Tokyo, Dec. 31 -- Tetsuzo Fuwa, a former chairman of the Japanese Communist Party (JCP) regarded as its "theoretical pillar", has died at the age of 95, party sources said, according to Kyodo News.

Party officials said Fuwa passed away on Tuesday. Born Kenjiro Ueda, he joined the JCP in 1947 while still a high school student and later emerged as one of the party's most influential thinkers.

After stepping down as chairman in January 2006, Fuwa continued to play a key role within the party as director of its think tank, the Social Sciences Institute, before resigning from his post as the party's top executive due to old age.

A Tokyo native, Fuwa graduated from the Faculty of Science at the University of Tokyo and began his professional ...