Collaborative Party

The Collaborative Party (Japanese: みんなでつくる党, Minna de tsukuru tō, lit. 'A party created by everyone'), abbreviated as Mintsuku (みんつく) and commonly referred to by its former name NHK Party (NHK党), is a populist and right-wing political party in Japan founded in 2013 by activist Takashi Tachibana, who led the party until stepping down in March 2023, then disputing leadership a month later, in April 2023. The party's original goal was to oppose the license fees for the national broadcasting organization NHK, revising the 1950 Broadcasting Law to scramble NHK's broadcast signal, which would mean that only those who watch NHK pay for it. The party's policies have since expanded to cover other issues, including lower taxes, increasing military defense capability, and reaching energy independence through nuclear energy. The party has been referred to by some commentators and political scientists as a fringe or joke party, despite having seen occasional success in national elections. Its candidates and officeholders, who are often YouTubers or other Internet celebrities, have been frequent sources of controversy. The party changed its name several times, with its most recent change in November 2023. Between 2023 and 2024, the party was embroiled in a leadership dispute between Tachibana and Ayaka Otsu. As of April 2024, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications recognizes Otsu as the sole leader of the party. Despite this, most of the party initially defected and switched allegiance to Tachibana, resulting in a deadlock where Otsu was the de jure leader while Tachibana was the de facto leader. The party's status as a national political party was revoked in January 2024 after the party lost all of its seats in the National Diet after the Otsu wing leadership expelled both members of the House of Councillors, Satoshi Hamada and Kenichiro Saito, for aligning with...