A New Party in Japan

...The party's policy declaration, not unexpectedly couched in rather high-flown rhetoric, nevertheless reveals an earnest commitment to the principles of democratic socialism...

...The new party will fully respect the people's desire for peace and will advocate an independent foreign policy without any leanings toward either the U.S...

...Our party's goal is to give political expression to the aspirations of a vast segment of the nation, whose voice has not been heeded by either the Liberal-Democrats or the Socialists...

...Totalitarianism, either of the left or the right, stifles opposition...

...The basis for this demand is the party leadership's conviction that the Security Treaty has engendered so much suspicion and unrest in the public at large that the present Diet ought to be disqualified from passing on it...

...And after the airport riot, the Zengakuren headquarters was raided and seriously damaged, and 77 student leaders arrested...

...Of all the political parties, the Democratic Socialists are the most earnest in seeking a new election, and for obvious reasons: They believe that such an election would be a further step toward propelling their party into an increasingly strong position...

...The party will also work for...

...What is striking about the party platform is its departure from the old...

...The extremist riots in the Diet compound last November and the student disorders staged at Tokyo's international airport when Kishi left for the U.S...

...A token of this organization's virtually complete isolation was the fact that its call for another demonstration at the airport upon Kishi's return was heeded by only 10 students...

...hackneyed Socialist line on foreign policy...

...It was the day that Premier Nobusuke Kishi returned from Washington, where he had signed the revised Japan-U.S...

...The strong position of the new party at this early stage is something of a surprise for everyone, not just, for example, for Inejiro Asanuma...

...We recognize that the society we live in today is a capitalistic one...

...Our new party was formed with the active cooperation of all working people, including laborers, farmers, small businessmen, engineers, scholars and others...

...In his speech accepting the chairmanship of the party's Central Executive Committee, Nishio expatiated on the fundamentals of policy and objectives: "We must win the allegiance of a majority of the people by showing them that we are out to attain our objective through parliamentary, democratic methods...

...As Tokyo observers are fond of saying, "In Japan, the economy is best and politics is worst...

...It emphasizes the nation's duty to defend its security against foreign invasion and calls for at least minimum measures to defend "our own country" until a complete international disarmament agreement is reached...

...Finally, there is absolutely no reference to neutralism...

...SP secretary general, who for obviously partisan reasons had predicted before the party split that no more than 30 Diet members would join the new party...

...Such a possibility is suggested by the fact that among the 813 delegates (including 579 leaders of the new party's local chapters around the country) were 54 Diet members— 38 from the Lower House and 16 from the Upper House...

...And at a press conference held after the party meeting, Nishio added that within three years the Democratic Socialists can attain a majority in the Diet if the Tories split in the near future, and could actually come to power within five years—quite a sanguine forecast for the "realistic" Nishio...

...The institutional framework for a democracy, including the two-party system, does indeed exist, but it simply does not work, because of the perpetual, uncompromising conflict between the two major parties and the constant errors made by both sides...

...The new party will campaign not only for a special class, but for the happiness of the nation as a whole...

...The radical movement in general, consequently, seems to be approaching a real turning-point...

...The political situation, on the other hand, is far less stable...

...For it marks a genuine departure from the traditionally unrealistic and sterile Socialist thinking and an important first step toward the creation of a workable two-party system in Japan...

...last month were the logical culmination of this whole process, and public opinion clearly reacted more negatively than ever before...

...We pledge that we will exert all possible efforts to bring about a democratic Socialist government in Japan at the earliest possible date...

...I propose that we practice political tolerance...

...The platform states that, in view of the fact that world peace is maintained now- only through the equilibrium of armed forces of East and West, any attempt to change this balance of power immediately would invite the danger of war...

...Still another split in the Kawakami group is anticipated in the very near future, and this is expected to strengthen the Democratic Socialist party even further...

...At Nishio's New Year press conference, he revealed plans for building the party...

...It reads, in part, as follows: "The new Democratic Socialist party was born today in response to the aspirations of the nation, which is dissatisfied with the corrupt Tories and pro-Communist Socialists...

...This represented a significant increase over the approximately 30 Diet members who had seceded from the Socialist party last October...

...It was also the day that the new Democratic Socialist party, at its inaugural convention, elected Suehiro Nishio as its chief...

...or the USSR and Communist China...

...The coincidence symbolizes the possibility that the new party may fill a real vacuum— that of a responsible democratic opposition to the conservative Liberal-Democratic Government...

...The birth of the new party was warmly welcomed by the country's press—and for good reason...

...It was after these events that the leftist-dominated SOHYO (General Council of Japanese Trade Unions) and Socialist party, as well as the radical student group, Zengakuren (National Federation of Students" Self-Government Associations), came in for severe public censure, and the latter especially has grown more isolated than ever...

...the total banning of nuclear weapons and for disarmament, so as to establish a peaceful world...

...Though both major parties must share the blame for this state of affairs, the Socialists, because of their position of opposition for the sake of opposition, are mainly responsible...

...In its recent campaign to raise two million yen as a relief fund for the 77 "victims" and to steam up public sentiment in their favor, it sent letters of appeal to 300 "progressive" intellectuals—of whom only 20 replied at all...

...We will stand against extreme leftist and rightist ideologies and practices, and for the protection of parliamentary democracy: our approach to the realization of a Socialist society will be Fabianistic...

...Our party intends to achieve Socialism through democratic methods, and the essence of democracy is the belief in the value of dissent and of efforts at persuasion...

...See "Behind the Japanese Socialist Split...

...Even SOHYO's leadership recently issued a new directive calling for at least partial withdrawal from political unionism and greater emphasis on the traditional trade union objective of advancing the workers' economic welfare...

...The economy is, in fact, stable and it is expanding steadily at the high annual rate of better than 10 per cent...

...Widespread general interest in the Democratic Socialists was reflected in the fact that the report of the party conference shared the leading position on the front pages of all newspapers with the news of Kishi's homecoming...

...A main reason for the increase was the adherence to the new party of a number of Diet members who had been associated with a right-wing group, led by Jotaro Kawakami, that had not left the Socialist party when the Nishio group did...

...The fact is that large numbers of people are becoming increasingly irked and impatient with the excesses and violence which have characterized the career of the left-wing labor and Socialist movements since the war...

...Security Treaty...

...NL, November 16, 1959—Ed...

...ratification or rejection of the treaty ought, therefore, to be the prime issue of a general election, which would thus empower a new Diet to decide the matter...

...Thus, the appearance of the Democratic Socialist party is being hailed as a symbol and reflection of the turning of the tide...

...The conservative party has degenerated into the political agent of big business...

...As he and his colleagues see it, the party can win 100 seats in the Lower House in the first such general election...

...This is being taken as a maneuver to prevent trade unionists from joining the new party...

...The Socialist party suffers from the illusion that a Marxist revolution is possible in Japan...

...150 the second time around and more than 200 on a third try...

...Our purpose is to realize a society based on human freedom and equality, through opposition to Communism and overall revamping of the existing capitalistic system...

...After the Diet riots, for example, the Communist party ousted 30 of its student members and prohibited 39 others from exercising their rights as members...

...In addition to electing party officers, adopting a provisional platform and constitution and presenting an inaugural policy declaration, the party issued a call for an early general election...

...Nishio put it aptly when he said, "A better opposition party makes a better government party, and vice versa...

...We do not propose to overthrow it overnight, but to try to change it gradually by patiently adding one small reform and improvement to another...