May 11&13, 2025

Inviting Japanese Communist Party Central Committee Chair Shii Kazuo as a lecturer, the Democratic Youth League of Japan (DYLJ) on May 10 held an online seminar for students under the theme, “Marx’s ‘Das Kapital (or Capital)’ and modern-day Japan” at the JCP head office in Tokyo.

The seminar was live-streamed on YouTube and attracted 3,248 live viewers.

Shii explained the key points of “Capital” in the form of answering eight questions:

- What does “Das Kapital” talk about?;
- Is capitalist exploitation taking place in Japan?;
- What is the meaning of a fight for shorter working hours?;
- What benefits can workers get from the development of productive forces?;
- What are the mechanisms and structures underlying the widening of poverty and social inequalities?;
- How does social change happen?;
- What will happen to freedom under socialism and communism?; and
- What can students learn from “Capital” and how can it be applied to their everyday lives?

After the virtual seminar, Shii at a press conference stressed the significance of reading “Das Kapital”, by saying, “Where there is society, there is law. There is a proper way to change our society. Social change does not occur on its own. Young people can bring about change in society only if they fight for it by having a thorough grasp of the complex nature of Japan’s social structure.”