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Social Democratic Party (Japan)

Social Democratic Party
社会民主党
Japanese name Shakai Minshu-tō
President Tadatomo Yoshida
Secretary-General Seiji Mataichi
Deputy President Mizuho Fukushima
Founded 1945 (Social Democratic Party of Japan)
1996 (1996) (Social Democratic Party)
Headquarters 2-4-3-7F Nagata-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0014, Japan
Ideology Social democracy
Anti-militarism
Pacifism
Political position Centre-left
International affiliation Socialist International
Colours      Light blue
House of Councillors
2 / 242
House of Representatives
2 / 475
Website
www5.sdp.or.jp

The Social Democratic Party (社会民主党 Shakai Minshu-tō, often abbreviated to 社民党 Shamin-tō), also known as the Social Democratic Party of Japan (日本社会党, abbreviated to SDPJ in English) and Japan Socialist Party (JSP) at various points until 1996, is a political party that advocates the establishment of a socialist Japan. It now defines itself as a social-democratic party.

The party was reformed in January 1996 by the majority of legislators of the former Social Democratic Party of Japan, which was Japan's largest opposition party in the 1955 system. However, after that, most of the legislators joined the Democratic Party of Japan. Five leftist legislators who did not join the SDP formed the New Socialist Party, which lost all its seats in the following elections. The JSP 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 (LDP) under 81st Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama (from 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). After the Japanese House of Councillors election, 2016, it has four representatives in the national diet, two in the lower house and two in the upper house.

Socialist and social-democratic parties have been active in Japan, under various names, since the early 20th Century—often suffering harsh government repression as well as ideological dissensions and splits.

The party was originally known as the Social Democratic Party of Japan (SDPJ, 日本社会党 Nihon Shakai-tō), and was formed in 1945, following the fall of the militarist regime which had led Japan into the Second World War. At the time, though, there was serious conflict inside the party between factions of the right and the left, and the official name in English became the Japanese Socialist Party, or JSP, as the left-wing had advocated. On the other hand, the right wanted to use the older "SDPJ".


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