Democratic Socialist Party 民主社会党 Minshu Shakai-tō | |
|---|---|
| Founder | Suehiro Nishio |
| Founded | 24 January 1960[1] |
| Dissolved | 9 December 1994[1] |
| Split from | Japan Socialist Party[2] |
| Preceded by | Rightist Socialist Party of Japan (factions) |
| Merged into | New Frontier Party[1] |
| Youth wing | Minsha Youth |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Centre[4][5][6] tocentre-left[7][A] |
| International affiliation | Socialist International |
| Colors | Red |
| Party flag | |
 | |
^ A: The Democratic Socialist Party was anational conservative party, due to its stances onsocial issues andnational security, and was considered an "extremely conservative" party in Japan.[8] However, its economic policies were ofsocial democracy.[2] | |
TheDemocratic Socialist Party (民主社会党,Minshu Shakai-tō; abbreviated民社党,Minsha-tō) was apolitical party in Japan from 1960 to 1994.
The party was established in January 1960 by a breakaway faction of the Japanese Socialist Party.[9][10] Led bySuehiro Nishio, it was made up of members of the most moderate wing of the formerRightist Socialist Party of Japan, a moderate faction that had existed as an independent party between 1948 and 1955 before reluctantly merging back together with theLeftist Socialist Party of Japan.[9] Although long-standing ideological differences and factional rivalries played a key role, the proximate cause of the split was internal disagreements over how to conduct the ongoingAnpo protests against revision of theTreaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security Between the United States and Japan, known as Anpo in Japanese, and whether or not to cooperate with theCommunist Party of Japan in doing so.[9]
Declassified United States government documents later revealed that covertCIA funding had also helped encourage the founding of this breakaway party.[11] CIA support was aimed at moderating and subverting the political opposition to the rulingconservativeLiberal Democratic Party, which was the main CIA funded party.[12][13]
The DSP was dissolved in 1994 to join theNew Frontier Party. In 1996, the Japan Socialist Party was transformed into theSocial Democratic Party. Two years later, in 1998, the New Frontier Party dissolved and most former DSP members eventually joined theDemocratic Party of Japan.[10] Despite the dissolution of the DSP in 1994, its youth organisation (Minsha Youth) survived until 2003 and was a member of theInternational Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY). After Minsha Youth was dissolved, some of its former members and independent social democrats formed Young Socialists, a new youth organisation which retained full membership in IUSY; however, it was finally dissolved on 8 March 2008 without any successor organisation and abandoned its IUSY membership.[citation needed]
The tradition of the DSP is carried on by theMinsha kyōkai (民社協会, Democratic Socialist Group) as a faction within the liberalDemocratic Party of Japan,Democratic Party and now centre-rightDemocratic Party for the People.
The DSP was rated "moderate",[14][15][16] "moderatesocial-democratic",[17][2] "centrist"[4][5][6], "centre-left"[7], and "leftist"[18] by Japanese political standards at the time, but at the same time it was also regarded as a "conservative"[3][8][19] political party. It derived much of its financial and organisational support from theDomei private-sector labour confederation, but unlike other social-democratic political parties in Japan, the party was not hostile to acceptingneoliberal policies[20] Due to the DSP'ssyncretic political position, the party's ideology is often referred to asright-wing social democracy (右派社会民主主義).[21]
The DSP strongly backed the Japan–United States alliance.[2] For this reason, the DSP was often called the "right-wing party" in Japan, but because the DSP had a belief in socialist ideals, it was classified as a political "centrist" along with theold Komeito at the time.[22] In addition, the DSP was a member of left-wingSocialist International.[21][23]
| No. | Photo | Name (Birth–death) | Constituency/title | Term of office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | ||||
| 1 |  | Suehiro Nishio (1891–1981) | Rep for | 24 January 1960 | June 1967 |
| 2 |  | Eiichi Nishimura (1904–1971) | Rep for | June 1967 | 27 April 1971 |
| 3 |  | Ikkō Kasuga (1910–1989) | Rep for | 27 April 1971 | 28 November 1977 |
| 4 | Ryōsaku Sasaki (1915–2000) | Cou for National district Rep for | 28 November 1977 | 23 April 1985 | |
| 5 | Saburo Tsukamoto (1927–2020) | Rep for | 23 April 1985 | 25 February 1989 | |
| 6 | Eiichi Nagasue (1918–1994) | Cou for Rep for | 25 February 1989 | April 1990 | |
| 7 | Keigo Ōuchi (1930–2016) | Rep for | April 1990 | 8 June 1994 | |
| 8 | Takashi Yonezawa (1940–2016) | Rep for | 8 June 1994 | 9 December 1994 | |
| Election year | Candidates | No. of seats won | Change | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 105 | 17 / 467 |  | Opposition |
| 1963 | 59 | 23 / 467 |  6 | Opposition |
| 1967 | 60 | 30 / 486 | 7 | Opposition |
| 1969 | 68 | 31 / 486 | 1 | Opposition |
| 1972 | 65 | 19 / 491 |  12 | Opposition |
| 1976 | 51 | 29 / 511 | 10 | Opposition |
| 1979 | 53 | 35 / 511 | 6 | Opposition |
| 1980 | 50 | 32 / 511 | 3 | Opposition |
| 1983 | 54 | 38 / 511 | 6 | Opposition |
| 1986 | 56 | 26 / 512 | 12 | Opposition |
| 1990 | 44 | 14 / 512 | 12 | Opposition |
| 1993 | 28 | 15 / 511 | 1 | Government |
| Election year | Seats | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Contested | ||
| 1962 | 12 / 250 | 5 / 125 | Opposition |
| 1965 | 7 / 250 | 3 / 125 | Opposition |
| 1968 | 10 / 250 | 7 / 125 | Opposition |
| 1971 | 13 / 252 | 6 / 126 | Opposition |
| 1974 | 10 / 252 | 5 / 126 | Opposition |
| 1977 | 11 / 252 | 6 / 126 | Opposition |
| 1980 | 12 / 252 | 6 / 126 | Opposition |
| 1983 | 12 / 252 | 6 / 126 | Opposition |
| 1986 | 12 / 252 | 5 / 126 | Opposition |
| 1989 | 8 / 252 | 3 / 126 | Opposition |
| 1992 | 9 / 252 | 4 / 126 | Opposition |
Continuing cooperation between the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the New Liberal Club (NLC), and the conservative Democratic Socialist Party (DSP), will probably assure conservative rule for some time to come.
A coalition of fragments of the old Japan Socialist Party, the former "centrist" Democratic Socialist Party, and disaffected refugees from the LDP, its mastermind was Ozawa Ichiro, the most formidable of Tanaka Kakuei's disciples.
The JCP has rigorously excluded the militant Hansen Seinen linkai, although it has been prepared to collaborate with the Kōmeitō and even the extremely conservative Democratic Socialist Party ( DSP ) on certain issues in the Diet and ...
This year the moderate Democratic Socialist Party has also called for abolition of the one percent ceiling and the setting of a new, more realistic limit.
... Dōmei was a supporter of the more moderate Democratic Socialist Party while Sōhyō members generally supported the Japan Socialist Party.
The conservative Democratic Socialist Party agreed to further discuss the tax reform, while the Japan Socialist Party, the Japan Communist Party, and the Kômeitô demanded the dissolution of the lower house before the reform could be introduced.
The Democratic Socialist Party (DSP) was a right-wing social democratic party, founded by the separation from the SP in I960, and a member of the Socialist International.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
