THE GLOBALIZATION & GOVERNANCE PROJECT, HOKKAIDO UNIVERSITY WORKING PAPER SERIES Social Democracy and Liberarism in the 20th Century Japan Ⅰ-13 Kiichiro Yagi, Kyoto University * Paper for the Symposium, East Asia-Europe-USA Progressive Scholars’ Forum 2003 , 11-15 October, 2003. * None of these papers should be cited without the author’s permission. SOCIAL DEMOCRACY AND LIBERARISM IN THE 20th CENTURY JAPAN Kiichiro YAGI (Graduate School of Economics, Kyoto University*) Paper Presented for the Second Session on October 12, 2003 “Conclusions and Perspectives of the Social Democracy in the 20th Century” . *Yoshida-Honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, JAPAN 606-8501
[email protected] SOCIAL DEMOCRACY AND LIBERALISM IN THE 20th CENTURY JAPAN 1. The First Social Democratic Party of 1901 In May 18, 1901 a group of intellectuals noticed the Ministry of Interior the foundation of the Social Democratic Party (Shakai Minshuto). She was banned in a few days. Still several newspapers and journals could report the foundation with her declaration and program. This was the first attempt of early Japanese socialists to go into public political activities.1 Her founding members were only six. However, in my view, this party is fitted for beginning our discussion on the social democracy in Japan very well. The first reason is, of course, her name. This was apparently taken from German Social Democracy. We have three Social Democratic Party in the political history of modern Japan: the first one of 1901; the second, a small middle-left party organized by Rikizo HIRANO in 1951; and the third living party headed by Takako DOI.