[4][5] In general, while the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has a strong conservative tendency, the Japanese Communist Party (JCP) has shown a strong progressive tendency[3] in the Japanese political spectrum.
[6][7] The terms "kakushin" and "left-wing" (左派) have been criticized for being misused by mainstream Japanese media and Japanese conservatives as red-baiting terms to attack South Korean liberals.
For example, by South Korean political standards, the DPK does not classify the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) as a "jinbojeongdang" (Korean: 진보정당; Hanja: 進步政黨) because it is generally considered a socially conservative rather than the U.S. Democratic Party, but it is common for the U.S. Democratic Party to classify it as a "jinbojeongdang."
According to Moon Chung-in, Japanese conservatives pointed out that referring to South Korean liberals as "kakushin" is red-baiting, equating them with the Japan Socialist Party and the Japanese Communist Party.
Moon Chung-in also said that Moon Jae-in government and DPK support "Gaehyeok" (改革) in the South Korean political context, but not "kakushin" (革新) in the Japanese political context.