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]
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]
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.
2020: The liberal-leaning "Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan" (old CDP) of Japan merged with the centrist/liberal-conservative "Democratic Party for the People," and the new party's name was "Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan" (new CDP)
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]
^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 ...
^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. ...
^Tetsuya Kataoka, ed. (1992). Creating Single-party Democracy: Japan's Postwar Political System. Hoover Institution Press. p. 2. ISBN9780817991111. 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.
