Social Democratic Party
The Social Democratic Party (社会民主党) was a political party in Japan.
Prior to 1996, the party was known as the Japan Socialist Party (日本社会党).
Contents
Platform
History
The Japan Socialist Party briefly held power in the proto-government under the occupation.
From 1955 to 1993, the LDP continuously held power. The JSP served as the opposition throughout.
Takako Doi (土井 たか子) became party chairwoman in 1986. She pushed for greater inclusion of women in politics and government. The Madonna Boom of 1989 saw a record-breaking 12 women run for the Diet, all as JSP candidates. 11 of those 12 won their elections, and this was considered a great acheivement of gender equality.
In the 1993 elections, the LDP lost enough seats for Morihiro Hosokawa to rally a grand coalition government. The JSP was a junior member of the coalition.
In 1994, the JSP formed a new coalition government with the LDP and New Party Sakigake. Tomiichi Murayama served as prime minister for 2 years. The coalition was highly unpopular among leftist voters, leading to a significant loss of seats in the 1995 elections. Murayama resigned in January 1996, handing power back to the LDP under Ryuutarou Hashimoto.
In January 1996, the JSP reorganized as the Social Democratic Party. The next elections saw the SDP reduced to just 15 MPs.
The SDP continued as a minor opposition party for the next two decades. It was briefly a member of the DPJ-led coalition government, until Mizuho Fukushima (福島 瑞穂) was removed from the cabinet in May 2010.
On November 14th, 2020, the SDP voted to merge with the Constitutional Democratic Party. Almost all members transferred, with Fukushima alone remaining. The party just meets the minimum 2% vote share to retain the legal status of a political party.