in their temperament and thought: they don’t care a cent for the theory of Communism, they are satisfied with high wages and with the rule of Sam Gompers and Co! Then out of ultra-hatred and extreme prejudice against the Asiatics, especially against the “damned Japs”, the American proletarians tacitly consent to the enormous expansion of the armaments, and support the bourgeois government; moreover, they approve of the most inimical attitude of Samuel Gompers, the President of the American Federation of Labour, against the Soviet Republic of Russia, the only Workers’ Government in the world. Thus the American proletariat has been led by the most reactionary labour leaders, like Gompers and Co., to whom American parliamentarism, with its complicated rules and bye-laws gave a supreme chance to keep down radical movements among the rank and file in the A.F. of L. In fact the radical movement in America has been mostly carried on by foreigners, but, again, those foreigners, with few exceptions, have come to America for their own ends, so that they were very good comrades so long as they were free to pursue after the Almighty Dollar, and especially until the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia: since then the best comrades of the Second International, such as Hillquit, Boudin, Debbs and Ab. Cahn, as well as many others, have left the revolutionary camp and gone over to the reactionary side or else have retired from public life. Hark, how the wise and smart American Professor Nearing and the still more clever and logical Hillquit reason and teach the American proletariat! The great Russian Soviet Republic and the Third International or the Bolshevik Party are different things entirely: we support the Russian Government, but we oppose the Bolsheviks or the Third International. If the Bolsheviks invade America, says wise Hillquit, he will himself shoulder a gun and go out to fight against them. Thus imperialism—in America—has a very bright future as long as Hillquit and his gang lead the Socialist Party! In view of all these facts, the proletariat of the American imperialistic Republic, led by Gompers and supported by Hillquit and his followers, will take some years to be converted into a class conscious revolutionary army. Thus there is a danger of another world war, financed and maneuvered by the most powerful American capitalistic imperialism!
The imperialism and capitalism of Japan is a new thing. Japan has learned both from the West long after the revolution of 1868. The ancient history of Japan tells that many, many centuries ago an Empress of Japan invaded Korea and made the country a tributary, but this can hardly be called an act of imperialism in the sense of the word now used. Little over three centuries ago Toyotomi, after subjugating entire Japan, in search of a still greater fame, invaded Korea and attempted to invade China; but in the latter Toyotomi failed miserably. However, this too cannot be called Japan’s imperialism, because it was merely undertaken by Toyotomi’s personal ambition.
Japan of the past three centuries ending with the revolution of 1868 was certainly not a country of imperialism or capitalism. After Toyotomi, for about three centuries, Japan shuts all doors, she does not let any foreigner come in nor any of her own subjects get out of the country. She was compelled to open the doors by American cannons some sixty years ago. Since then only did she really start to learn the Western manner of life, including, of course, imperialism and capitalism as well.
Japan’s imperialism is, as I said, of very recent date. It began its career at the conclusion of the Chino-Japanese war of 1894-95. Until that time Japan was suffering under the yoke of foreign countries. The yoke of seventeen nations put on the neck of Japan was invented by an American, the American Minister to Japan—Mr. Townsend Harris—the name of the yoke is “the Extra-Territoriality”. Under this yoke Japan had to maintain on her own territory, namely, at her five principal treaty ports, seventeen independent nations with seventeen different codes of laws, customs and law courts respectively. Any citizen of those 17 nations or the treaty powers may beat, kill or rob the Japanese. He was not tried by the Japanese court according to the Japanese laws. No, Japan could not try the murderer or punish him, of course, because he was a citizen of one of those 17 nations. He was formally tried by his own consul, and, as a matter of fact, he was usually dismissed free. Not only that, but Japan of those days had no freedom in regard to her foreign trade. She could not levy customs duties on imported goods more than five percents ad valorem. Thus the “Vox populi” of Japan up to the war with China was the revision of that obnoxious treaty, the raising of the foreign yoke. There was, as far as I know, neither any longing nor hope for imperialism in Japan. Now why I gave the above-facts rather more minutely, than I should, is because I like to remind my comrades that exactly the same status of things is today existent in China. None but the Russian Soviet Republic’s citizen can be tried by the native law-courts, whatever he might do in the vast Chinese territory. This is one of the results of imperialism in China, and the Chinese proletariat should be interested in the destruction of imperialism not only of Japan but also that of America and England as well.
As a result of the war victory Japan got the treaty revision, first with Great Britain, then with other nations. She took the Liaoyang Penisula from China as war prize, but was compelled to return it by the combined pressure of the Kaiser and the Tzar. China before the war with Japan was a sleeping giant. Her navy was built under a German General Von Hannecken, and was then the mightiest navy in the Far East, while Japan’s navy was a child’s toy. China’s population was ten times as large as that of Japan, while her territory—twenty times. An English farmer told me, while I was travelling through Yorkshire in the summer of 1894, that Japan must have gone crazy to fight against China!
In spite of the prediction of the English farmer, Japan won the battle, and she contracted for the first time in her history a desire for Japanese imperialism and capitalism. And now she got both together with the despising and hatred of the entire world for the Japanese. The world-wide cry of the anti-Japanese crowd is the reward of Japan’s imperialism. Fortunately the Japanese proletariat has of late found out the curse of imperialism and is trying to destroy it.
The first war waged by Japan’s imperialism was tried against the Tzar’s Russia in 1904-5. As to the progress and result of it I need not say much, because you know it better. I well remember that seven prominent Professors of the Tokyo Imperial University were punished by the authorities, because they published their concerted opinion on their imperialistic idea, namely, that Japan should occupy the territory to the East of Lake Baikal. Perhaps that was the first utterance of the Japanese imperialists of that rather extreme type. At that time people in general paid them very little attention, beside the press, and only considered them as fanatical jingoes.
That war gave the Japanese comrades the first supreme chance to enter upon the anti-war propaganda all through the war, and get in touch with the Russian comrades. I have quoted the greetings of the Japanese comrades to the Russian comrades in my “Japanese Labourer”. I will quote here a part of it: “Dear Comrades! Your Government and ours have plunged into war in order to satisfy their imperialistic desires, but to us there is no barrier of race, territory or nationality. We are comrades, brothers and sisters, and have no reason to fight each other. Our militarism and our so-called patriotism are your enemy—not the Japanese people. We feel that your people feel the same toward us. Indeed, it is patriotism and militarism that are our common enemies; nay, all the socialists in the world also look upon them as common enemies. We socialists must fight bravely against them. The best and most important opportunity for us is now. We believe that you will not let this opportunity pass”.
To the above greetings the Russian comrades responded the most eloquently in the “Iskra”, comparing the document with the protest against the annexation of Alsace and Lorraine by Liebknecht and Bebel. They wrote as follows: Amidst the jingoistic chorus of both countries their voices sound as a herald from that better world, which, though it exists to-day only in the minds of the class conscious proletariat, will become a reality tomorrow! We do not know when that “to-morrow”, will come. But we, social democrats all the world over, are all working to bring it nearer and nearer. To-day we are digging a grave for the miserable—the present—social order. We are organising our forces; the forces which will finally bury it.
The Russo-Japanese war of 1904-5 brought upon the proletariat of victorious Japan nothing but—as was predicted in the said greeting to the Russian comrades—the curse of “general misery, the burden of heavy taxes, degradation of morality and supremacy of militarism”. Our proletariat has learned the bitterest experiences from the victorious war. Life became more difficult than before the war. The Japanese government became more oppressive, and the labour movement was crushed almost entirely. And above all militarism became still more oppressive and weighed more heavily and unbearably on the proletariat. Such was the actual situation when the war of 1914-1918 broke out.
No wonder that the Japanese people, to say nothing of the proletariat, took no interest in the war of 1914-18. Only they were more interested in the Russian Revolution that overthrew the Tzar, and then capitalism and, together with it, militarism. With the miserable fall of the Kaiser and his invincible army and the ruin of German culture, which all had been the very idols of the Japanese imperialists, the Japanese people lost utterly their faith in the army or militarism. The faith in and the respect for the army that were created by the strenuous efforts of militarists for several decades crumbled down like a house of cards. With this utter loss of faith in imperialism and militarism, as an inevitable consequence, the faith in the Divine Mikardo is doomed. This change, brought about by the war and its results in Russia and in Germany, must be taken into consideration in order to correctly analyse the Japanese imperialism. The above mentioned state of things does not mean any quantitative weakening of militarism in Japan. Far from it! The European, war made Japan a lending country instead of a borrowing one, as she was before the war. The war industry of Japan infinitely strengthened militarism in Japan materially and financially, consequently the expansion of armament has been the order of the day. The imperialist gang of Japan are well satisfied with the results of the last war, at least, they are financially; because they have for the first time in the history of Japan been able to increase the army and navy as they had hoped for a century!
But that is only the appearance of the real situation; the imperialists of Japan are terror-stricken by the changed attitude of the people since the war. Not only has the people become markedly averse to militarism, but the military Academy and Naval School and Colleges are in difficulty in recruiting new students: they never had difficulty in getting students before, on the contrary, they had to raise the standard of the entrance examinations in order to ward off the students. This is the first sign of the unpopularity of military life among the bourgeois youth. The barrack life of the proletarian youths was never popular among them. This unpopularity of military education among the youths of well-to-do classes was not the only fact that made the imperialists of Japan worry much about their future at the bottom of their heart, (because the young and promising military officers one after another began to quit the profession). But it caused the imperialists of the Divine Mikado an unspeakable alarm because, while they may be able to get the necessary cannon fodder by compulsory conscription, they cannot get the officers so easily by the same means: The officers came from the upper layer of society, so they never thought of getting the officers by any compulsion! However, unable to check young officers leaving the army and navy, the military authorities hastily made a rule to the effect that any officer who leaves his military profession without plausible reason loses all the military ranks and honours together with his pension. With such a rigid and rather arbitrary rule they hardly checked young officers from retiring both from the army and navy. It shows how the military life has become unpopular among the youths of the country. Militarism and, consequently, imperialism have lost all their former fervent adherents among the Japanese people in general. This is true at least psychologically.
The chief reason for the expansion of the armaments in Japan is apparently of external cause; but if you carefully study the international situation, Japan’s military and naval equipment is insignificant as compared numerically with either English or American, and yet it has become a terror to the capitalist world. Why? Because the Western world can not ignore the military and naval power and strength of Japan. Japan is the strongest power in the Far East at the present moment. Given a free hand, Japan’s military and naval equipment can crush all the liberal and radical movements in the Far East without the least difficulty. This fact alone is a great menace to the cause of our movement. If we consider still further that this fact is coupled with the most greedy ambition of the Japanese imperialist class that controls the destiny of seventy million people, who can easily be made cannon fodder in time of war and in peace be exploited for war preparations, we must realise that the Japanese imperialism is the greatest menace the Communist movement in the Far East.
But will the destruction of Japanese imperialism by some other imperialism, say, American or English, make our Communist movement any easier? No, it means the domination of the Far East, either by American or by English imperialism instead of the Japanese. It may satisfy Gompers and the American Federation and those who believe in the Gospel of the While Domination of the world, but the proletariat of all the countries concerned with this destruction will not be benefitted. We must destroy the imperialism of Japan as well as that of others with our own ways and with our own forces, namely, the proletarian revolutionary forces of the entire world. This point I want especially to emphasise, and that is—that in order to destroy the imperialism of Japan, it is absolutely necessary to make the Japanese proletariat the chief factor, or, more concretely the main force, and, of course, supported by the world revolutionary Red Army. We cannot destroy the British imperialism by ignoring, hating and despising the British proletariat, but only by supporting and helping it! It is the same with the destruction of imperialism of any other country: The chief part in the destruction of the imperialism of any particular country should necessarily be incumbent on that country’s proletariat which must be class consciously and revolutionarily trained, and, moreover, supported by the proletariat of all the other countries.
If my statement is correct, and I firmly believe it is correct, then the Third Congress of the Communist International should take up this question, particularly, of the work of revolutionising immediately the proletariat of Japan, supported most heartily by Chinese and Korean comrades and their respective proletariat. By a little aggressive international support given to the proletariat of Japan, the imperialism of Japan may easily be tamed, while it will immensely strengthen the position of the Japanese proletariat. Here in support of my argument and of my urgent appeal to the comrades assembled at the Third Congress of the Communist International I shall point out the fact that the Japanese proletariat is rapidly awakening and isbecoming class conscious. If began to wake up at the time of the great rice riots of August 1918. Then there were hardly any labour organisations to speak of, except the yellow Yu Ai-Kai and the Printers’ Union. But to-day there are from three to four hundred thousand organised workers, many of them class consciously. Until recently the Yu-Ai-Kai was considered to be yellow labour organisation, but since the beginning of the present year the left wing that favours the Third International controls the entire organisation which is rapidly turning Red. In spite of the prohibitive laws against the labour movement and against labour unions, the Japanese workers are steadily gaining their ground and organising themselves as above stated. Our labour organisations are mostly organised on the industrial lines. Strikes are becoming more and more frequent and revolutionary. Their chief aim is the very destruction of capitalism, as it was put in a resolution passed at an unemployed mass meeting, called by the Federation of the labour unions of Osaka and its surroundings last autumn.
On the 10th of December, 1920, after nearly four months of propaganda in favour of forming a Socialist League, promoted by thirty well known comrades, the formal organisation of the League was to take its place at Tokyo. Knowing, however, the intention of the police authorities, the promoters of the League had the tact and wisdom to change the preliminary meeting held on December 9th into the regular meeting and adopted the constitution and bye-laws of the Socialist League. Thus they skilfully evaded the Mikado’s police and the S.L. was duly organised exactly fourteen years after its suppression in the spring of 1907. The S.L. was formed with a membership of over one thousand. It was run by a few Communist comrades. The League was intended to be quite a moderate one in tone and in its activity, so that it may exist legally, as a general propaganda organ. But it may be of interest to you to translate the Manifesto of the S.L. It is a short and concrete statement in well worded sentences, meant to evade the police censorship, which is always severe and often cruel.
We aim at destroying the present capitalist system to its very foundation.
We intend to destroy the machinery of bourgeois civilisation; such as various institutions, organisations, traditions, science and art etc—which all are accessories to the capitalist system.
In order to create a true standard of life appropriate to a man, we intend to realise a society that has neither rich nor poor, without classes, a society whose members can all secure their food, clothes and dwelling by their own labour.
We aim at Internationality and—as a highest ideal of human being—at the realisation of a free, equal, peaceful, righteous and fraternal Community.
We adopt every effective means of fighting against the capitalist system and its accessory organisations.
Believing that all the important and real power in this class struggle lies with the workers themselves, we shall strive for their awakening, organisation, and discipline.
Thus, uniting the proletariat of Japan and dependencies we shall advance boldly and courageously toward the new society, new organisation and new civilisation of the Proletariat!
The Socialist League of Japan.
December 10th, 1920
The above manifesto is worded very moderately, under the circumstances, in order to permit the League to carry on its propaganda openly. The Socialist League is, however, not legal, as the promoters wished to make it, but it is an open organisation. It holds its public meetings openly and advertises them in spite of all. It is reported as growing steadily in membership and in influence. The last I heard of it its membership was little over 3000. Through this open forum a compact and well disciplined underground party has been in the process of formation. We, the Communists in America, are in direct touch with them. [1]
The destruction of imperialism in any country must be the direct work of the proletariat of that particular country, led by the Communist Party and supported by the Communist International. Otherwise it would be almost impossible for a country like Japan, which is under a powerful, although a decaying, imperialism, supported by capitalism nationally and internationally.
With the crash of the Japanese imperialism and its capitalism the social revolution in the Far East will be an accomplished fact. As soon as the Far East is ours, the British imperialism is bound to go to pieces. With the British imperialism dead and buried, the American imperialism will not be able to last long!
Long live the Russian Workers Soviet Republic!
Long live the Third Communist International!
Long live the coming World Social Revolution!
Mexico-City, Mexico, May 5 1921.
1. Early in the Spring of the current year comrade M.A., of the Japanese Communist Group, went home with the special purpose of organising a Communist Party in conjunction with the comrades at home, who have been endeavouring to organise one. The said comrade M.A wrote us middle of last April, recording the organisation of the Communist Party of Japan, and requesting us to inform the Third International. In his letter were enclosed all the necessary documents and also such as authorised Comrade Uinzo Taguchi, who went to the Third Congress of the Communist International, to represent the C.P. of Japan at the Congress. Thus, the Japanese proletariat will in future be led by the Communist Party of Japan as a section of the Third Communist International.
Mexico City, July 1, 1921.