Farmers Cooperative Party

A conservative centrist party formed on December 9, 1949 (Showa 24) by a part of the National Cooperative Party and the former Farmers' New Party. It advocated "reforming the national economy through cooperative socialism" and aimed to unite the political power of farming, mountain and fishing villages, strengthen food self-sufficiency, and increase agricultural productivity. At the time of its founding, the party had eight members in the House of Representatives and four members in the House of Councillors, with Matsumoto Rokutaro as chairman and Nakamura Torata as secretary-general. It inherited the ideal of "cooperative associationism" from the Japan Cooperative Party and maintained its own domain as a conservative progressive faction, but when the Progressive Party was formed in February 1952 amid the momentum for party reorganization after the peace treaty, it effectively split off, with Nakamura and six others joining the Progressive Party, while Terasaki Satoru and four others who remained joined the Social Democratic Party led by Hirano Rikizo in July of the same year to form the Cooperative Party.

[Kenji Yoshida]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

1949年（昭和24）12月9日、旧農民新党を母体に国民協同党の一部が加わって結成した保守中道政党。「協同社会主義による国民経済の改革」を唱え、農山漁村の政治力結集、食糧自給強化、農業生産力の増強を目ざした。結党時の院内勢力は衆議院8名、参議院4名で、委員長松本六太郎、書記長中村寅太(とらた)。日本協同党以来の「協同組合主義」の理念を受け継ぎ、保守の進歩派として独自の領域を保持したが、講和後の政党再編成機運のなかで1952年2月改進党が結成されると事実上分裂し、中村ら6名は改進党に合流、残留派の寺崎覚ら4名は同年7月平野力三らの社会民主党と合流して協同党を結成した。

［吉田健二］

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