Progressive political parties (Japan)

Kakushin seitō (革新政党), meaning reformist political parties[1] or progressive political parties,[2][3] is an umbrella term used in Japan to refer to a variety of left-leaning political parties generally viewed as "anti-conservative." In the postwar period, it has generally been applied to democratic socialist, social democratic and socially progressive parties that seek to uphold Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution. Japan's "progressive parties" are basically opposed to constitutional amendments led by right-wing conservatives, so they are partly in solidarity with moderate liberal parties. "Kakushin" parties have been considered progressive or radical-liberal forces.[4][5]

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In general, while the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has a strong conservative tendency, the Japanese Communist Party (JCP) has shown a strong progressive tendency[3] in the Japanese political spectrum. In the 21st century, not only traditional democratic socialist parties but also some liberal parties began to be regarded as part of the kakushin seitō in the Japanese political context.[6][7]

List of kakushin seitō

During the Japanese Empire
  • 1922: The Japanese Communist Party (JCP) is founded in Tokyo.
  • 1925: The Peace Preservation Law is passed, banning criticism of the system of private property and thus rendering the JCP illegal.
  • 1926: During this period, as the proletarian movement grew in strength, the socialist Labour-Farmer Party was founded.
  • 1926: At that time, moderate socialists who were compliant with the system formed the Social Democratic Party, which became known as the most conservative among Japan's three major proletarian parties.
  • 1928: The Labour-Farmer Party was forcibly disbanded as the government launched a massive crackdown on socialist forces.
  • 1932: Moderate leftists supporting the constitutional rule of the Japanese Empire founded the Shakai Taishūtō.
  • 1940: With the establishment of a one-party system led by the Shōwa statist Imperial Rule Assistance Association (IRAA), the Shakai Taishūtō was absorbed into IRAA, and all other kakushin seitō were banned.

Post-war Japan

Controversy

The terms "kakushin" and "left-wing" (左派) have been criticized for being misused by mainstream Japanese media and Japanese conservatives as red-baiting terms to attack South Korean liberals. The reason is that South Korean liberals have anti-Japan sentiment for historical reasons. For example, by South Korean political standards, the DPK does not classify the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) as a "jinbojeongdang" (Korean: 진보정당; Hanja: 進步政黨) because it is generally considered a socially conservative rather than the U.S. Democratic Party, but it is common for the U.S. Democratic Party to classify it as a "jinbojeongdang." However, even though major Japanese media rarely refer to the U.S. Democratic Party as a "kakushin seitō," they often refer to the Democratic Party of Korea as a "kakushin seitō."

South Korean liberals are criticizing these mainstream Japanese media and Japanese conservatives. According to Moon Chung-in, Japanese conservatives pointed out that referring to South Korean liberals as "kakushin" is red-baiting, equating them with the Japan Socialist Party and the Japanese Communist Party. Moon Chung-in also said that Moon Jae-in government and DPK support "Gaehyeok" (改革) in the South Korean political context, but not "kakushin" (革新) in the Japanese political context.[8][9]

See also

References
  1. Kosaka, ed. (2013). Social Stratification In Japan. Routledge. p. 128. ... In the 1955 survey, supporters of the conservative party were found to be fairly clearly differentiated from reformist party supporters. With regard to age, older generations tend to support the conservative party whereas the young tend ...
  2. Kosaka, ed. (1970). Japan Socialist Review - Issues 194-205. p. 199. ... has consistently defended the economic and social interests of the working people through its parliamentary and exter-parliamentary activities, and has won the greater results through its activities than any other progressive party. ...
  3. Willy Jou, Masahisa Endo, ed. (2016). Generational Gap in Japanese Politics: A Longitudinal Study of Political Attitudes and Behaviour. Springer. p. 29. ISBN 9781137503428. Conventional wisdom, still dominant in media and academic circles, holds that the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Japanese Communist Party (JCP) occupy the conservative and progressive ends of the ideological spectrum, ...
  4. Willy Jou, Masahisa Endo, ed. (2016). Generational Gap in Japanese Politics: A Longitudinal Study of Political Attitudes and Behaviour. Springer. p. 43. ISBN 9781137503428. This may reflect the dramatic decline in the electoral fortunes of traditionally progressive parties, including not only the JCP but also the SDP. Indeed, the term "progressive" (kakushin) itself has faded from political discourse since ...
  5. Tetsuya Kataoka, ed. (1992). Creating Single-party Democracy: Japan's Postwar Political System. Hoover Institution Press. p. 2. ISBN 9780817991111. The constitution was defended by the JSP, the mainstay of kakushin (radical-liberal forces), that included a small group of Japan Communist party (JCP) members.
  6. "Japan opposition parties' failing merger bid offers glimpse into divisions". The Japan Times. 17 January 2020.
  7. Helen Hardacre; Timothy S. George; Keigo Komamura; Franziska Seraphim, eds. (2021). Japanese Constitutional Revisionism and Civic Activism. Rowman & Littlefield.
  8. "문정인 "일본, 문재인 정권 바꿔보겠다는 것" |". www.m-i.kr.
  9. "문정인 "한일관계는 투트랙…전략적 협력 속 역사는 시간 둬야"". 연합뉴스. October 1, 2018.
  10. 社民党OfficialWeb┃政策（時系列）. Archived from the original on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
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