ABSTRACT
The Japanese Communist Party began its initial postwar activities on October 10, 1945, only six days after most of its leadership were released from prison by Occupation authorities. The first party to reemerge after the war was the Japan Communist Party. It was followed in rapid succession by the Japan Socialist Party (JSP), Japan Liberal Party, and Japan Progressive Party. Political parties reemerged after the war with the help of the Occupation during autumn of 1945. On November 2, 1945, the Nihon Shakaito, or Socialist Party of Japan, was formed. Preferring not to incur the wrath of the Occupation, the founders chose to use the name Social Democratic Party of Japan as the official English translation. Originating with Nishio Suehiro’s 1959 departure from the JSP, the Democratic Socialist Party has attempted to offer the Japanese electorate a nondoctrinaire socialist alternative.
