SNA (Tokyo) — Tetsu Katayama served as Japan’s first socialist prime minister in 1947-1948. His moderate approach, however, proved unable to satisfy the increasingly contradictory demands of his political base and the US occupiers.

Transcript

On May 24, 1947, Tetsu Katayama became prime minister of Japan.

He was both the first socialist and the first Christian to occupy Japan’s top political office, but he had the advantage of being well-liked and respected for his dignified, ethical personal character. Opinion polls showed that the general public was warm as well, with nearly 70% support at the outset of his administration.

Katayama aimed to create a national unity cabinet. Although the Democratic Party and a smaller grouping agreed to participate, the more conservative Shigeru Yoshida and his Liberal Party chose to decline the offer and went into opposition.

Nevertheless, Katayama made many policy concessions to form the coalition with more conservative forces, including abandoning plans to nationalize key industries and create a minimum wage. He also agreed to keep leftwing members of the Socialist Party out of the Cabinet lineup.

Leading the first government under the new pacifist Constitution, these were busy times. The repressive Home Ministry was disbanded, the national police services were reformed, the Civil Code revised, and the Supreme Court was established.

Working with SCAP, important economic reforms were given keen attention, as one would expect from a socialist-led government. A Labor Ministry was created, and key legislation included the Labor Standards Act, the Employment Security Act, and the Child Welfare Act.

But not all advances proceeded smoothly. Katayama backed a Temporary Coal Mining Management Act fiercely resisted by conservatives, which was ultimately passed after months of negotiations in a much weaker form. While the ruling coalition remained basically intact, the Democratic Party was shaken by former Prime Minister Kijuro Shidehara’s decision to break away and form a new opposition party with 22 lawmakers.

An even bigger problem for Katayama was that the reformist ardor of the US Occupation managers was quickly fading. Back in Washington DC, political priorities were shifting sharply as the chill winds of the Cold War blew in. The immediate postwar demand for Japan to be disarmed and democratized was being replaced with calls to put the focus on reviving Japan’s economic growth.

Having a Japan led by a Socialist premier—even a moderate one like Katayama—was increasingly out of step with the new set of priorities of the US occupier. The more that Katayama compromised with these rising conservative forces, the more he alienated the left wing of his own political party—and the more he weakened and demoralized the labor movement which was his party’s political base.

And, at the same time, rising consumer inflation was negatively impacting broader public support for his administration.

These growing contradictions came to a head early in 1948 with the defection of sixteen Socialist Party lawmakers who formed a new socialist opposition party. There other disputes between right and left over revenue policies as well.

The Katayama government reached a political impasse even before the annual budget was passed. Tetsu Katayama resigned as prime minister on March 10, 1948. He had served for 292 days.

After his premiership, Katayama remained active in politics, though his political fortunes and those of the Socialist Party did not recover. In the 1950s, he spent much effort in attempts to build bilateral relations with the People’s Republic of China.

He died of natural causes in May 1978 at the age of 90.

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