List of political parties in Akashi
This article lists political parties in Akashi. Akashi has a largely multi-party system, with coalition governments the norm, which has gone through several manifestations.
Political parties
Current parties
| Party | Name | Ideology | Position | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Miranian | Gothic | ||||
| CP | Communist Party | 共産党 Kyōsantō | 𐌲𐌰𐌼𐌰𐌹𐌽𐌰𐌻𐌻𐌰𐌹𐍃𐌴𐌹𐌽𐌾𐌰 𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌻ᚴ𐌾𐍉 Gamainallaiseinja Dailkjō | Left-wing to far-left | ||
| GP | Green Party | 緑の党 Midori no tō | 𐌲𐍂𐍉𐌽𐌴𐌹𐍃 𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌻ᚴ𐌾𐍉 Grōneis Dailkjō | Left-wing | ||
| SP | Socialist Party | 社会党 Shakaitō | 𐌲𐌰𐍃𐌰𐌻𐌾𐌰𐍃ᚴ𐌰𐍆𐍄𐍃𐌹𐌸𐌰 𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌻ᚴ𐌾𐍉 Gasaljaskaftsiþa Dailkjō | Left-wing to centre-left | ||
| NU | National Union | 全国同盟 Zenkoku dōmei | 𐌰𐌻𐌰𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐍉 𐌰𐌹𐌽𐌰𐌼𐌿𐌽𐌳𐌹𐌸𐌰 𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌻ᚴ𐌾𐍉 Alaþiudō Ainamundiþa Dailkjō | Yurikarism | Centre-left to centre | |
| FP | Future Party | 未来党 Miraitō | 𐌰𐌽𐌰𐍅𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌸𐌰 𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌻ᚴ𐌾𐍉 Anawairþa Dailkjō | Centre-left to centre | ||
| NCP | National Cooperative Party | 国民協同党 Kokumin kyōdōtō | 𐌰𐌻𐌰ᚴ𐌾𐍉 𐍅𐌰𐌿𐍂𐍃𐍄𐍅𐌴 𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌻ᚴ𐌾𐍉 Alakjō Waurstwē Dailkjō | Centre | ||
| MPP | Moderate People's Party | 穏健国民党 Onken kokumintō | 𐌰𐌽𐌰𐍅𐌹𐌻𐌾𐌴𐌹𐌽𐍉 𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐍉 𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌻ᚴ𐌾𐍉 Anawiljeinō Þiudō Dailkjō | Centre-right | ||
| URP | United Reform Party | 連合改革党 Rengō kaikakutō | 𐌰𐌽𐌰𐍅𐌹𐌻𐌾𐌴𐌹𐌸𐌰 𐌹𐌽𐌼𐌰𐌹𐌳𐌴𐌹𐌽𐍃 𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌻ᚴ𐌾𐍉 Anawiljeiþa Inmaideins Dailkjō | Centre-right | ||
| CNP | Conservative National Party | 保守国民党 Hoshu kokumintō | 𐌰𐌽𐌰𐍆𐌹𐌻𐌷𐌰𐌽𐌳𐍃 𐌰𐌻𐌰𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐍉 𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌻ᚴ𐌾𐍉 Anafilhands Alaþiudō Dailkjō | Right-wing | ||
| ARP | Akashi Renewal Party | 明石新生党 Akashinseitō | 𐌰ᚴ𐌰𐍊𐌴 𐌰𐌽𐌰𐌽𐌹𐌿𐌾𐌹𐌸𐌰 𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌻ᚴ𐌾𐍉 Akaśe Ananiujiþa Dailkjō | Right-wing to far-right | ||
Defunct parties
| Party | Name | Ideology | Position | Lifetime | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Miranian | Gothic | ||||||
| FPP | Futurist Political Party | フー党 Fūtō | 𐌰𐌽𐌰𐍅𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌸𐍃 𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌻ᚴ𐌾𐍉 Anawairþs Dailkjō | Far-right | 1920–1940 | Banned after the Akashian Civil War. | ||
| SCP | Social Credit Party | 社会信用党 Shakai shin'yōtō | 𐌲𐌰𐌼𐌰𐌹𐌽𐍃 𐌹𐌽𐌼𐌰𐌹𐌳𐌴𐌹𐌽𐍃 𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌻ᚴ𐌾𐍉 Gamains Inmaideins Dailkjō | Left-wing | 1935–1995 | Merged with CP. | ||
| LP | Liberal Party | 自由党 Jiyūtō | 𐌲𐌰𐌼𐌰𐌹𐌽𐌴𐌹 𐍆𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌷𐌰𐌻𐍃 𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌻ᚴ𐌾𐍉 Gamainei Freihals Dailkjō | Centre to centre-right | 1938–1998 | Merged with the MPP. | ||
| AP | Agrarian Party | 農民党 Nōmintō | 𐍅𐌰𐌿𐍂𐍃𐍄𐍅𐌾𐌰𐌽𐌴 𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌻ᚴ𐌾𐍉 Waurstwjanē Dailkjō | Centre to centre-left | 1940–1980 | Centrist agrarian party, later moving left. Merged with GP. | ||
| WP | Workers' Party | 労働党 Rōdōtō | 𐌼𐌹𐌸𐌰𐍂𐌱𐌰𐌹𐌳𐌾𐌰𐌼 𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌻ᚴ𐌾𐍉 Miþarbaidjam Dailkjō | Far-left | 1942–1967 | Authoritarian socialist breakaway from CP. Reunited with CP. | ||
| NDP | National Democratic Party | 国民民主党 Kokumin minshutō | 𐌰𐌻𐌰𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐍉 𐍅𐌰𐌻𐌳𐌰𐌼 𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌻ᚴ𐌾𐍉 Alaþiudō Waldam Dailkjō | Centre-right | 1950–1993 | Moderate conservatives. Merged into URP. | ||
| FL | Freedom League | 自由連合 Jiyū rengō | 𐍆𐍂𐌹𐌾𐌴𐌹𐌽𐍃 𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌻ᚴ𐌾𐍉 Frijeins Dailkjō | Right-wing | 1964–1998 | Merged into the CNP. | ||
| RP | Reform Party | 改進党 Kaishintō | 𐌹𐌽𐌼𐌰𐌹𐌳𐌾𐌰𐌽𐌳𐍃 𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌻ᚴ𐌾𐍉 Inmaidjands Dailkjō | Centre-right | 1965–1993 | Moderate conservatives, split from Liberal Party. Merged into URP. | ||
| UA | United Akashi | 明石連合 Akashi rengō | 𐌰ᚴ𐌰𐍊𐌴 𐌰𐌹𐌽𐌰𐌼𐌿𐌽𐌳𐌹𐌸𐌰 𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌻ᚴ𐌾𐍉 Akaśe Ainamundiþa Dailkjō | Centre-right | 1969–1990 | Merged with MPP. | ||
| TCP | Tax Cuts Party | 減税党 Genzeitō | 𐌰𐌽𐌰𐌲𐌹𐌻𐍃𐍄𐍂𐌰𐌼𐌴𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌽𐍃 𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌻ᚴ𐌾𐍉 Anagilstramēleins Dailkjō | Right-wing | 1970–1981 | Merged with FL. | ||
| JP | Justice Party | 公明党 Kōmeitō | 𐌲𐌰𐍂𐌰𐌹𐌷𐍄𐌹𐌸𐌰 𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌻ᚴ𐌾𐍉 Garaihtiþa Dailkjō | Centre-left | 1977–1997 | Merged with SP. | ||
| NFP | New Frontier Party | 新境界党 Shin kyōkaitō | 𐌽𐌹𐌿𐌾𐌰 𐌼𐌰𐍂𐌺𐌰 𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌻ᚴ𐌾𐍉 Niuja Marka Dailkjō | Centre-left | 1989–2000 | Merged into FP. | ||
Other parties
Many local parties exist at the prefectural level, with a localist focus and often affiliated with community organisations, civil societies, or cooperatives. They are particularly dominant in the large cities.
Alignments
Akashian politics is characterised by cooperation between ideologically close parties, producing unofficial political alliances known as "groups" or "blocs" (会 kai). These are referred to by alignment or associated traditional colours.
The current party system has the following blocs:
- Left bloc (左翼会 Sayokukai) or Crimson bloc (紅会 Kurenaikai) — composed of the CP and GP.
- Centre-left bloc (中左翼会 Chūsayokukai) or Pale crimson bloc (薄紅会 Usubenikai) — composed of the SP and NU.
- Centre bloc (中会 Chūkai) or Light yellow bloc (浅黄会 Asagikai) — composed of the FP and NCP.
- Centre-right bloc (中右翼会 Chūyokukai) or Light blue bloc (縹会 Hanadakai) — composed of the MPP and URP.
- Right bloc (右翼会 Uyokukai) or Dark blue bloc (紺会 Konkai) — composed of the CNP and ARP.
The colour gray is traditionally reserved for groups of independents (無所属の会 Mushozoku no kai).
Akashian politics is characterised by an asymmetry between the blocs. The left and centre-left bloc cooperate and form coalitions. In contrast, the centre-right bloc is deeply hostile to the right bloc and the two do not cooperate. The centre-right thus needs to win a majority altogether or seek support from the centre to govern.
Party systems
Akashi has developed a largely stable multi-party system, with the centre of political gravity considered to be on the centre-left.
1940–1970
The first party system to emerge after the Akashian Civil War was strongly shaped by the personality and action of Yurika Ehara, who served simultaneously as President and Prime Minister from 1940 to 1970.
Yurikara's political foundations were civic nationalism, state-led development, and a desire for national unity and "grandeur". Her NU functioned more as a conduit of her ideas to the public than a party. She governed from the centre, but also helped push the centre towards the left over time.
The Constitution of 1941 established a presidential system and 200-member National Assembly elected through national proportional representation. Yurikara's prominence and mass mobilisation techniques made the NU the dominant party: it won over 50% of the vote in general elections from 1942 to 1970.
The NU relied on a solid centrist bloc comprising the NCP and AP, and could count on moderate support from the SP due to its worker-friendly policies. The left parties built up their strength outside the National Assembly, pioneering the koenkai system that was adopted by other parties. Fragmentation occurred on the right, with the CNP being challenged by the moderate NDP, LP, and RP.
NU dominance first eroded at the prefectural and provincial level. By 1960, there were no more NU governors, and provincial governments pushed for greater powers. The increasing length of Yurikara's tenure bred frustrations that economic boom, social peace, and thriving culture could not mask. The policy of national champions caused concerns about inequality and monopoly, while social corporatism bred frustration with the deferential leadership of the Zenrōkyō.
Protests begun in May 1968 escalated into nationwide civil unrest — general strikes, demonstrations, the occupation of universities and factories — known as the Summer of Freedom. The Zenrōkyō's attempts to negotiate salary increases were rejected by its base, causing its dissolution. Wildcat strikes, protests and occupations continued well into 1969, and gradually ebbed afterwards.
Yurikara announced she would retire as Prime Minister, and formed a national unity government to resolve the crisis. The government's restrained approach proved successful in letting the crisis fade away, but the delay was attacked by right-wing parties calling for "law and order". The government introduced several reforms to "open up the system" (系統を開く keitō o hiraku), including electoral reform, strengthening referendum provisions, and reducing the presidency's powers, which were approved by referendum.
1970–1980
The NU barely won its last majority in 1970, largely due to opposition disunity and popular desire for stability. With Yurikara out of day-to-day politics, it struggled to maintain leadership, and fell to a snap election in 1972, becoming a medium-sized party.
The years of the "siege economy" were ones of political fragmentation coexisting with a sustained policy shift. Constitutional amendments changed Akashi to a semi-presidential system and established the widespread use of parallel voting. Decentralisation began in earnest, and several provincial and local shifts reverberated nationally, including a pronounced municipal socialist tendency.
While the 1970s saw higher government turnover, strength consolidated in a left bloc including the CP, SCP, SP, and later the new GP. The coalition experience pushed NU to the centre-left, making it a reliable partner. However, the key figure of these governments was NCP leader Naoko Nemoto. She served as finance minister in all the decade's cabinets, often providing their attractive "face", and was a steadfast supporter of the push to the left.
In the midst of sustained stagnation, leftist governments pushed through policies that broke up the large companies built up by Yurikara, incentivised and increased the cooperative sector, strengthened trade unions' power, increased the role of economic planning, and attacked concentrations of wealth. They produced decreases in inequality and held the line on unemployment, at the cost of higher inflation and pressure on the ryō in the Common Monetary System. Union militancy remained part of the economy: more working hours were lost to wildcat and sympathy strikes in the 1970s than any other decade.
Notable developments included the emergence of the GP, the AP's leftward drift culminating in a merger with the GP, the JP splitting from the SP over the "black budget", continued battles between the centre-right and right for dominance, and the appearance of the TCP.
1980–1990
1980 marks the start of the post-Yurikara era: Yurikara lost election to Masako Nakai, an independent backed by the opposition, and the government fell over an economic crisis. The resulting snap election produced a severely hung parliament: the left and centre-left failed to form a government, while the centre-right refused to cooperate with the right. A succession of interim prime ministers occupied the office as the economy lurched further into recession. Public frustration with the impasse increased, leading to calls for a "new republic" (新共和国 Shin kyōwakoku).
The breakthrough occurred in 1981. There had been a growing split in the CNP between its "hard" (厳しい kibishii) faction led by Ichirō Kondō and its "soft" (緩い yurui) faction led by Ran Tsukuda. The "kibi-yuru war" ended when Ran defeated Ichikon for the party leadership. Ran effected a transformation of the CNP, launching a purge of the hardliners and repositioning it as a centre-right party. She and her close allies sought to engineer a new membership, recruiting moderate candidates of the sanyoi (三良い, "three yoi") model.
Ran won the 1982 election by promising careful governance, economic revival, and constitutional renewal. She formed the first centre-right government since the Civil War, relying on the centre-right bloc and the cooperation of the NCP. She won popularity for her consensual style and talent at negotiation, winning broad acceptance of her reforms and some admiration on the moderate left. Her government mostly preserved the legacy of the "siege economy", restructured and cooperativised non-performing state assets, secured Sōhyō support for national retraining programs, stabilised the ryō, and reduced inflation and unemployment.
Ran and her cabinet were by nature paternalistic conservatives — champions of small business and cooperatives, suspicious of big business, and staunch believers in the "duty of the fortunate" (幸運の義務 kōun no gimu) to help others. She presided over renewed industrial peace after the turbulence of the 1970s, continued decentralisation, and administrative reforms to improve government efficiency, transparency, and accountability. The Constitution of 1984 was drafted and adopted by referendum, completing the change to a parliamentary system.
The government's success translated into greater success for the centre-right. The CNP won a landslide in the 1986 election, finishing one seat short of a majority alone, and the centre-right won all provinces in the 1988 provincial elections. Akashi seemed to be undergoing a "blue wave" (青い波 aoi nami). The centre-right camp had consolidated, the right-wing had been marginalised, and even the SP was influenced to moderate its image and seek to occupy the centre-left.
While Ran's success seemed unassailable, the work of changing the CNP from within was slower, and thus the party leadership found itself resorting to arbitrary tactics at times to ensure moderate dominance. Akashi's rich class initially welcomed Ran's election, expecting an end to the "war against business" (企業との戦い kigyō to notatakai). They were repulsed by her pragmatic governance and anti-big business stance. Attempts to weaken her position or damage the economy after the 1987 stock market crash proved ineffective.
Inspired by the Delkoran Conservatives' attempts to reverse the New Kingdom program, the neoliberal conspiracy began. Connections formed between the wealthy, right-wing parties, and Ichikon's kibi faction, which grew to encompass contacts with similar neoliberals in Megelan, Nordkrusen, and Gylias. The kibi faction struck on 25 December 1989, deposing Ran while she was abroad and making Ichikon the CNP leader.
Ichikon launched an internal purge to rid the CNP of yurui, and tried to quickly push a neoliberal program of deregulation, privatisation, tax cuts, and weakening unions. This caused chaos in the CNP ranks and public unrest. Mass protests and a general strike broke out in early 1990, the largest Akashi had seen since 1968. Although Ichikon barely managed to pass the package through parliamentary chicanery and alliances with the right-wing parties, it was vetoed by the President, and decisively rejected by voters in a referendum. The government fell on a motion of no confidence, and the 1990 election was held early, in March.
Since 1990
The revenge and purges of the kibi caused Ran to give up on the idea of reforming the CNP. Instead, she and her faction left and formed the MPP, which merged with the UA in the upheaval of early 1990. The voters Ran had attracted switched en masse to the MPP, leaving the CNP the rump right-wing party it had been before.
Akashians were shocked by the neoliberal conspiracy, and accordingly the "blue wave" of 1986 turned into the "red wave" (赤い波 akai nami) of 1990. Voters shifted heavily to the left and punished the right-wing parties. Unexpectedly, the main beneficiary was the CP. Leader Shinobu Furukawa ran a forceful campaign with the slogan "The nineties will be communist!", and her fierce condemnations of the neoliberal conspiracy caught the moment. The CP won a plurality for the first time, and formed a coalition with the SP.
Known for her tough, straight-talking demeanour, "Iron Shinobu" presided over the most radical left-wing government since the 1970s. She oversaw a final and forceful break-up of large companies, a 100% marginal tax rate to destroy wealth concentration, social spending increases, and expansion of public and cooperative ownership at the expense of private ownership. She reformed the labour code to push workers' self-management and co-determination, and universalise workplace democracy. She expanded the use of the Hermes Programme throughout the economy, and transferred more powers and responsibilities to provinces and prefectures, which experienced a similar leftist wave.
Shinobu's often forceful governing style often rankled public opinion, particularly when she pushed for the prosecution and jailing of Ichikon and most of those involved in the neoliberal conspiracy. Although the CP lost ground in 1994, the left and centre-left camp retained a majority, and the 1996 provincial elections saw narrower re-elections for incumbent leftist governments.
During the late 1990s and early 2000s, the modern Akashian political landscape was consolidated through several other mergers. The NDP and RP merged into the URP. The SCP merged with the CP. The LP merged with the MPP. The JP merged with the SP. The NFP merged with the FP. The FL merged with the CNP. Finally, the NU permanently settled into the pale crimson bloc.
The leftist wave receded by 1998, but the election returned a hung parliament. Shinobu remained in office by trying to reach out to the centre, but her reputation had become a liability. The government lost a motion of no confidence in December 1999, prompting a snap election that returned Ran to office, leading a centre-right coalition supported by the centre camp.
By now a veteran politician, Ran served two more years as Prime Minister, working to promote a new generation of sanyoi politicians. She then retired in favour of Anna Carbone, who led the centre-right coalition to reelection in 2002. During the 2000s, the most successful centre-right politician was finance minister and URP leader Liana Ferrari, nicknamed the "shadow prime minister" (陰の首相 kage no shushō) because she overshadowed Anna. Flamboyant, boisterous, and charismatic, Liana transformed the URP in her image, making it the most leftist of the centre-right parties. She paired leftist economic policies with vocal progressivism, often attempting to outflank centre-left parties from the left.
Liana was the mastermind behind the second "blue wave" election of 2006, when she capitalised on SP disunity and ran an aggressively leftist campaign. The URP sensationally finished second, tying the MPP on seats and pushing the SP to fourth place, behind the CP.
As had happened 20 years before, the "blue wave" of 2006 was followed by the "red wave" election of 2010. Boasting a charismatic and youthful leader in Kōko Kaga and an ambitious platform, the SP won a two-seat majority alone, the first since 1970. Kōko pursued a program of "21st century socialism", with its centrepiece the implementation of basic income, continued cooperativisation, and shifting the economy towards decentralised planning.
Although its anomalous majority was lost, the SP won re-election comfortably in 2014 and 2018, negotiating support and coalitions with the left-wing and centre.
