History
The party was founded on October 31, 1950 during the US occupation of the region. On April 29, 1952, the party launched an Association for Promotion of Reversion to Japan, which initiated a signature campaign for the demand of reunification with Japan. The campaign gathered more than 199 000 signatures (72%+ of the eligible voters of Okinawa). At the time, such a campaign was initiated by liberals/leftists, including Okinawa Social Mass Party and another local party called Okinawan People's Party (沖縄人民党, Okinawa Jinmin-tō?).
After Okinawa's restoration to Japan in 1972, the latter party was merged into Japanese Communist Party. Okinawa Social Mass Party, on the other hand, did not join any mainland Japanese parties, and continues as a local party to this day.
The party has been influential as the leading liberal party in the prefecture. However, after New Komeito Party started to support Liberal Democratic Party from 1998, liberals in Okinawa, including Okinawa Social Mass Party, are gradually losing their influences.
Read more about this topic: Okinawa Social Mass Party
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