The Social Democratic Party will establish a new platform aimed at demonstrating its policies and its significance to the public, executive party members said Saturday.
The new platform will try to define the minor opposition party's position as an alternative to both the Liberal Democratic Party and the Democratic Party of Japan, the members said.
The move appears to represent a bid to secure the survival of the SDP, which suffered a serious blow in the Nov. 9 House of Representatives election, seeing its number of seats in the 480-seat Lower House fall from 18 to six.
An executive party lawmaker said the party's poor showing stemmed from its failure to acquaint the public with its social policies and its means of achieving these goals.
The new platform is apparently aimed at addressing these problems.
The party plans to present a framework for the new platform by July's House of Councilors election and get it officially approved at the party convention in two years' time, the members said.
The party will appoint eight lawmakers, including party head Mizuho Fukushima, to serve as drafting committee members.
The new platform will retain the SDP's policies of defending the Constitution and promoting pacifism.
But the platform will also state that the party aims to create a harmonious, welfare-based society, as well as decentralize power.
It will also feature policy details and explain how they can be implemented.
The SDP compiled its basic policies in January 1996, when it changed its Japanese name to Shakai Minshuto (Social Democratic Party) from the old Nihon Shakaito (Japan Socialist Party).
But these policies failed to specify any concrete measures on how these goals could be achieved.