Overview
- The Japanese Communist Party said he died Tuesday of acute heart failure at age 95.
- Kazuo Shii issued a statement mourning Fuwa as a senior figure with major theoretical and political contributions.
- First elected in 1969, he served 11 consecutive terms in the Lower House through 2003 and held top party posts including chairman and central committee chief.
- He was regarded as the party’s “theoretical pillar” and led a 2004 platform revision that effectively recognized the imperial system and the Self-Defense Forces.
- After stepping down from front-line leadership, he directed the JCP’s Social Sciences Institute and remained on the standing committee until 2024.