Social Democratic Party

A social democratic (right-wing) proletarian party. Matsuoka Komakichi and Nishio Suehiro, leaders of the Japanese Federation of Labor, who opposed the Labor-Farmer Party's resolution to open the door to the Communists, left the Labor-Farmer Party and formed the party on December 5, 1926 (Taisho 15) in response to Abe Isoo, Yoshino Sakuzo and others' proposal to establish a new party. Abe was appointed chairman and Katayama Tetsu was secretary-general. The party advocated anti-capitalism, anti-communism and anti-fascism (the three anti-ideologies), and its main support base was organized labor based on labor unionism, such as the General Federation of Labor, the Japan Seamen's Union and the General Federation of Public Sector Labor, and it carried out social movements from a moderate and progressive stance, such as relief for unemployment during the financial depression, opposition to the dispatch of troops to China under the Tanaka Giichi cabinet, and the movement to enact a labor union law under the Hamaguchi Osachi cabinet. However, as soon as the Manchurian Incident began in 1931 (Showa 6), the Central Committee resolved to support the incident, and in April of the following year, Akamatsu Katsumaro, Shimanaka Yuzo and others advocated national socialism, approached the military and left the party. In order to counter the rise of national socialism and Japanese nationalism movements both within and outside the party, Matsuoka and other social democrats from the Sōdōmei coalition merged with the centrist National Labor-Farmer Mass Party on July 23, 1932 to form the Social Mass Party. In the first general election in 1928, Abe (Tokyo), Suzuki Bunji (Osaka), Nishio (Osaka), Kamei Kanichiro (Fukuoka) and others were elected. The party placed importance on parliamentary activities and sent out the most representatives of all the proletarian parties in prewar Japan.

[Shiota Sakiko]

"The Life of Matsuoka Komakichi" by Nakamura Kikuo (1963, Keizai Oraisha) " "With the Masses" by Nishio Suehiro (1951, Sekaisha)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

社会民主主義派（右派）の無産政党。労働農民党の共産派への門戸開放決議に反対した日本労働総同盟幹部の松岡駒吉(こまきち)、西尾末広(すえひろ)らが、労働農民党を脱退し、安部磯雄(いそお)、吉野作造(さくぞう)らの新党樹立の提唱にこたえて、1926年（大正15）12月5日結成した。委員長には安部、書記長には片山哲(てつ)が就任。反資本主義、反共産主義、反ファシズム（三反主義）を掲げ、総同盟、日本海員組合、官業労働総同盟など労働組合主義に基づく組織労働者を主たる支持基盤として、金融恐慌下の失業救済、田中義一(ぎいち)内閣下の対華出兵反対、浜口雄幸(おさち)内閣下の労働組合法制定運動など、穏健で漸進的な立場から社会運動を展開した。しかし、31年（昭和6）満州事変が開始されるや、中央委員会は満州事変支持を決議し、翌年4月には赤松克麿(かつまろ)、嶋中雄三(しまなかゆうぞう)らが国家社会主義を唱えて軍部に接近し脱党した。このような党内外での国家社会主義や日本主義運動の台頭に対抗するため、総同盟系統の松岡ら社会民主主義派は、32年7月23日に中間派の全国労農大衆党と合同して社会大衆党へと発展させた。1928年の第1回普通選挙には、安部（東京）、鈴木文治(ぶんじ)（大阪）、西尾（大阪）、亀井貫一郎(かめいかんいちろう)（福岡）らが当選。議会活動を重視し、戦前日本の無産政党のなかではもっとも多くの代議士を送り出した。

［塩田咲子］

『中村菊雄著『松岡駒吉伝』（1963・経済往来社）』▽『西尾末広著『大衆と共に』（1951・世界社）』

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