was a Japanese politician who served as chairman of the
Japan Socialist Party
The was a socialist and progressive political party in Japan that existed from 1945 to 1996. The party was founded as the Social Democratic Party of Japan by members of several proletarian parties that existed before World War II, including ...
, and as mayor of
Yokohama
is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...
from 1963 to 1978.
Early life and education
Asukata was born in
Yokohama
is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...
,
Kanagawa
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...
. He was born in the house of a physician who was a member of a well-established family from nearby
Atsugi
is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 223,960 and a population density of 2400 persons per km². The total area of the city is .
While the name "Atsugi" is often associated with the United ...
city. His father was Kiichi Atsukata, a lawyer who worked for both the Chairman of the
Yokohama City Council
The is the legislature of Yokohama City.
Overview
*Members: 86
*Term: 4 years
*Voting System: :ja:中選挙区制, Medium‐size constituency system (Single non-transferable vote)
*:ja:議長, President: Tomio Shimizu (LDP)
*Vice-President: M ...
as well as the Superintending Prosecutor of the
Takamatsu
270px, Takamatsu City Hall
270px, Aerial view of Takamatsu city center
270px, View from Yashima to Takashima port
is a city located in Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 414,134 in 190120 households and a popul ...
High Public Prosecutors' Office. Around the age of five, young Asukata developed
polio
Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...
, which left his left leg disabled. Around this time, he changed the
kanji
are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...
reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
of his name from Kazuo to Ichiwo (the
''wo'' character is pronounced
''o'' in modern Japanese). He attended the school that today is Kibogaoka Senior High School in
Kanagawa
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...
, and then tried taking entry examinations to get into Mito Senior High School (now
Ibaraki University
, Japan, is a national university located in Ibaraki Prefecture, with campuses in the cities of Mito, Ami and Hitachi. It was established on May 31, 1949, integrating these prewar institutions: Mito High School (Mito Kōtō-Gakkō), Ibaraki Normal ...
), but he was disqualified due to obstacles presented by his disabled left leg. Around this time, he was classmates with Tooru Terada and Takeshi Kawai (when the latter ran as an
Liberal Democratic Party candidate in the Yokohama mayoral race against Asukata in 1971, it was dubbed a "classroom confrontation").
After he dropped out of
Chuo University
, commonly referred to as or , is a private flagship research university in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1885 as Igirisu Hōritsu Gakkō (the English Law School), Chuo is one of the oldest and most prestigious institutions in the country. The univer ...
, he moved over to
Meiji University
, abbreviated as Meiji (明治) or Meidai (明大'')'', is a private research university located in Chiyoda City, the heart of Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1881 as Meiji Law School (明治法律学校, ''Meiji Hōritsu Gakkō'') by three Meiji-er ...
to pursue
film studies
Film studies is an academic discipline that deals with various theoretical, historical, and critical approaches to cinema as an art form and a medium. It is sometimes subsumed within media studies and is often compared to television studies.
...
there. He graduated from there, and afterwards he took the exams for the "higher civil service examinations," becoming a lawyer as a result. In the immediate
post-war
In Western usage, the phrase post-war era (or postwar era) usually refers to the time since the end of World War II. More broadly, a post-war period (or postwar period) is the interval immediately following the end of a war. A post-war period c ...
period, he was assigned to defend various B and C class
war criminals.
Political career
He became a
Yokohama City Assembly member in 1949, then a
Kanagawa Prefectural Assembly Member in 1951, and finally a
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
member in the
1953 general election for the
Leftist Socialist Party of Japan
The was a political party in Japan that existed between 1948 and 1955.
History
Following the defeat of the Japan Socialist Party (JSP) in 1948 at the hands of Japan's two main conservative parties, the Liberal Party and the Democrat Party, t ...
. In the Socialist Party, he belonged to ''Heiwa Dōshikai'' ("Harmonious Association of Kindred Spirits"), which at that time was the most
left-wing
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
faction of the Socialist Party, and he focused most of his energies to opposition towards
United States military bases in Japan. In addition, he was a vocal opponent of the
1960 security treaty with the United States.
In 1963, he was elected Mayor of Yokohama with the JSP's backing. He was one of the leading early leaders of the progressive local government movement, founding the National Association of Progressive Mayors.
This movement involved left-of-centre opposition parties building their strength in local assemblies, with a focus on improving quality of life. This inspired imitators in several other cities, including Tokyo governor
Ryokichi Minobe
was a Japanese politician who served as Governor of Tokyo from 1967 to 1979. He is one of the best known socialist figures in modern Japanese history.
Early life
Minobe was born in Tokyo. His father, Tatsukichi Minobe, was a noted constitutional ...
, and soon enough these progressive local governments began to spread throughout the rest of the country. However, at the time of his initial election, he made note of the fact that the Yokohama establishment was still by and large dominated by conservatives and said that being elected was like "landing alone on the top of Mt. Fuji by parachute: I occupied only the summit, while the whole of the mountain was in the hands of the enemy." His tenure as mayor was marked by efforts to realise local
direct democracy
Direct democracy or pure democracy is a form of democracy in which the Election#Electorate, electorate decides on policy initiatives without legislator, elected representatives as proxies. This differs from the majority of currently establishe ...
, which was criticised by more conservative members of the city council as "disregard for parliamentarianism." He naturally pursued policies relating to things such as
parks
A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...
,
daycare centres, and
pollution control
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...
. However, concerns such as high prices in the city proved to be an obstacle for him as, being a mayor, he had little power to control these things but was still expected to solve it. His image was also hurt by a scandal in which an aide was arrested for
right to light
Right to light is a form of easement in English law that gives a long-standing owner of a building with windows a right to maintain an adequate level of illumination. The right was traditionally known as the doctrine of "ancient lights". It is a ...
-related corruption. At the height of the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, he continued to make anti-war and anti-military base statements, lending support to the so-called 1972 "tank struggles" in Japan.
In 1977, he succeeded
Tomomi Narita in becoming the Japan Socialist Party's chairman. In the 1978 vote by the Diet to appoint the prime minister, the JSP voted for Vice Chairman Shōichi Shimodaira, due to the fact that Atsukata was a non-Diet member. Atsukata resigned from his position as Mayor of Yokohama and ran for the House of Representatives in the
1979 general election instead. However, his decision to resign was opposed by his local supporters, and so he could not rely on a strong power base to vote for him in Yokohama. As a result, he decided to run from Tokyo 1st district instead, However, there were still issues as now that he was in an area where he lacked a power base at his disposal, he was unable to really assist other JSP candidates.
Atsukata set out to make the JSP more open by introducing a system in which the party leader can be selected by all party members. He also tried to increase the appeal of the JSP by expanding party membership and setting up closer coordination with citizen interests groups.
He also reformed some party policies which he regarded as being dogmatic. In November 1979, he moderated the JSP's position on the
US-Japan Security Treaty, as he claimed on a visit to the United States that if the JSP were given power, the party would not unilaterally override the treaty. In the
1980 general election, the JSP and
Komeito
, formerly New Komeito and abbreviated NKP, is a conservative political party in Japan founded by lay members of the Buddhist Japanese new religious movement Soka Gakkai in 1964. Since 2012, it has served in government as the junior coalitio ...
entered into a coalition agreement, which resulted in the JSP moving away from the
Japanese Communist Party
The is a left-wing to far-left political party in Japan. With approximately 270,000 members belonging to 18,000 branches, it is one of the largest non-governing communist parties in the world.
The party advocates the establishment of a democr ...
. Atsukata was defeated in the
1983 House of Councillors election, and resigned both from his position as chairman as well as political life in general thereafter.
Later life and death
After retiring from politics, Atsukata spent the rest of his career working as a civilian lawyer. He died on October 11, 1990 at the age of 75 from
cerebral infarction
A cerebral infarction is the pathologic process that results in an area of necrotic tissue in the brain (cerebral infarct). It is caused by disrupted blood supply ( ischemia) and restricted oxygen supply ( hypoxia), most commonly due to thromboemb ...
.
Legacy
As chairman of the JSP from 1977 to 1983, he attempted to expand the party's membership and realign its platform to a more European-style
social democratic
Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soci ...
model, but was largely unsuccessful in boosting the party's standing;
the JSP had only a 13.2% approval rating in December 1977. The JSP also moved a bit towards the
political centre
Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to the l ...
under Asukata's leadership.
However, his tenure as mayor of Yokohama has left more lasting marks, such as the
Minato Mirai 21
, often known as simply Minato Mirai and abbreviated as MM, is the central business district of Yokohama, Japan. Initially developed in the 1980s, Minato Mirai 21 was designed as a large master-planned development and new urban center planned to co ...
urban renewal master plan.
References
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Asutaka, Ichio
Members of the House of Representatives (Japan)
Mayors of Yokohama
Japanese municipal councilors
People from Yokohama
1915 births
1990 deaths
Social Democratic Party (Japan) politicians
Politicians from Kanagawa Prefecture