National Cooperative Party (Akashi)
National Cooperative Party 国民協同党 𐌰𐌻𐌰ᚴ𐌾𐍉 𐍅𐌰𐌿𐍂𐍃𐍄𐍅𐌴 𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌻ᚴ𐌾𐍉 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | NCP |
| Founded | 1940 |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Centre |
| National affiliation | Light yellow bloc |
| Colours | Purple |
| MNAs | 31 / 400 |
The National Cooperative Party (Miranian: 国民協同党 Kokumin kyōdōtō; Gothic: 𐌰𐌻𐌰ᚴ𐌾𐍉 𐍅𐌰𐌿𐍂𐍃𐍄𐍅𐌴 𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌻ᚴ𐌾𐍉 Alakjō Waurstwē Dailkjō) is a cooperatist political party in Akashi.
Founded in 1940, the party is the oldest member of the light yellow bloc. Due to its long record of participation in government and kingmaker status in several elections, it has been described as "Akashi's most influential minor party".
History
Early years
The party was founded in 1940, as an extension of the Akashian cooperative movement. The movement had grown during the 1930s economic crisis, but had previously followed a policy of electoral pacts with other parties. This strategy was seen as ineffective after the Akashian Civil War and Constituent Assembly election, and it was decided to create a political party.
The NCP made a strong debut in 1942, becoming the third largest party in the National Assembly. It would retain that distinction for 3 decades afterwards.
During these years, the party formed part of a centrist bloc with the Agrarian Party and National Union. Thus, it provided outside support to Yurika Ehara's government, and in return obtained measures that incentivised the cooperative sector.
It avoided taking a stance on the Summer of Freedom, and its low-key profile helped it ride out the crisis with minimal damage to its reputation.
A decade in coalition
The NCP joined Yurikara's national unity government in 1968, marking its first participation in a federal coalition. It remained part of coalition governments for the rest of the 1970s, led first by the NU and then the Socialist Party.
Led by Naoko Nemoto, the party reached the height of its influence. She served as finance minister throughout the 1970s, and would be the party's only Prime Minister for an interim period in the autumn of 1977. Naoko's tenure coincided with the "siege economy", and she earned renown for her vigorous efforts to combat the crisis and staunch support of the left-dominated governments of the era.
As a measure of the party's success, the cooperative sector's share of the economy reached 42% by 1979, and would subsequently surpass 50%.
Changes in course
Naoko left politics entirely after losing the 1980 snap election. She was succeeded by new leadership that was open to collaborating with the light blue bloc. This development had fortuituous timing, as the Conservative National Party's "kibi-yuru war" ended with the ascent of the progressive conservative faction led by Ran Tsukuda.
The NCP provided outside support to Ran's coalition after 1982, and in return Ran adopted further pro-cooperative reforms, notably the cooperativisation of non-performing state assets.
The party went into outright opposition for the first time during the neoliberal conspiracy. It provided outside support to Shinobu Furukawa's far-left government during the 1990s.
In the 2000s, the party briefly joined Ran Tsukuda's second coalition government in 2000–2002, then supported Anna Carbone's centre-right coalition between 2002 and 2010. It provided outside support to Kōko Kaga's government during its first term, and then joined a formal coalition after 2014.
Party leader Mizuki Kōhara became Prime Minister after the 2022 general election, the first since Naoko. She leads a coalition composing the centre and the far-left, with outside support from the SP.
Platform
The NCP is a party supporting cooperative values and principles. Its ultimate goal is the creation of the cooperative commonwealth.
As the political arm of the cooperative movement, it has close ties with the Kyōkuren.
To some extent, the party can be considered a single-issue party due to its focus on cooperatism. This has proven flexible enough to allow it to ally with the centre-left, centre-right, and far-left in different periods. As a result, it is considered a centrist party and is affiliated with the light yellow bloc.
Its long periods of outside support or coalition, and traditional third party strength, have made it an influential kingmaker in Akashian politics. It has been nicknamed the "national weathervane" for shifting its support with the times, from the NU to the SP, to the Conservative National Party, to the Communist Party, then to the Moderate People's Party and back to the SP.
Election results
National Assembly
| Election | Party list | Constituency | Seats | +/– | Status | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PR votes | % | STV votes | % | ||||
| 1942 | 162.023 | 9,2% | 19 / 200
|
 19
|
Outside support | ||
| 1946 | 199.158 | 9,5% | 20 / 200
|
1
|
Outside support | ||
| 1950 | 207.728 | 8,7% | 18 / 200
|
 2
|
Outside support | ||
| 1954 | 254.926 | 8,8% | 18 / 200
|
|
Outside support | ||
| 1958 | 295.675 | 9,0% | 18 / 200
|
|
Outside support | ||
| 19621 | 528.597 | 14,0% | 14 / 200
|
4
|
Outside support | ||
| 1966 | 372.985 | 9,1% | 20 / 200
|
6
|
Outside support (1966–1968) | ||
| Coalition (1968–1970) | |||||||
| 1970 | 478.844 | 10,0% | 431.445 | 9,0% | 14 / 200
|
6
|
Coalition |
| 1972 | 590.682 | 11,8% | 499.456 | 10,0% | 25 / 200
|
11
|
Coalition |
| 1974 | 619.737 | 12,0% | 540.434 | 10,5% | 27 / 200
|
2
|
Coalition |
| 1978 | 636.881 | 11,5% | 611.913 | 11,0% | 24 / 200
|
3
|
Coalition |
| 1980 | 575.448 | 10,2% | 607.949 | 10,8% | 18 / 200
|
6
|
Interim |
| 1982 | 519.120 | 9,0% | 587.057 | 10,2% | 28 / 400
|
10
|
Outside support |
| 1986 | 594.986 | 10,0% | 577.774 | 9,7% | 34 / 400
|
6
|
Outside support (1986–1989) |
| Opposition (1989–1990) | |||||||
| 1990 | 573.451 | 9,1% | 629.474 | 10,0% | 36 / 400
|
2
|
Outside support |
| 1994 | 640.707 | 10,0% | 644.212 | 10,1% | 39 / 400
|
3
|
Outside support |
| 1998 | 711.861 | 10,8% | 731.717 | 11,1% | 43 / 400
|
4
|
Outside support |
| 1999 | 607.335 | 9,6% | 643.761 | 10,2% | 38 / 400
|
5
|
Coalition |
| 2002 | 654.831 | 9,8% | 641.692 | 9,6% | 36 / 400
|
2
|
Outside support |
| 2006 | 376.779 | 5,6% | 416.650 | 6,2% | 21 / 400
|
16
|
Outside support |
| 2010 | 492.268 | 6,5% | 508.539 | 6,7% | 20 / 400
|
1
|
Outside support |
| 2014 | 636.483 | 8,1% | 605.644 | 7,7% | 26 / 400
|
6
|
Coalition |
| 2018 | 634.649 | 8,0% | 689.701 | 8,7% | 30 / 400
|
4
|
Coalition |
| 2022 | 636.582 | 8,0% | 717.850 | 9,0% | 31 / 400
|
1
|
Coalition |
1 Result for the whole Centre List, consisting of the NCP and Agrarian Party.
Presidency
The party has never contested a presidential election.
