ABSTRACT
Political parties first appeared in Japan in the late nineteenth century, and the most successful have always been of a conservative political persuasion. The first post-war political party, established in October 1945, was called the Japan Socialist Party in Japanese but the Social Democratic Party in English in hopes of not provoking occupation authorities, who, despite their democratic leanings, became increasingly suspicious of political groups on the left. The Clean Government Party is the only party in post-war Japan with links to a religious organization. The Japan Communist Party (JCP) was founded July 15, 1922, with the encouragement and financial support of the Soviet Union. The JCP was initially committed to a united front, common-cause strategy with the Socialists. Like the Japan Socialist Party (JSP), the Democratic Socialist Party (DSP) maintained ties to labor, in particular with the Domei federation that includes a variety of industrial and trade workers.
