Становлення, еволюція та ідейне позиціонування політичного проєкту “Прогресивної партії” (Шімпо-то) в Японії

Abstract

In historiography, the problem of the ideological positioning of the Progressive Party (Shimpō-tō) political project in Japan remains unresolved. This is explained by the fact that, although five political parties known in Japanese history as “Progressive” bore similar names, they differed significantly in their ideological orientations. These differences stemmed from the gradual evolution of the very idea of abstract “progress” as it developed in Japan. Initially, the dominant notion of progress was associated with the collective liberation of East Asian countries from the colonial oppression by Western powers. This idea was embodied in 1894 by the Party of Progress of the Middle States (Chūgokushimpō-tō), which remained largely indifferent to Japan’s domestic political structure and thus was essentially centrist in nature. After the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895, this idea was replaced by the concept of sustainable “progressive” development of the Greater Japanese Empire, achieved due to its own colonial expansion. Following the example of Western metropolises, such development was expected to guarantee high living standards, expanded political freedoms to the inhabitants of the Japanese islands, and the establishment of parliamentary control over government activities, based on democratic elections and a structured party system. Thus, the “progress” slogans, which were definitively chauvinistic from the standpoint of foreign policy, acquired traits of social liberalism and political democratism in domestic affairs. The Progressive Party (Shimpō-tō) of 1896–1898 became the political embodiment of these ideas. After the defeat of the Greater Japanese Empire in World War II, the ideals of progress in Japan were redirected toward the preservation of traditional moral, economic, governmental, and familial values – including the maintenance of conservative institutions such as private property, multiparty democracy, the imperial dynasty, and the Japanese state itself. The political representation of this vision was the openly conservative Progressive Party of Japan (Nihon Shimpō-tō), active from 1945 to 1947. Having undergone the “Japanese economic miracle” and become one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, Japan eventually shifted its understanding of progress from strategic to peripheral issues. On this basis emerged two “Progressive” parties in 1987–1997, which focused not on fundamental, but rather on accompanying issues of abstract progress – such as “transparent and honest politics”, “true popular democracy”, anti-corruption efforts, and other populist concepts detached from real socio-political challenges. While these parties considered themselves advocates of “genuine democracy”, the populist and unrealistic nature of their platforms positioned them ideologically as center-left. Today’s Japan faces no truly systemic or strategic challenges, which is why the revival of yet another Progressive Party project appears highly unlikely.