日本共産党
[[Japan]]'s leading [[communism|communist]] party and the first political party of the county, first founded in 1922.

Historically had/has strained relationships with the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union. Was seen by the [[gakusei undou|Japanese New Left]] as part of the Old Left, alongside the Japan Socialist Party (today's Social Democratic Party, which leaned towards Beijing in that period), and continues to receive leftist criticism to this day.

The party long benefited from protest votes, as a third party choice distinct from the main opposition groups (and opposed to the third party choices on the right). Today, it is one of the largest non-governing communist parties in the world.

The party has "many mascots":https://twitter.com/CiaranDold/status/1254741875354894337 representing various aspects of their platform and the people they represent, main one of which is [[Koyou no Youko]].

h4. External links
* Wikipedia: "Japanese Communist Party":https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Communist_Party
* "Official website (in English)":https://www.jcp.or.jp/english/
japanese communist party