Justice Party (Akashi)
Justice Party 公明党 𐌲𐌰𐍂𐌰𐌹𐌷𐍄𐌹𐌸𐌰 𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌻ᚴ𐌾𐍉 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | JP |
| Founded | 1977 |
| Dissolved | 1997 |
| Split from | Socialist Party |
| Merged into | Socialist Party |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Centre-left |
| National affiliation | Pale crimson bloc |
| Colours | Orange |
The Justice Party (Miranian: 公明党 Kōmeitō; Gothic: 𐌲𐌰𐍂𐌰𐌹𐌷𐍄𐌹𐌸𐌰 𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌻ᚴ𐌾𐍉 Garaihtiþa Dailkjō) was a social democratic political party in Akashi.
Founded in 1977 by a faction that split off from the Socialist Party over the "black budget", it spent most of its existence as a minor centre-left party within the pale crimson bloc, before merging back with the SP in 1997.
History
The JP was founded in 1977, by a faction of Socialist Party MNAs that had voted against Kasumi Kuroki's "black budget", and split from the party. They came from the SP's moderate faction and were opposed to Kasuko's radicalism and willingness to cooperate with the crimson bloc.
In its first electoral test, the party won 3% of vote and 5 seats in the 1978 general election — falling behind the Green Party. It joined Yumiko Nagatsuki's "reorganised" left coalition, and provided outside support to Hikaru Katayama's government.
After the 1980 general election produced a badly hung parliament, President Masako Nakai designated JP leader Toshirō Kuno as Prime Minister, to public disbelief. Toshirō served in an interim capacity for 2 months, but was unable to form a government, and resigned. The episode caused backlash against the party and Masako for the "transparently ludicrous" move of asking one of the smallest parties to form a government.
Although the party reached its high water-mark of support in the 1982 general election, it struggled to stand out amidst the political scene of the neondai, especially as the SP was also undergoing an ill-fated moderation under Kagehisa Ueki. It was badly mauled in the "blue wave" of 1986, falling below the 3% electoral threshold and losing all but one constituency seat.
It won 9 seats in the "red wave" of 1990, and joined Shinobu Furukawa's coalition. Shinobu made it clear that the JP was more or less a "glorified seat-warmer" in the coalition, included solely because it accepted to join the government faster than the National Union.
The party's consistently stagnant support, the Communist Party's seeming ascent to a leading role in the Akashian left, and the shock of the neoliberal conspiracy generated profound soul-searching within the party. Ultimately, it voted to merge back into the SP in 1997, 20 years after its first split.
Platform
The JP was a social democratic and left-wing populist party. It attacked the state socialism and "bureaucratisation" of the SP-led government, as well as the pervasive industrial strife of the "siege economy". Instead, it looked towards Acrea and Ossoria's social market economies as preferable models, arguing that Akashi should "foster a strong public sector and a strong private sector without frequent frontier changes" in order to rejuvenate its economy.
Election results
National Assembly
| Election | Party list | Constituency | Seats | +/– | Status | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PR votes | % | STV votes | % | ||||
| 1978 | 177.219 | 3,2% | 150.197 | 2,7% | 5 / 200
|
 5
|
Coalition |
| 1980 | 152.324 | 2,7% | 129.471 | 2,3% | 6 / 200
|
1
|
Interim |
| 1982 | 213.416 | 3,7% | 143.886 | 2,5% | 12 / 400
|
6
|
Opposition |
| 1986 | 148.746 | 2,5% | 83.390 | 1,4% | 1 / 400
|
 11
|
Opposition |
| 1990 | 220.558 | 3,5% | 169.958 | 2,7% | 9 / 400
|
8
|
Coalition |
| 1994 | 217.840 | 3,4% | 242.377 | 3,8% | 9 / 400
|
|
Coalition |
Presidency
The party never contested a presidential election.
