The (a more accurate translation of the Japanese name would be "Social People's Party", but this naming is common in English texts) was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

between 1926 and 1932. Amongst the three main proletarian parties in Japan at the time, the Social Democratic Party occupied a rightist position.

History

The party was founded on December 5, 1926, by the Japan Federation of Labour (''Sōdōmei''), other trade unions and the Independent Labour Association, an organization of moderate leftist intellectuals.

Abe Isoo was a Japanese Christian socialist, parliamentarian and pacifist. He largely contributed to development of baseball in Japan, and was called "Father of Japanese baseball." He created a baseball club of Waseda University. Early life and educ ...

was elected chairman of the party. Suzuki Bunji,

Nishio Suehiro is a city located in Aichi Prefecture, in the Chūbu region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 169,984 in 65,553 households, with a population density of 1,054 persons per km². The total area of the city was . It is a region ...

, Akamatsu Katsumaro, Shimanaka Yuzō and Kagawa Toyohiko were

Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...

members of the party. The elements which formed the new party had belonged to the

Labour-Farmer Party The was a political party in the Empire of Japan. It represented the left-wing sector of the legal proletarian movement at the time.Mackie, Vera C. Creating Socialist Women in Japan: Gender, Labour and Activism, 1900–1937'. Cambridge: Cambr ...

, which opposed the inclusion of leftists in the latter party. ''Sodomei'' and other trade union had pulled out of the Labour-Farmer Party on October 24, 1926.Beckmann, George M., and Genji Okubo.
The Japanese Communist Party 1922–1945
'. Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press, 1969. pp. 101–102Wakukawa, Seiyei.
Japanese Tenant Movements
', in ''Far Eastern Survey'', Vol. 15, No. 3 (Feb. 13, 1946), pp. 40–44 However, only four days after its foundation the new party suffered its first split, as leftwing socialists broke away and formed the

Japan Labour-Farmer Party The was a socialist political party in Japan between December 1926 and December 1928. During its existence, it occupied a centrist position in the divided socialist movement. Foundation The Japan Labour-Farmer Party was one of several prole ...

. In March 1927 the

General Federation of Japanese Peasant Unions The was a farmers' organization in Japan. The organization was formed on March 7, 1927. It was an initiative of the Social Democratic Party to gain ground amongst the peasantry.Beckmann, George M., and Genji Okubo. The Japanese Communist Party 192 ...

was formed as the agrarian wing of the party. ( ja, Nihon Nomin Kumiai Sodomei, script=Latn) was a farmers' organization in

.Beckmann, George M., and Genji Okubo.
The Japanese Communist Party 1922–1945
'. Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press, 1969. p. 103 A women's organization linked to the party, the Social Women's League, was founded in November 1927. It changed its name to Social Democratic Women's League in July 1928. Regarding the Chinese question, the party opposed the policies of the Japanese government, demanding a recognition of the

Nanking Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

government and encouragement of the Three Principles of

Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-sen (; also known by several other names; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925)Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . was a Chinese politician who serve ...

. In May 1927 the Social Democratic Party sent Miyazaki Ryusuke and Matsuoka Komakichi to

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

, where they met with

Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...

. A solidarity agreement between the Social Democratic Party and the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...

was signed. Miyazaki Ryusuke left the party in 1929, forming the National Democratic Party. The party won two seats in the 1930 national election. The party merged with the National Labour-Farmer Masses Party in July 1932, forming the Social Masses Party.Mackie, Vera C.
Creating Socialist Women in Japan: Gender, Labour and Activism, 1900–1937
'. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. p. 132

History

Election results

References

Further reading