When looking back the world situation in 2018, we can find a fact that history seems to enter a new stage every 50 years. Social gaps and poverty prevail today throughout the world, which has changed economies as well as politics completely. Class conflicts have begun to show a totally different facade from that of previous times.

A FORECAST OF A NEW STAGE IN WORLD HISTORY

The recent TV news on Paris where streets were smoked with tear gas has reminded us of the rebellion of workers and students in the late 1960s when economic growth had disappeared. The world’s economy ushered in a long declining phase afterwards. Since 1980s the capitalist world has managed to survive, employing a series of neo-liberal prescriptions on account of ‘low growth’, creating economic bubbles in the US and Japan and integrating European countries into the EU in the name of national cooperation. Neo-liberal economists triumphantly proclaimed of the end of history, witnessing a collapse of the Soviet-East European bloc.

The capitalist world, however, has bogged down again, facing the Lehman Shock, which was regarded depression as serious as to occur once in a hundred years. People have been exposed to austerity measures requested by the financial sector for their own survival. People now begin to revolt once again.

New rivalry between the right and the left

In the United States young people are attracted by democratic socialism today. In Europe new, leftist forces, having in common ‘a code against austerity’, have grown dynamic. Meanwhile, chauvinism and populism have rapidly spread: in the US the Trump administration is audacious and in Europe ultra-rightist forces emerge in many countries. History-long political parties representing the capitalist class as well as social-democratic parties have declined, with an exception of the Labor Party of the UK which has taken a leftist direction. Politics of every country has undergone sweeping changes: the Merkel government in Germany and the Macron government in France have been driven to a deadlock. The EU will be rocked amid messes coming from the Brexit.

Who will unite indignation of people against neo-liberal policies – the leftist forces rejecting austerity politics or the rightist populists?

In Japan the Abe government enjoys long reign of the country, which is exceptional, judging from the rest of the world. The fact is, solely, however, reflection of weakness of leftist forces; acute contradictions are not expressed in the incompatible framework of rightists and leftists, but are afloat in the wholly rightist social atmosphere.

Conflict between US and China

A major factor that whirls the world is collision of US with China. Behind the trade row there found are not only regional hegemony but also industrial security and IT-related military technologies, which means total confrontation in all the fields. President Trump engages in ‘deals’, but the US national intention lies far beyond his realm. The Sino-US dispute brings in turn US pressure on Japan; further opening of the Japanese market, reduction of trade surplus and sales campaign of US weaponry.

In the Korean Peninsula détente will never withdraw as long as the Moon Jae-in government stands on. For President Trump, too, it is more profitable to win in the historic reconciliation with Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). The tense relationship between the US and China may have worked on a postponed reunion of the second summit meeting of US-DPRK scheduled in 2018, but people’s determination for peace in the Korean Peninsula remains the same.

Opposition parties retard in Japan

The Abe government reflects a resolute will of the country’s ruling class to cope with severe changes occurring in the international arena. It has clung to construction works of a new military base at Henoko, Okinawa Prefecture, rejecting appeals of Governor Tamaki Denny. The government intervened in the legislature impudently as is seen in the revision process of the Immigration Act; it meddled in rules on the parliamentary procedures. It is insistent in activating the Constitution Council, determined to be ready for military solutions and despotic settlements of complications in the world. That is proven by the recent moves to procure a big amount of US arsenal and to rebuild Aegis destroyers to be aircraft carriers. Furthermore, the Abe government stirs up chauvinism and enmity among people toward Republic of Korea, using the recent top court’s decision on the wartime Korean laborers recruited by Japanese companies. It fears of peaceful rapprochement of ROK and DPRK.

Are the Japanese opposition forces ready to drive back the Abe politics? Aren’t they left behind from the changing world?

We need a coalition of all opposition political forces to fight in common for a challenging banner, learning from experiences in Okinawa where the all-Okinawan alliance organizes people’s struggles soundly and resiliently.

December 25, 2018