ABSTRACT
During the first decade after the end of the Second World War in August 1945, Japan’s political party system was extraordinarily fluid. Two major “conservative” parties organized themselves almost as soon as the war ended, By the end of 1945, two “progressive” groups had organized themselves into the Socialist Party and the Communist Party. In addition, however, there was a bewildering array of minor political groupings that made their appearance prior to one or another election, only to have disbanded by the next.
