Japanese Communist Party Condemns U.S. Energy Restrictions on Cuba, Calls for Revocation

The Central Committee of the Japanese Communist Party publicly condemned the U.S. presidential executive order issued January 29, 2026 that imposes additional tariffs on oil suppliers to Cuba, and called for its revocation. The committee’s denunciation follows direct engagement between JCP leadership and Cuba’s diplomatic mission in Tokyo.

On February 16, JCP Chair Shii Kazuo received Cuban Ambassador to Japan Gisela Garcia at the JCP head office; the two leaders jointly called for an end to the U.S. blockade of Cuba. The meeting centered on the January 29 measure by President Donald J. Trump, described by JCP officials as tightening restrictions on oil imports and imposing new costs on suppliers to the island.

Ambassador Garcia told Shii the executive order has produced a “cutoff of crude oil supplies,” “severe fuel shortages,” and “large-scale power outages.” She warned those outages and fuel disruptions have had “a serious impact on people’s daily lives, production activities, and society as a whole, including on the healthcare and education systems.” Garcia pressed for immediate revocation of the January 29 order and for an end to the “nonstop economic embargo on Cuba,” and she urged the United States to “engage in dialogue with Cuba on an equal footing.” The ambassador asked the JCP for support in pressing those demands.

Shii responded with a direct pledge of action: “We condemn the U.S. administration’s presidential directive and will demand its revocation.” He characterized both the longstanding economic blockade and the new presidential order as “inhumane” and said they violate principles of sovereign equality, non-interference, and self-determination under the UN Charter. Shii rejected the U.S. characterization of Cuba as “an unusual and extraordinary threat” as groundless, and he warned that the Trump administration’s alleged scheme to move the world from “rule of law” to “rule by force” “has no future.” He also stressed the importance of international cooperation in stopping the actions taken against Cuba and its people, and noted that UN human rights experts “have also called on the United States to immediately rescind the executive order as it directly violates the UN Charter.”

The Central Committee issued its public condemnation and call for revocation on February 18. The JCP’s actions follow earlier engagement between party leadership and Cuba’s embassy - JCP Vice Chair Ogata held talks with the Cuban ambassador on January 9, 2026 - underscoring ongoing Japan-Cuba exchanges as the dispute over energy restrictions unfolds.