Social Democratic Party (Japan)
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 (abbreviated to SDPJ or SDP in English) is a political party that advocates for the establishment of a socialist Japan. It now defines itself as a social democratic party. The party was founded in January 1996 by the majority of legislators of the defunct Japan Socialist Party (JSP), which was Japan's largest opposition party in the 1955 system. Five leftist legislators didn't join the SDP and formed the New Socialist Party that lost all its seats in the following elections. The JSP enjoyed a short period of government participation from 1993 to 1994 (Hosokawa cabinet) and later formed a coalition government with the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) under 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). As of October 2010, it has 10 representatives in the national diet.
Read more about Social Democratic Party (Japan): History, Motions Against Yoshihiko Noda, Current Policies, Secretaries-General
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