The is a
political party in Japan
In Japan, any organization that supports a candidate needs to register itself as a political party. Each of these parties have some local or national influence. This article lists political parties in Japan with representation in the National ...
that was established in 1996. Since its reformation and name change in 1996, it has advocated
pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...
and defined itself as a
social-democratic party.
It was previously known as the .
The party was refounded in January 1996 by the majority of legislators of the former Japan Socialist Party, which was largest opposition party in the
1955 System; however, most of the legislators joined the
Democratic Party of Japan
The was a centristThe Democratic Party of Japan was widely described as centrist:
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* to centre-left liberal or social-liberal political party in Japan from 1998 to 2016.
The party's origins lie in the previous Democratic ...
after that. Five leftist legislators who did not join the SDP formed the
New Socialist Party, which lost all its seats in the following elections. The SDP enjoyed a short period of government participation from 1993 to 1994 as part of the
Hosokawa Cabinet and later formed a coalition government with the
Liberal Democratic Party under 81st
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Tomiichi Murayama of the JSP from 1994 to January 1996. The SDP was part of ruling coalitions between January and November 1996 (
First Hashimoto Cabinet) and from 2009 to 2010 (
Hatoyama Cabinet).
In the
2019 Japanese House of Councillors election, the party won four representatives in the
National Diet, two in the lower house and two in the upper house. In November 2020, the party entered into a merger agreement with the
Constitutional Democratic Party
The Constitutional Democratic Party (russian: Конституцио́нно-демократи́ческая па́ртия, translit=Konstitutsionno-demokraticheskaya partiya, K-D), also called Constitutional Democrats and formally the Party of P ...
. The party president Mizuho Fukushima held her seat, and the party cleared the minimum two percent voter share to maintain its legal political party status, in the
2022 House of Councillors elections.
History
Before 2000
In 1995, the former Japan Socialist Party (JSP) was in a deep crisis, as it faced criticisms on entering a coalition with its longtime rival LDP, and core policy changes. Aiming at saving the party, the leadership of JSP decided to dissolve the party and to establish a new social democratic party. In January 1996, such a new party, the Social Democratic Party, was established along with the dissolution of JSP. ''
De jure
In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legally ...
'', JSP changed its name to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) as an interim party for forming a new party, and a movement for transforming the SDP into a new social-democratic and liberal party was unsuccessful. Under Murayama's successor
Ryūtarō Hashimoto (LDP), the SDP remained part of the ruling coalition. Long before the disappointing result in the
1996 Japanese general election, the party lost the majority of its members of the House of Representatives, mainly to predecessors of the
Democratic Party of Japan
The was a centristThe Democratic Party of Japan was widely described as centrist:
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* to centre-left liberal or social-liberal political party in Japan from 1998 to 2016.
The party's origins lie in the previous Democratic ...
(DPJ) that was formed in 1996, but also some to the NFP and other opposition parties. After its electoral defeat in the 1996 general election when it lost another 15 of its remaining 30 seats in the lower house, the SDP left the ruling coalition which it had entered as the second largest force in Japanese politics as a minor party.
2000s–2010s
The SDP won six seats in the
2003 Japanese general election, compared with 18 seats in the previous
2000 Japanese general election. Its motives against the Self-Defense Forces have reverted into abolishing it in the long term, returning into its opposition against the force it had applied in the 1950s. Doi had been the leader since 1996, but she resigned in 2003, taking responsibility for the election losses.
Mizuho Fukushima was elected as the new party leader in November 2003. In the
2004 Japanese House of Councillors election
House of Councillors elections were held in Japan on 11 July 2004. The House of Councillors consists of 242 members who serve six-year terms. Approximately half the members are elected every three years. At these elections 121 members were electe ...
, the SDP won only two seats, having five seats in the
House of Councillors
The is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers. If the two houses disagree on matters of the budget, treaties, or ...
and six seats in the
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 ...
. In 2006, the party unexpectedly gained the governorship of the
Shiga Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Shiga Prefecture has a population of 1,412,916 (1 October 2015) and has a geographic area of . Shiga Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the north, Gifu Prefecture to the north ...
. In the
2009 Japanese general election
General elections were held in Japan on August 30, 2009 to elect the 480 members of the House of Representatives. The opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) defeated the ruling coalition ( Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and New Komeito Party) ...
, the DPJ made large gains and the SDP maintained its base of 7 seats in the, becoming a junior partner in a new government coalition; however, disagreements over the issue of the
Futenma base led to the sacking of Fukushima from the cabinet on 28 May and the SDP subsequently voted to leave the ruling coalition.
As of October 2010, the SDP had six members in the House of Representatives and four members in the House of Councillors. Following the
2012 Japanese general election, the party retained only six seats in the whole of the Diet, two in the House of Representatives and four in the House of Councillors. The count lowered to five seats in 2013. In 2013, the party's headquarters in Nagatacho, where the party's predecessor the JSP had moved in 1964, were demolished. The headquarters moved to a smaller office in Nagatacho.
During the nomination period of the
2016 Japanese House of Councillors election
House of Councillors elections were held in Japan on Sunday 10 July 2016 to elect 121 of the 242 members of the House of Councillors, the upper house of the National Diet, for a term of six years. As a result of the election, the Liberal Democrat ...
, the party signed an agreement with the
Democratic,
Communist and
People's Life parties to field a jointly-endorsed candidate in each of the 32 districts in which only one seat is contested, thereby uniting in an attempt to take control of the House from the LDP/
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 coalit ...
coalition. The party had two Councillors up for re-election and fielded a total of 11 candidates in the election, 4 in single and multi-member districts and 7 in the 48-seat national proportional representation block.
In the
2017 Japanese general election, the party managed to hold to its two seats it had prior to the election.
Tadatomo Yoshida declined to run for re-election when his term expired in January 2018.
Seiji Mataichi was elected unopposed in the
ensuing leadership election and took office on 25 February 2018.
On 14 November 2020, the party voted to agree to a merger arrangement with the
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan
The (CDP or CDPJ) is a social-liberal political party in Japan.
It was founded in October 2017 as a split from the Democratic Party ahead of the 2017 general election. In late 2020, the party was re-founded following a merger with majori ...
(CDP), allowing members to leave the SDP and join the latter party. The majority of the party supported the agreement and joined the CDP; however, party leader Fukushima herself was opposed to the merger agreement and remains a member of the Social Democratic Party.
Policies
Party policies include:
* Defend
Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan
is a clause in the national Constitution of Japan outlawing war as a means to settle international disputes involving the state. The Constitution came into effect on 3 May 1947, following World War II. In its text, the state formally renounces th ...
and
declare cities defenseless so that they will not resist in the event of invasion.
* Advocate a significant increase in the scope of
social welfare
Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...
such as
healthcare,
pensions,
social security and
disability
Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, ...
care.
* Opposition to
neoliberalism and
neoconservatism.
* Complete disarmament of Japan in accordance with
pacifist principles. The
Japanese Self-Defense Force will be replaced with a force dedicated to disaster relief and foreign aid.
* Cancellation of the
United States–Japan military alliance, dismantling of
United States bases in Japan and replacing it with a
Treaty of Friendship.
* Opposition to Japan's involvement in supporting the United States in the
war against terror through refueling of American warships in the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...
.
* Introduction of an environmental
carbon tax
A carbon tax is a tax levied on the carbon emissions required to produce goods and services. Carbon taxes are intended to make visible the "hidden" social costs of carbon emissions, which are otherwise felt only in indirect ways like more sev ...
.
* Significant increase in the scope of wildlife protection legislation, increasing the number of
protected species
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and invas ...
and setting up of protection zones.
* Transition from a mass-production/mass-consumption society to a sustainable society in coexistence with nature.
* Clampdown on harmful chemicals, e.g. restriction on use of agricultural chemicals, ban on
asbestos, tackling
dioxin and soil pollutants.
* Increased investment in public transport, encouraging a switch from road to rail and from petrol powered buses to hybrids, electric vehicles and
light rail transit.
* Opposition to
nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced ...
and proposal of a gradual switch to
wind energy
Wind power or wind energy is mostly the use of wind turbines to generate electricity. Wind power is a popular, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller impact on the environment than burning fossil fuels. Historically, w ...
as the nation's base energy source.
* Abolition of the
death penalty.
* Opposition to
water privatization
Water privatization is short for private sector participations in the provision of water services and sanitation. Water privatization has a variable history in which its popularity and favorability has fluctuated in the market and politics. One o ...
.
* Supports
feminist politics.
* Legalization of
same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
.
[Inada, Miho; Dvorak, Phred]
"Same-Sex Marriage in Japan: A Long Way Away?"
. ''The Wall Street Journal''. September 20, 2013. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
Leaders
Election results
House of Representatives
House of Councillors
Current Diet members
House of Representatives
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Kunio Arakaki (
Okinawa-2nd)
House of Councillors
Up for re-election in 2022
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Mizuho Fukushima (
National PR)
See also
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Democratic Party of Japan
The was a centristThe Democratic Party of Japan was widely described as centrist:
*
*
*
*
*
*
* to centre-left liberal or social-liberal political party in Japan from 1998 to 2016.
The party's origins lie in the previous Democratic ...
*
Democratic Socialist Party (Japan)
*
Japan Socialist Party
*
Leftist Socialist Party of Japan
*
List of political parties in Japan
In Japan, any organization that supports a candidate needs to register itself as a political party. Each of these parties have some local or national influence. This article lists political parties in Japan with representation in the Nationa ...
*
Politics of Japan
Politics of Japan are conducted in a framework of a dominant-party bicameral parliamentary constitutional monarchy, in which the Emperor is the head of state and the Prime Minister is the head of government and the head of the Cabinet, which d ...
*
Rightist Socialist Party of Japan
*
Itsurō Sakisaka
Notes
References
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External links
Official website
{{authority control
Full member parties of the Socialist International
Centre-left parties in Asia
Feminist parties in Asia
Left-wing parties in Asia
Pacifism in Japan
Pacifist parties
Political parties established in 1996
Progressive parties in Japan
Social democracy in Asia
Social democratic parties in Japan
Democratic socialist parties in Asia
1996 establishments in Japan