Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)
The Liberal Democratic Party (自由民主党, Jiyū-Minshutō), frequently abbreviated to LDP or Jimintō (自民党), is a conservative[19] political party in Japan.
Liberal Democratic Party 自由民主党 Jiyū-Minshutō | |
|---|---|
 | |
| President | Fumio Kishida |
| Vice President | Tarō Asō |
| Secretary-General | Toshimitsu Motegi |
| Councilors Leader | Masakazu Sekiguchi |
| Founded | 15 November 1955 |
| Merger of | Japan Democratic Party Liberal Party |
| Headquarters | 11–23, Nagatachō 1-chome, Chiyoda, Tokyo 100-8910, Japan |
| Newspaper | Jiyū Minshu[1] |
| Think tank | Policy Research Council |
| Membership (2021) |  1,136,445[2] |
| Ideology |
|
| Political position | Right-wing[A][3] |
| Colors |
|
| Slogan | "日本を守る責任"[5] "Nihon wo mamoru sekinin" ("The responsibility to protect Japan") |
| Anthem | "われら"[6] "Ware-ra" ("We") |
| Councillors | 119 / 245 |
| Representatives | 260 / 465 |
| Prefectural assembly members[7] | 1,261 / 2,598 |
| City, special ward, town and village assembly members[7] | 2,177 / 29,425 |
| Election symbol | |
_Emblem.svg.png.webp) | |
| Website | |
| www | |
^ A: The Liberal Democratic Party is a big-tent conservative party.[8][9] The LDP has been also described as centre-right,[lower-alpha 1][16] but the LDP also has far-right[lower-alpha 2][17] and ultra-conservative[18] factions, including members belonging to the ultranationalist Nippon Kaigi (see List of members of Nippon Kaigi). | |
The LDP has been in power almost continuously since its foundation in 1955—a period called the 1955 System—except between 1993 and 1994, and again from 2009 to 2012. In the 2012 election, it regained control of the government.[20] After the 2021 and 2022 elections it holds 261 seats in the House of Representatives and 119 seats in the House of Councillors, and in coalition with Komeito since 1999, a governing majority in both houses.
The LDP is often described as a big tent conservative party, with several different ideological factions ranging from moderates to right-wing nationalists. The party's history and internal composition have been characterized by intense factionalism ever since its emergence in 1955, with its parliamentary members currently split among six factions, each of which vies for influence in the party and the government.[21] The incumbent Prime Minister and party President, Fumio Kishida, is the leader of the party's Kōchikai faction.
History
Beginnings
The LDP was formed in 1955[22] as a merger between two of Japan's political parties, the Liberal Party (自由党, Jiyutō, 1945–1955, led by Shigeru Yoshida) and the Japan Democratic Party (日本民主党, Nihon Minshutō, 1954–1955, led by Ichirō Hatoyama), both right-wing conservative parties, as a united front against the then popular Japan Socialist Party (日本社会党, Nipponshakaitō), now the Social Democratic Party (社会民主党, Shakaiminshutō). The party won the following elections, and Japan's first conservative government with a majority was formed by 1955. It would hold majority government until 1993.[23]
The LDP began with reforming Japan's international relations, ranging from entry into the United Nations, to establishing diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union. Its leaders in the 1950s also made the LDP the main government party, and in all the elections of the 1950s, the LDP won the majority vote, with the only other opposition coming from left-wing politics, made up of the Japan Socialist Party and the Japanese Communist Party.
From the 1950s through the 1970s, the United States Central Intelligence Agency spent millions of dollars attempting to influence elections in Japan to favor the LDP against more leftist parties such as the Socialists and the Communists,[24][25] although this was not revealed until the mid-1990s when it was exposed by The New York Times.[26]
1960s to 1990s
For the majority of the 1960s, the LDP (and Japan) were led by Eisaku Satō, beginning with the hosting of the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, and ending in 1972 with Japanese neutrality in the Vietnam War and with the beginning of the Japanese asset price bubble. By the end of the 1970s, the LDP went into its decline, where even though it held the reins of government many scandals plagued the party, while the opposition (now joined with the Komeito (Former)) gained momentum.
In 1976, in the wake of the Lockheed bribery scandals, a handful of younger LDP Diet members broke away and established their own party, the New Liberal Club (Shin Jiyu Kurabu). A decade later, however, it was reabsorbed by the LDP.
By the late 1970s, the Japan Socialist Party, the Japanese Communist Party, and the Komeito along with the international community used major pressure to have Japan switch diplomatic ties from Taiwan (Republic of China) to the People's Republic of China.
In 1983, the LDP was a founding member of the International Democrat Union.[27]
By the early 1990s, the LDP's nearly four decades in power allowed it to establish a highly stable process of policy formation. This process would not have been possible if other parties had secured parliamentary majorities. LDP strength was based on an enduring, although not unchallenged, coalition of big business, small business, agriculture, professional groups, and other interests. Elite bureaucrats collaborated closely with the party and interest groups in drafting and implementing policy. In a sense, the party's success was a result not of its internal strength but of its weakness. It lacked a strong, nationwide organization or consistent ideology with which to attract voters. Its leaders were rarely decisive, charismatic, or popular. But it functioned efficiently as a locus for matching interest group money and votes with bureaucratic power and expertise. This arrangement resulted in corruption, but the party could claim credit for helping to create economic growth and a stable, middle-class Japan.
Out of power
By 1993, the end of the miracle economy and other reasons such as the recruit scandal led to the LDP losing its majority in that year's general election.
Seven opposition parties—including several formed by LDP dissidents—formed a government headed by LDP dissident Morihiro Hosokawa of the Japan New Party who became the prime minister preceded by Kiichi Miyazawa. However, the LDP was still far and away the largest party in the House of Representatives, with well over 200 seats; no other party crossed the 80-seat mark. Yohei Kono became the president of the LDP preceded by Kiichi Miyazawa, he was the first non-prime minister LDP leader as the leader of the opposition.
In 1994, the Socialist Party and New Party Sakigake left the ruling coalition, joining the LDP in the opposition. The remaining members of the coalition tried to stay in power as a makeshift minority government, but this failed when the LDP and the Socialists, bitter rivals for 40 years, formed a majority coalition. The new government was dominated by the LDP, but it allowed a Socialist to occupy the Prime Minister's chair (Tomiichi Murayama) until 1996 when the LDP's Ryutaro Hashimoto took over.
1996–2009
In the 1996 election, the LDP made some gains but was still 12 seats short of a majority. However, no other party could possibly form a government, and Hashimoto formed a solidly LDP minority government. Through a series of floor-crossings, the LDP regained its majority within a year.
The party was practically unopposed until 1998 when the opposition Democratic Party of Japan was formed. This marked the beginning of the opposing parties' gains in momentum, especially in the 2003 and 2004 Parliamentary Elections, that would not slow for another 12 years.
In the dramatically paced 2003 House of Representatives elections, the LDP won 237 seats, while the DPJ won 177 seats. In the 2004 House of Councillors elections, in the seats up for grabs, the LDP won 49 seats and the DPJ 50, though in all seats (including those uncontested) the LDP still had a total of 114. Because of this electoral loss, former Secretary-General Shinzo Abe turned in his resignation, but Party President Koizumi merely demoted him in rank, and he was replaced by Tsutomu Takebe.
On 10 November 2003, the New Conservative Party (Hoshu Shintō) was absorbed into the LDP, a move which was largely because of the New Conservative Party's poor showing in the 2003 general election. The LDP formed a coalition with the conservative Buddhist New Komeito (party founded by Soka Gakkai) from Obuchi Second shuffle Cabinet (1999–2000).
After a victory in the 2005 Japanese general election, the LDP held an absolute majority in the Japanese House of Representatives and formed a coalition government with the New Komeito Party. Shinzo Abe succeeded then-Prime Minister Junichirō Koizumi as the president of the party on 20 September 2006. The party suffered a major defeat in the election of 2007, however, and lost its majority in the upper house for the first time in its history.
The LDP remained the largest party in both houses of the Diet, until 29 July 2007, when the LDP lost its majority in the upper house.[28]
In a party leadership election held on 23 September 2007, the LDP elected Yasuo Fukuda as its president. Fukuda defeated Tarō Asō for the post, receiving 330 votes against 197 votes for Aso.[29][30] However Fukuda resigned suddenly in September 2008, and Asō became Prime Minister after winning the presidency of the LDP in a five-way election.
In the 2009 general election, the LDP was roundly defeated, winning only 118 seats—easily the worst defeat of a sitting government in modern Japanese history, and also the first real transfer of political power in the post-war era. Accepting responsibility for this severe defeat, Aso announced his resignation as LDP president on election night. Sadakazu Tanigaki was elected leader of the party on 28 September 2009,[31] after a three-way race, becoming only the second LDP leader who was not simultaneously prime minister.
2009–present
The party's support continued to decline, with prime ministers changing rapidly, and in the 2009 House of Representatives elections the LDP lost its majority, winning only 118 seats, marking the only time they would be out of the majority other than a brief period in 1993.[32][33] Since that time, numerous party members have left to join other parties or form new ones, including Your Party (みんなの党, Minna no Tō), the Sunrise Party of Japan (たちあがれ日本, Tachiagare Nippon),[34], the New Renaissance Party (新党改革, Shintō Kaikaku), and the Party of Hope (希望の党, Kibō no Tō). The party had some success in the 2010 House of Councilors election, netting 13 additional seats and denying the DPJ a majority.[35][36] Abe became the president again in September 2012 after a five-way race. The LDP returned to power with its ally New Komeito after winning a clear majority in the lower house general election on 16 December 2012 after just over three years in opposition. Shinzo Abe became Prime Minister for the second time preceded by Yoshihiko Noda who was the leader of the DPJ.[37]
In July 2015, the party pushed for expanded military powers to fight in foreign conflict through Shinzo Abe and the support of Komeito party.[38]
Yoshihide Suga took over from Shinzo Abe in September 2020 after a three-way race. After Suga declined to run for re-election, successor Fumio Kishida led the party to an inevitable victory in the October 2021 Japanese general election after a four-way race.[39]
Ideology and political stance
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The LDP is usually associated with conservatism[19] and Japanese nationalism.[40] The party though has not espoused a well-defined, unified ideology or political philosophy, due to its long-term government, and has been described as a "catch-all" party.[9] Its members hold a variety of positions that could be broadly defined as being to the right of main opposition parties. Many of its ministers, including current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida[41] and former Prime Ministers Yoshihide Suga,[42] Shinzo Abe are affiliated with the parliamentary league of Nippon Kaigi, an ultranationalist and traditionalist lobby group.[43] In Japanese politics, the convention is to classify the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japanese Communist Party as occupying the conservative and progressive ends of the ideological spectrum respectively, however this classification face challenges, especially among younger generation, after 1990s.[44]
The LDP's Japanese nationalism shows a pragmatic nature, divided internally into realist doves and nationalist hawks, as it considers China's strong economic position. However, South Korea has much weaker national economic and military power than Japan, Japan's right-wing conservatives, including the LDP, show almost entirely hawkish diplomacy in South Korea. This causes great political friction with South Korean liberals with anti-imperialist sentiment toward China and Japan.[45] VANK, a South Korean anti-Japan/liberal-nationalist group, accused Japanese conservatives of apologizing only to China and not to South Korea for forced labor in World War II in July 2022.[46]
The LDP traditionally identified itself with a number of general goals: rapid, export-based economic growth; close cooperation with the United States in foreign and defense policies; and several newer issues, such as administrative reform. Administrative reform encompassed several themes: simplification and streamlining of government bureaucracy; privatization of state-owned enterprises; and adoption of measures, including tax reform, in preparation for the expected strain on the economy posed by an aging society. Other priorities in the early 1990s included the promotion of a more active and positive role for Japan in the rapidly developing Asia-Pacific region, the internationalization of Japan's economy by the liberalization and promotion of domestic demand (expected to lead to the creation of a high-technology information society) and the promotion of scientific research. A business-inspired commitment to free enterprise was tempered by the insistence of important small business and agricultural constituencies on some form of protectionism and subsidies.[47]
Historical
The LDP is a conservative party. However, in the case of the LDP administration under the 1955 System in Japan, their degree of economic control was stronger than that of Western conservative governments; it was also positioned closer to social democracy at that time.[48] Since the 1970s, the oil crisis has slowed economic growth and increased the resistance of urban citizens to policies that favor farmers.[49] To maintain its dominant position, the LDP sought to expand party supporters by incorporating social security policies and pollution measures advocated by opposition parties.[49] It was also historically closely positioned to corporate statism.[50][51]
Policies
During the 2021 general election the released LDP policy manifesto, titled "Create a new era together with you" included among other things support for:[52][53][54]
- Wealth redistribution to revive the Japanese economy and empowering the middle class
- Tax breaks for corporations willing to raise wages
- Advance administrative reforms to facilitate digitalization
- High investment in science and technology and increased funds for university research
- Secure robust supply chains for critical materials, such as rare earths
- Continued development of nuclear fusion power generation, and expansion of renewable energy to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050
- Reaching UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals targets
- Offer subsidies for enterprises if they move into new industries
- Electronic COVID-19 vaccine passports
- Expanding support for small and medium businesses hit by the COVID-19 pandemic
- Constitutional amendment including the proposed Japanese constitutional referendum to formalize the current existence of the Japan Self-Defense Forces in Article 9 of the Constitution and creating an emergency response clause
- Raising Japan's defense budget from the current 1% to "two percent or more" of gross domestic product (GDP) and enhancing Japan's defense capabilities
- Advance understanding of LGBT rights, although the party is not in favor of same-sex marriage with 50% of its election candidates being "undecided" and those opposed largely outnumbering those in favor[55]
- Acceptance of foreign workers and improving management to cover labor shortages
- Support Taiwan's bid to join the CPTPP agreement and WHO observer status
- Promoting further nuclear disarmament and nuclear nonproliferation
Structure
At the apex of the LDP's formal organization is the president (総裁, sōsai), who can serve three[56] three-year terms (The presidential term was increased from two years to three years in 2002 and from two to three terms in 2017). When the party has a parliamentary majority, the party president is the prime minister. The choice of party president is formally that of a party convention composed of Diet members and local LDP figures, but in most cases, they merely approved the joint decision of the most powerful party leaders. To make the system more democratic, Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda introduced a "primary" system in 1978, which opened the balloting to some 1.5 million LDP members. The process was so costly and acrimonious, however, that it was subsequently abandoned in favor of the old "smoke-filled room" method—so-called in allusion to the notion of closed discussions held in small rooms filled with tobacco smoke.
After the party president, the most important LDP officials are the Secretary-General (kanjicho), the chairmen of the LDP Executive Council (somukaicho), and of the Policy Affairs Research Council or "PARC" (政務調査会, seimu chōsakai).
Leadership
As of 25 June 2021:
| Position | Name | House | Faction |
|---|---|---|---|
| President | Fumio Kishida | Representatives | Kōchikai |
| Vice-President | Tarō Asō | Representatives | Asō (Shikōkai) |
| Secretary-General | Toshimitsu Motegi | Representatives | Takeshita (Heisei Kenkyūkai) |
| Executive Acting Secretary-General | Hiroshi Kajiyama | Representatives | None |
| Acting Secretary-General | Kazunori Tanaka | Representatives | Asō (Shikōkai) |
| Chief Deputy Secretary-General | Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi | Representatives | Nikai (Shisuikai) |
| Chairperson, Finance Committee | Ryū Shionoya | Representatives | Hosoda (Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyūkai) |
| Chairperson, Election Strategy Committee | Toshiaki Endo | Representatives | Nakatani (Yurinkai) |
| Chairperson, Party Organization and Campaign Headquarters | Yuko Obuchi | Representatives | Takeshita (Heisei Kenkyūkai) |
| Chairperson, Public Relations Headquarters | Taro Kono | Councillors | Asō (Shikōkai) |
| Chairperson, Diet Affairs Committee | Hiroshi Moriyama | Representatives | Ishihara (Kinmirai Seiji Kenkyūkai) |
| Chairperson, Party Ethics Committee | Seiichi Eto | Councillors | Nikai (Shisuikai) |
| Chairperson, General Assembly of Party Members of the House of Representatives | Hajime Funada | Representatives | Takeshita (Heisei Kenkyūkai) |
| Chairperson, LDP Executive Council | Tatsuo Fukuda | Representatives | Hosoda (Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyūkai) |
| Chairperson, Joint Plenary Meeting of Party Members of Both Houses of the Diet | Hidehisa Otsuji | Councillors | Takeshita (Heisei Kenkyūkai) |
| Chairperson, Policy Affairs Research Council | Sanae Takaichi | Representatives | None |
| Chairperson, General Assembly of Party Members of the House of Councillors | Masakazu Sekiguchi | Councillors | Takeshita (Heisei Kenkyūkai) |
| Secretary-General for the LDP in the House of Councillors | Hiroshige Sekō | Councillors | Hosoda (Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyūkai) |
| Executive Acting Secretary-General for the LDP in the House of Councillors | Masaharu Nakagawa | Councillors | Hosoda (Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyūkai) |
| Chairperson, LDP Policy Board in the House of Councillors | Satoshi Ninoyu | Councillors | Takeshita (Heisei Kenkyūkai) |
| Chairperson, LDP Diet Affairs Committee in the House of Councillors | Shinsuke Suematsu | Councillors | Hosoda (Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyūkai) |
| President, Central Institute of Politics | Gen Nakatani | Representatives | None |
| Chairperson, Headquarters for Promoting Administrative Reform | Vacant | ||
| Chairperson, Headquarters for North Korean Abductions | Eriko Yamatani | Councillors | Hosoda (Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyūkai) |
| Chairperson, Headquarters for Party and Political System Reform Implementation | Yasuhisa Shiozaki | Representatives | None |
| Chairperson, Headquarters for the Promotion of Revision of the Constitution | Seishirō Etō | Representatives | Hosoda (Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyūkai) |
| Chairperson, Headquarters for Accelerating Reconstruction after the Great East Japan Earthquake | Fukushiro Nukaga | Representatives | Takeshita (Heisei Kenkyūkai) |
| Chairperson, Headquarters for the Action Committee for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games | Toshiaki Endo | Representatives | None |
| Chairperson, Headquarters for Overcoming Population Decline and Regional Revitalization | Takeo Kawamura | Representatives | Nikai (Shisuikai) |
| Chairperson, Headquarters for Promoting Dynamic Engagement of All Citizens | Kuniko Inoguchi | Councillors | Asō (Shikōkai) |
| Chairperson, Headquarters for North Korea's Nuclear Tests | Toshihiro Nikai | Representatives | Nikai (Shisuikai) |
| Chairperson, Economic Strategy Headquarters for Building the Future Society based on AI | Ryū Shionoya | Representatives | Hosoda (Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyūkai) |
| Chairperson, Headquarters for Promoting the Establishment of a Disaster Resilient Japan | Toshihiro Nikai | Representatives | Nikai (Shisuikai) |
| Chairperson, Bidding Headquarters for the EXPO 2025 Osaka | Toshihiro Nikai | Representatives | Nikai (Shisuikai) |
| Chairperson, Headquarters for the TPP, Japan-EU EPA and the Japan-U.S. TAG | Hiroshi Moriyama | Representatives | Ishihara (Kinmirai Seiji Kenkyūkai) |
Factions
Since the genesis of the Liberal Democratic Party in 1955, factions have existed, but they have changed over time. Despite this change, factions in the party today can be traced back to their 1955 roots, a testament to the stability and institutionalized nature of Liberal Democratic Party factions.[57] Current factions in the LDP include:
Membership
The LDP had over five million party members in 1990. By December 2017 membership had dropped to approximately one million members.[2]
Performance in national elections until 1993
Election statistics show that, while the LDP had been able to secure a majority in the twelve House of Representatives elections from May 1958 to February 1990, with only three exceptions (December 1976, October 1979, and December 1983), its share of the popular vote had declined from a high of 57.8 percent in May 1958 to a low of 41.8 percent in December 1976, when voters expressed their disgust with the party's involvement in the Lockheed scandal. The LDP vote rose again between 1979 and 1990. Although the LDP won an unprecedented 300 seats in the July 1986 balloting, its share of the popular vote remained just under 50 percent. The figure was 46.2 percent in February 1990. Following the three occasions when the LDP found itself a handful of seats shy of a majority, it was obliged to form alliances with conservative independents and the breakaway New Liberal Club. In a cabinet appointment after the October 1983 balloting, a non-LDP minister, a member of the New Liberal Club, was appointed for the first time. On 18 July 1993, in lower house elections, the LDP fell so far short of a majority that it was unable to form a government.
In the upper house, the July 1989 election represented the first time that the LDP was forced into a minority position. In previous elections, it had either secured a majority on its own or recruited non-LDP conservatives to make up the difference of a few seats.
The political crisis of 1988–89 was testimony to both the party's strength and its weakness. In the wake of a succession of issues—the pushing of a highly unpopular consumer tax through the Diet in late 1988, the Recruit insider trading scandal, which tainted virtually all top LDP leaders and forced the resignation of Prime Minister Takeshita Noboru in April (a successor did not appear until June), the resignation in July of his successor, Uno Sōsuke, because of a sex scandal, and the poor showing in the upper house election—the media provided the Japanese with a detailed and embarrassing dissection of the political system. By March 1989, popular support for the Takeshita cabinet as expressed in public opinion polls had fallen to 9 percent. Uno's scandal, covered in magazine interviews of a "kiss and tell" geisha, aroused the fury of female voters.
Uno's successor, the eloquent if obscure Kaifu Toshiki, was successful in repairing the party's battered image. By January 1990, talk of the waning of conservative power and a possible socialist government had given way to the realization that, like the Lockheed affair of the mid-1970s, the Recruit scandal did not signal a significant change in who ruled Japan. The February 1990 general election gave the LDP, including affiliated independents, a comfortable, if not spectacular, majority: 275 of 512 total representatives.
In October 1991, Prime Minister Kaifu Toshiki failed to attain passage of a political reform bill and was rejected by the LDP, despite his popularity with the electorate. He was replaced as prime minister by Miyazawa Kiichi, a long-time LDP stalwart. Defections from the LDP began in the spring of 1992, when Hosokawa Morihiro left the LDP to form the Japan New Party. Later, in the summer of 1993, when the Miyazawa government also failed to pass political reform legislation, thirty-nine LDP members joined the opposition in a no-confidence vote. In the ensuing lower house election, more than fifty LDP members formed the Shinseitō and the Sakigake parties, denying the LDP the majority needed to form a government.
Election results
General election results
| Election | Leader | No. of candidates |
Seats | Position | Constituency votes | PR Block votes | Status | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | ± | Share | No. | Share | No. | Share | |||||
| 1958 | Nobusuke Kishi | 413 | 289 / 467 |
61.8% | 1st | 22,976,846 | 57.80% | Government | |||
| 1960 | Hayato Ikeda | 399 | 300 / 467 |
11 |
64.2% |  1st |
22,740,272 | 57.56% | Government | ||
| 1963 | Hayato Ikeda | 359 | 283 / 467 |
 17 |
60.5% | 1st |
22,423,915 | 54.67% | Government | ||
| 1967 | Eisaku Satō | 342 | 277 / 486 |
6 |
56.9% | 1st |
22,447,838 | 48.80% | Government | ||
| 1969 | Eisaku Satō | 328 | 288 / 486 |
11 |
59.2% | 1st |
22,381,570 | 47.63% | Government | ||
| 1972 | Kakuei Tanaka | 339 | 271 / 491 |
17 |
55.1% | 1st |
24,563,199 | 46.85% | Government | ||
| 1976 | Takeo Miki | 320 | 249 / 511 |
22 |
48.7% | 1st |
23,653,626 | 41.78% | Government | ||
| 1979 | Masayoshi Ōhira | 322 | 248 / 511 |
1 |
48.5% | 1st |
24,084,131 | 44.59% | Government | ||
| 1980 | Masayoshi Ōhira | 310 | 284 / 511 |
36 |
55.5% | 1st |
28,262,442 | 47.88% | Government | ||
| 1983 | Yasuhiro Nakasone | 339 | 250 / 511 |
34 |
48.9% | 1st |
25,982,785 | 45.76% | LDP-NLC coalition | ||
| 1986 | Yasuhiro Nakasone | 322 | 300 / 512 |
50 |
58.5% | 1st |
29,875,501 | 49.42% | Government | ||
| 1990 | Toshiki Kaifu | 338 | 275 / 512 |
25 |
53.7% | 1st |
30,315,417 | 46.14% | Government | ||
| 1993 | Kiichi Miyazawa | 285 | 223 / 511 |
52 |
43.6% | 1st |
22,999,646 | 36.62% | Opposition (until 1994) | ||
| LDP-JSP-NPS coalition (since 1994) | |||||||||||
| 1996 | Ryutaro Hashimoto | 355 | 239 / 500 |
16 |
47.8% | 1st |
21,836,096 | 38.63% | 18,205,955 | 32.76% | LDP-SDP-NPS coalition |
| 2000 | Yoshirō Mori | 337 | 233 / 480 |
6 |
48.5% | 1st |
24,945,806 | 40.97% | 16,943,425 | 28.31% | LDP-Komeito-NCP coalition |
| 2003 | Junichiro Koizumi | 336 | 237 / 480 |
4 |
49.3% | 1st |
26,089,326 | 43.85% | 20,660,185 | 34.96% | LDP-Komeito coalition |
| 2005 | Junichiro Koizumi | 346 | 296 / 480 |
59 |
61.6% | 1st |
32,518,389 | 47.80% | 25,887,798 | 38.20% | LDP-Komeito coalition |
| 2009 | Tarō Asō | 326 | 119 / 480 |
177 |
24.7% | 2nd |
27,301,982 | 38.68% | 18,810,217 | 26.73% | Opposition |
| 2012 | Shinzo Abe | 337 | 294 / 480 |
175 |
61.2% | 1st |
25,643,309 | 43.01% | 16,624,457 | 27.79% | LDP-Komeito coalition |
| 2014 | Shinzo Abe | 352 | 291 / 475 |
3 |
61.2% | 1st |
25,461,427 | 48.10% | 17,658,916 | 33.11% | LDP-Komeito coalition |
| 2017 | Shinzo Abe | 332 | 284 / 465 |
7 |
61.0% | 1st |
26,719,032 | 48.21% | 18,555,717 | 33.28% | LDP-Komeito coalition |
| 2021 | Fumio Kishida | 338 | 259 / 465 |
25 |
55.7% | 1st |
27,626,235 | 48.08% | 19,914,883 | 34.66% | LDP-Komeito coalition |
Councillors election results
| Election | Leader | Seats | Nationwide[lower-alpha 3] | Prefecture | Status | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total[lower-alpha 4] | Contested | Number | % | Number | % | |||
| 1956 | Ichirō Hatoyama | 122 / 250 |
61 / 125 |
11,356,874 | 39.7% | 14,353,960 | 48.4% | Governing minority |
| 1959 | Nobusuke Kishi | 132 / 250 |
71 / 125 |
12,120,598 | 41.2% | 15,667,022 | 52.0% | Governing majority |
| 1962 | Hayato Ikeda | 142 / 250 |
69 / 125 |
16,581,637 | 46.4% | 17,112,986 | 47.1% | Governing majority |
| 1965 | Eisaku Satō | 140 / 251 |
71 / 125 |
17,583,490 | 47.2% | 16,651,284 | 44.2% | Governing majority |
| 1968 | Eisaku Satō | 137 / 250 |
69 / 125 |
20,120,089 | 46.7% | 19,405,546 | 44.9% | Governing majority |
| 1971 | Eisaku Satō | 131 / 249 |
62 / 125 |
17,759,395 | 44.5% | 17,727,263 | 44.0% | Governing majority |
| 1974 | Kakuei Tanaka | 126 / 250 |
62 / 125 |
23,332,773 | 44.3% | 21,132,372 | 39.5% | Governing majority |
| 1977 | Takeo Fukuda | 125 / 249 |
63 / 125 |
18,160,061 | 35.8% | 20,440,157 | 39.5% | Governing minority |
| 1980 | Masayoshi Ōhira | 135 / 250 |
69 / 125 |
23,778,190 | 43.3% | 24,533,083 | 42.5% | Governing majority |
| 1983 | Yasuhiro Nakasone | 137 / 252 |
68 / 126 |
16,441,437 | 35.3% | 19,975,034 | 43.2% | Governing majority |
| 1986 | Yasuhiro Nakasone | 143 / 252 |
72 / 126 |
22,132,573 | 38.58% | 26,111,258 | 45.07% | Governing majority |
| 1989 | Sōsuke Uno | 109 / 252 |
36 / 126 |
15,343,455 | 27.32% | 17,466,406 | 30.70% | Governing minority |
| 1992 | Kiichi Miyazawa | 106 / 252 |
68 / 126 |
14,961,199 | 33.29% | 20,528,293 | 45.23% | Governing minority (until 1993) |
| Minority (1993–1994) | ||||||||
| LDP-JSP-NPS governing majority (since 1994) | ||||||||
| 1995 | Yōhei Kōno | 111 / 252 |
46 / 126 |
10,557,547 | 25.40% | 11,096,972 | 27.29% | LDP-JSP-NPS governing majority |
| 1998 | Ryutaro Hashimoto | 102 / 252 |
44 / 126 |
14,128,719 | 25.17% | 17,033,851 | 30.45% | LDP–(Lib.–Komeitō) governing majority (until 2000) |
| LDP–Komeitō–NCP governing majority (since 2000) | ||||||||
| 2001 | Junichiro Koizumi | 111 / 247 |
64 / 121 |
21,114,727 | 38.57% | 22,299,825 | 41.04% | LDP–Komeitō–NCP governing majority (until 2003) |
| LDP–Komeitō governing majority (since 2003) | ||||||||
| 2004 | Junichiro Koizumi | 115 / 242 |
49 / 121 |
16,797,686 | 30.03% | 19,687,954 | 35.08% | LDP–Komeitō governing majority |
| 2007 | Shinzo Abe | 83 / 242 |
37 / 121 |
16,544,696 | 28.1% | 18,606,193 | 31.35% | LDP–Komeitō governing minority (until 2009) |
| Minority (since 2009) | ||||||||
| 2010 | Sadakazu Tanigaki | 84 / 242 |
51 / 121 |
14,071,671 | 24.07% | 19,496,083 | 33.38% | Minority (until 2012) |
| LDP–Komeitō governing minority (since 2012) | ||||||||
| 2013 | Shinzo Abe | 115 / 242 |
65 / 121 |
18,460,404 | 34.7% | 22,681,192 | 42.7% | LDP–Komeitō governing majority |
| 2016 | Shinzo Abe | 121 / 242 |
56 / 121 |
20,114,833 | 35.9% | 22,590,793 | 39.9% | LDP–Komeitō governing majority |
| 2019 | Shinzo Abe | 113 / 245 |
57 / 124 |
17,712,373 | 35.37% | 20,030,330 | 39.77% | LDP–Komeitō governing majority |
| 2022 | Fumio Kishida | 119 / 248 |
63 / 125 |
18,256,245 | 34.43% | 20,603,298 | 38.74% | LDP–Komeitō governing majority |
Leadership elections
| date | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | spoilt vote[62] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 April 1956 | Ichirō Hatoyama | Nobusuke Kishi | Jōji Hayashi | Tanzan Ishibashi Mitsujirō Ishii Shūji Masutani Banboku Ohno |
Ichirō Kōno Mamoru Shigemitsu Tsuruhei Matsuno Hayato Ikeda |
5 | ||||
| 394 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||||||
| 14 December 1956 | First round | Nobusuke Kishi | Tanzan Ishibashi | Mitsujirō Ishii | 0 | |||||
| 223 | 151 | 137 | ||||||||
| Runoff | Tanzan Ishibashi | Nobusuke Kishi | 0 | |||||||
| 258 | 251 | |||||||||
| 21 March 1957 | Nobusuke Kishi | Kenzō Matsumura | Mitsujirō Ishii Tokutarō Kitamura |
0 | ||||||
| 471 | 2 | 1 | ||||||||
| 14 January 1959 | Nobusuke Kishi | Kenzō Matsumura | Banboku Ohno Shigeru Yoshida Mitsujirō Ishii Shūji Masutani Eisaku Satō |
0 | ||||||
| 320 | 166 | 1 | ||||||||
| 14 July 1960 | First round | Hayato Ikeda | Mitsujirō Ishii | Aiichirō Fujiyama | Kenzō Matsumura | Banboku Ohno | 0 | |||
| 246 | 196 | 49 | 5 | 1 | ||||||
| Runoff | Hayato Ikeda | Mitsujirō Ishii | 0 | |||||||
| 302 | 194 | |||||||||
| 14 July 1962 | Hayato Ikeda | Eisaku Satō | Hisato Ichimada | Nobusuke Kishi | Aiichirō Fujiyama | Shigeru Yoshida Takeo Fukuda |
Hitoshi Takahashi Matsutarō Shōriki |
0 | ||
| 391 | 17 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||||
| 10 July 1964 | Hayato Ikeda | Eisaku Satō | Aiichirō Fujiyama | Hirokichi Nadao | 0 | |||||
| 242 | 160 | 72 | 1 | |||||||
| 1 December 1964 | Eisaku Satō | One candidate (elected by Ikeda) | ||||||||
| 1 December 1966 | Eisaku Satō | Aiichirō Fujiyama | Shigesaburō Maeo | Hirokichi Nadao | Uichi Noda | Zentarō Kosaka | Nobusuke Kishi Kenzō Matsumura Isamu Murakami |
0 | ||
| 289 | 89 | 47 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 1 | ||||
| 27 November 1968 | Eisaku Satō | Takeo Miki | Shigesaburō Maeo | Aiichirō Fujiyama | 0 | |||||
| 249 | 107 | 95 | 1 | |||||||
| 29 October 1970 | Eisaku Satō | Takeo Miki | Saburō Chiba Aiichirō Fujiyama Tokuma Utsunomiya |
0 | ||||||
| 353 | 111 | 1 | ||||||||
| 5 July 1972 | First round | Kakuei Tanaka | Takeo Fukuda | Masayoshi Ōhira | Takeo Miki | 7 | ||||
| 156 | 150 | 101 | 69 | |||||||
| Runoff | Kakuei Tanaka | Takeo Fukuda | 0 | |||||||
| 282 | 190 | |||||||||
| 4 December 1974 | Takeo Miki | One candidate (elected by Vice-President Etsusaburō Shiina) | ||||||||
| 23 December 1976 | Takeo Fukuda | One candidate (elected by discussion at the general meeting of LDP National Diet members of both houses) | ||||||||
| 26 November 1978 | Primaries [63] |
Masayoshi Ōhira | Takeo Fukuda | Yasuhiro Nakasone | Toshio Kōmoto | 0 | ||||
| 748 pts | 638 pts | 93 pts | 46 pts | |||||||
| Runoff | Masayoshi Ōhira | 2nd candidate withdrew | ||||||||
| 15 July 1980 | Zenkō Suzuki | One candidate (elected by Vice-President Eiichi Nishimura) | ||||||||
| 27 November 1980 | Zenkō Suzuki | One candidate (re-elected without voting in the leadership election due to the expiration of the term of office of Suzuki) | ||||||||
| 24 November 1982 | Primaries [64] |
Yasuhiro Nakasone | Toshio Kōmoto | Shintaro Abe | Ichiro Nakagawa | 0 | ||||
| 559673 | 265078 | 80443 | 66041 | |||||||
| Runoff | Yasuhiro Nakasone | 2nd and below candidates withdrew | ||||||||
| 30 October 1984 | Yasuhiro Nakasone | One candidate (re-elected without voting in the leadership election due to the expiration of the term of office of Nakasone) | ||||||||
| 11 September 1986 | Yasuhiro Nakasone | Extension of term of office by one year (Unanimously re-elected Nakasone's term of office at the general meeting of LDP National Diet members of both houses) | ||||||||
| 31 Octobe 1987 | Noboru Takeshita | One candidate (elected by Nakasone) | ||||||||
| 2 June 1989 | Sōsuke Uno | One candidate (elected by Takeshita) | ||||||||
| 8 August 1989 | Toshiki Kaifu | Yoshiro Hayashi | Shintaro Ishihara | 0 | ||||||
| 279 | 120 | 48 | ||||||||
| 31 October 1989 | Toshiki Kaifu | One candidate (re-elected without voting in the leadership election due to the expiration of the term of office of Kaifu) | ||||||||
| 27 October 1991 | Kiichi Miyazawa | Michio Watanabe | Hiroshi Mitsuzuka | 0 | ||||||
| 285 | 120 | 87 | ||||||||
| 30 July 1993 | Yōhei Kōno | Michio Watanabe | 0 | |||||||
| 208 | 159 | |||||||||
| 30 September 1993 | Yōhei Kōno | One candidate (re-elected without voting in the leadership election due to the expiration of the term of office of Kōno) | ||||||||
| 22 September 1995 | Ryutaro Hashimoto | Junichiro Koizumi | 0 | |||||||
| 304 | 87 | |||||||||
| 11 September 1997 | Ryutaro Hashimoto | One candidate (re-elected without voting in the leadership election due to the expiration of the term of office of Hashimoto) |
||||||||
| 24 July 1998 | Keizō Obuchi | Seiroku Kajiyama | Junichiro Koizumi | 0 | ||||||
| 225 | 102 | 84 | ||||||||
| 21 September 1999 | Keizō Obuchi | Koichi Kato | Taku Yamasaki | 0 | ||||||
| 350 | 113 | 51 | ||||||||
| 5 April 2000 | Yoshirō Mori | One candidate (elected by discussion at the general meeting of LDP National Diet members of both houses) | ||||||||
| 24 April 2001 | Junichiro Koizumi | Ryutaro Hashimoto | Tarō Asō | (Shizuka Kamei withdrew after the ballot counting) | 3 | |||||
| 298 | 155 | 31 | ||||||||
| 10 August 2001 | Junichiro Koizumi | One candidate (re-elected without voting in the leadership election due to the expiration of the term of office of Koizumi) | ||||||||
| 20 September 2003 | Junichiro Koizumi | Shizuka Kamei | Takao Fujii | Masahiko Kōmura | 0 | |||||
| 399 | 139 | 65 | 54 | |||||||
| 20 September 2006 (Detail) | Shinzo Abe | Tarō Asō | Sadakazu Tanigaki | 1 | ||||||
| 464 | 136 | 102 | ||||||||
| 23 September 2007 (Detail) | Yasuo Fukuda | Tarō Asō | 1 | |||||||
| 330 | 197 | |||||||||
| 22 September 2008 (Detail) | Tarō Asō | Kaoru Yosano | Yuriko Koike | Nobuteru Ishihara | Shigeru Ishiba | 2 | ||||
| 351 | 66 | 46 | 37 | 25 | ||||||
| 28 September 2009 (Detail) | Sadakazu Tanigaki | Taro Kono | Yasutoshi Nishimura | 1 | ||||||
| 300 | 144 | 54 | ||||||||
| 26 September 2012 | First round | Shigeru Ishiba | Shinzo Abe | Nobuteru Ishihara | Nobutaka Machimura | Yoshimasa Hayashi | 1 | |||
| 199 | 141 | 96 | 34 | 27 | ||||||
| Runoff | Shinzo Abe | Shigeru Ishiba | 1 | |||||||
| 108 | 89 | |||||||||
| 8 September 2015 | Shinzo Abe | One candidate (re-elected without voting in the leadership election due to the expiration of the term of office of Abe) | ||||||||
| 20 September 2018 (Detail) | Shinzo Abe | Shigeru Ishiba | 3 | |||||||
| 553 | 254 | |||||||||
| 14 September 2020 (Detail) | Yoshihide Suga | Fumio Kishida | Shigeru Ishiba | 0 | ||||||
| 377 | 89 | 68 | ||||||||
| 29 September 2021 (Detail) | First round | Fumio Kishida | Taro Kono | Sanae Takaichi | Seiko Noda | 1 | ||||
| 256 | 255 | 188 | 63 | |||||||
| Runoff | Fumio Kishida | Taro Kono | 1 | |||||||
| 257 | 170 | |||||||||
See also
- History of Japan
- Neoconservatism in Japan
- Honebuto no hōshin
- Komeito
- Nippon Ishin no Kai
- Japan Business Federation
- Yomiuri Shimbun
- The Asahi Shimbun – Historically closely related to Kōchikai (see Taketora Ogata, Ichiro Kono, Seiichi Tagawa and Tomisaburo Hashimoto). The Asahi Shimbun supports the Kishida administration.
- Mainichi Shimbun – It has a historical relationship with the Heisei Kenkyukai (Keynesian principle). However, the relationship with the faction is not as strong as the Asahi Shimbun.
- Nihon Keizai Shimbun
- Sankei Shimbun - Historically closely related to Seiwakai
- Netto-uyoku
- Nippon Kaigi
- Dentsu – Advertising agency (semi-governmental)
- Unification Church
- List of political parties in Japan
- Politics of Japan
- Reactionary (since 2012)
Notes
- The Liberal Democratic Party has been also described as national-conservative,[10] socially conservative,[11][12] and liberal-conservative.[13][14] The Asahi Shimbun, a centre-left newspaper, evaluated that there is a liberal faction within the LDP (representatively, there is Kōchikai).[15]
- Some sources also assessed that the LDP was founded with funds from ultranationalist, and some sources refer to the LDP as far-right ultranationalist:
- Matthew Pointon, ed. (2017). Across Asia With A Lowlander. Lulu.com. p. 12. ISBN 9780244043544.
Ever since the culmination of the Second World War, the far right Liberal Democratic Party has firmly held the reigns of power, with only a couple of minor interruptions.
- "Beautiful Harmony: Political Project Behind Japan's New Era Name – Analysis". eurasia review. 16 July 2019.
The shifting dynamics around the new era name (gengō 元号) offers an opportunity to understand how the domestic politics of the LDP's project of ultranationalism is shaping a new Japan and a new form of nationalism.
- Margaret DiCanio PhD, ed. (2004). Encyclopedia of Violence. iUniverse. ISBN 9780595316526.
In 1955, with funds from the ultranationalists, the conservatives merged the Liberal Party with the Democratic Party to form the Liberal Democratic Party (LPD), which effectively held the Japanese Communist Party in check.
- Matthew Pointon, ed. (2017). Across Asia With A Lowlander. Lulu.com. p. 12. ISBN 9780244043544.
- From 1947 to 1980, 50 members were elected through a nationwide constituency, known as the "national block" (Plurality-at-large voting). It was replaced in 1983 by a proportional representation block with closed lists. In 2001, the PR block was reduced to 48 members with most open lists.
- The Upper house is split in two classes, one elected every three years.
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This article incorporates public domain material from the Library of Congress Country Studies.- Japan Country Studies – Library of Congress
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ところが、現実の政治はもっと複雑です。自民党にもリベラル派がたくさんいるからです。自民党は考え方の近い人たちが派閥というグループをつくっています。(Tr: However, real politics is more complicated. This is because there are many liberals in the LDP. The Liberal Democratic Party is made up of groups of people with similar ideas, called factions.)
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Abe's center-right Liberal Democratic Party (LDP),
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In Japan, populist and extreme right-wing nationalism has found a home within the political establishment.
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Another sign of the rise of the uyoku dantai's ideas is the growing power of the Nippon Kaigi. The organization is the largest far-right group in Japan and has heavy lobbying clout with the conservative LDP; 18 of the 20 members of Shinzo Abe's cabinet were once members of the group.
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Of those three victories, the first election in December 2012 was a rout of the leftist Democratic Party of Japan and it thrust the more powerful Lower House of Parliament firmly into the hands of the long-incumbent Liberal Democratic Party under Abe. The second election in December 2014 further normalized Japan's lurch to the far right, giving the ruling coalition a supermajority of 2/3 of the seats in the Lower House.
- "Shinzo Abe? That's Not His Name, Says Japan's Foreign Minister". The New York Times. 22 May 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
Mr. Abe is strongly supported by the far right wing of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which hews to tradition and tends toward insularity.
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... Far right LDP legislators led by Prime Minister (PM) Shinzo ̄ Abe demanded the withdrawal of the 1993 Ko ̄no Statement and attacked the ...
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- Michael W. Apple, ed. (2009). Global Crises, Social Justice, and Education. Routledge. p. 62. ISBN 9781135172787.
Far-right politicians within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which achieved the half-century conservative political reign from 1955 to 1993, were nostalgic for the prewar elitist and imperial education system.
- Sarah Hyde, ed. (2009). The Transformation of the Japanese Left: From Old Socialists to New Democrats. Routledge. p. XY. ISBN 9781135219758.
Ever since the 1950s, and except for a brief period in the early 1990s, the central ruling force has been the Liberal Democratic Party, a broad church of interests and opinions ranging from the political centre to the extreme right.
- Adam Gamble, Takesato Watanabe, ed. (2004). A Public Betrayed: An Inside Look at Japanese Media Atrocities and Their Warnings to the West. Regnery Publishing. p. 255. ISBN 9780895260468.
Since then, and right up until today , Japanese apologists, strongly supported by far-right publishers such as Bungeishunju Ltd. and Shinchosha Ltd., and including many top-ruling Liberal Democratic Party ( LDP ) officials ...
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... of the war and viewed the 1947 Constitution as illegitimate as it was written not by the Japanese people but forced upon the country by the U.S. Occupation Authority. Abe shares these beliefs, in common with many within the LDP's far right.
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In Japan, populist and extreme right-wing nationalism has found a home within the political establishment.
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As a new emperor takes the throne, prime minister Abe is consolidating his ultranationalist "beautiful Japan" project. But can he overcome a falling population and stagnating economy?
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Conventional wisdom, still dominant in media and academic circles, holds that the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Japanese Communist Party (JCP) occupy the conservative and progressive ends of the ideological spectrum, ...
- [Opinion] Where the Cold War Never Ended. New York Times. Aug. 12, 2019
- "일, 강제노역 사과 중국에만···반크 "사도광산 유네스코 등재 반대"". 23 July 2022.
- The Liberal Democratic Party – "Japan – THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY". Archived from the original on 3 November 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
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ただし、日本の55年体制下の自民党政権の場合は欧米の保守政権に比べるとかなり経済的統制の度合いが強く、社会民主主義により近い場所に位置した。
- Iio, Jun (2019). Gendai nihon no seiji. Hōsō daigaku kyōzai (in Japanese). Hōsō daigaku kyōiku shinkōkai. p. 104. ISBN 978-4-595-31946-4.
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- Since the leadership election before 1972 is not a candidacy system, votes for members who did not campaign are also calculated as valid votes.
- Primary election by general party members. With a point system in which 1000 votes are calculated as 1 point and distributed proportionally to the top two candidates, the two candidates in the primary election will advance to runoff by members of the National Diet.
- Primary election by general party members. With a total vote system, the top three candidates will advance to runoff.
Bibliography
- Helms, Ludger (2013). Parliamentary Opposition in Old and New Democracies. Routledge Press. ISBN 978-1-31797-031-6.
- Henderson, Jeffrey (2011). East Asian Transformation: On the Political Economy of Dynamism, Governance and Crisis. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-13684-113-2.
- Köllner, Patrick. "The Liberal Democratic Party at 50: Sources of Dominance and Changes in the Koizumi Era," Social Science Japan Journal (Oct 2006) 9#2 pp 243–257.
- Krauss, Ellis S., and Robert J. Pekkanen. "The Rise and Fall of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party," Journal of Asian Studies (2010) 69#1 pp 5–15, focuses on the 2009 election.
- Krauss, Ellis S., and Robert J. Pekkanen, eds. The Rise and Fall of Japan's LDP: Political Party Organizations as Historical Institutions (Cornell University Press; 2010) 344 pages; essays by scholars
- Scheiner, Ethan. Democracy without Competition in Japan: Opposition Failure in a One-Party Dominant State (Cambridge University Press, 2006)
External links
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| Political organizations with seats in the National Diet |
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