Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)
Liberal Democratic Party 自由民主党 Jiyū-Minshutō | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | LDP Lib Dems[1] Jimintō |
| President | Shigeru Ishiba |
| Vice President | Yoshihide Suga |
| Secretary-General | Hiroshi Moriyama |
| Founders |
|
| Founded | 15 November 1955 (69 years, 308 days) |
| Merger of |
|
| Headquarters | 11–23, Nagatachō 1-chome, Chiyoda, Tokyo 100-8910, Japan |
| Newspaper | Jiyu Minshu[2] |
| Student wing | LDP Students Division[3] |
| Youth wing | LDP Youth |
| Membership | 1,028,662 (2024 est.) |
| Ideology |
|
| Political position | Right-wing[A][4] |
| National affiliation | LDP–Komeito coalition |
| International affiliation | International Democrat Union (formerly) |
| Colours | |
| Slogan | 日本を守る。成長を力に。 Nihon o mamoru. Seichō o chikara ni. ('Protect Japan. Turn growth into strength.')[6] |
| Anthem | "われら" Ware-ra ('We')[7] |
| Councillors | 101 / 248 |
| Representatives | 195 / 465 |
| Prefectures[8] | 1,301 / 2,644 |
| Municipalities[8] | 2,137 / 29,135 |
| Election symbol | |
Alternative symbol | |
| Party flag | |
| Website | |
| |
^ A: The Liberal Democratic Party is a big-tent conservative party (see factions table below).[9][10] The LDP has also been described as centre-right,[11] but the LDP has far-right[12][13] and ultraconservative[14] factions, including members belonging to the ultranationalist Nippon Kaigi. | |
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The Liberal Democratic Party (自由民主党, Jiyū-Minshutō), frequently abbreviated to LDP, the Lib Dems, or Jimintō (自民党), is a major conservative[15] and nationalist[16] political party in Japan. Since its foundation in 1955, the LDP has been in power almost continuously—a period called the 1955 System—except from 1993 to 1996, and again from 2009 to 2012.
The LDP was formed in 1955 as a merger of two conservative parties, the Liberal Party and the Japan Democratic Party, and was initially led by prime minister Ichirō Hatoyama. The LDP supported Japan's alliance with the United States and fostered close links between Japanese business and government, playing a major role in the country's economic miracle from the 1960s to early 1970s and subsequent stability under prime ministers including Hayato Ikeda, Eisaku Satō, Kakuei Tanaka, Takeo Fukuda, and Yasuhiro Nakasone. Scandals and economic difficulties led to the LDP losing power between 1993 and 1994, and governing under a non-LDP prime minister from 1994 to 1996. The LDP regained stability during the premiership of Junichiro Koizumi in the 2000s before achieving its worst-ever electoral result in the 2009 election. The party regained control of the government in a landslide victory at the 2012 election under Shinzo Abe. After the 2024 and 2025 elections the LDP currently holds 191 seats in the House of Representatives and 101 seats in the House of Councillors; the party has governed in coalition with Komeito since 1999. Since the 2017 general election, the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) has been its primary opponent in national politics.
The LDP is often described as a big tent conservative party, including factions that range from moderate conservatism to right-wing nationalism.[17] Although lacking a cohesive political ideology, the party's platform has historically supported increased defense spending, maintaining close ties with the United States and, since the 21st century, pursuing close relations with its Indo-Pacific allies to counter the rise of China as a superpower.[18] The party's history and internal composition has been characterized by intense factionalism among its members since its emergence in 1955. Shigeru Ishiba, Japan's incumbent prime minister, has served as party president since 27 September 2024.
- ^ Semans, Himari; Ninivaggi, Gabriele (7 November 2024). "LDP lawmakers urge Ishiba to step down after budget passage next year". The Japan Times. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
- ^ Endo, Masahisa; Pekkanen, Robert (2018). "The LDP: Return to Dominance? Or a Golden Age Built on Sand?". In Pekkanen, Robert (ed.). Critical Readings on the Liberal Democratic Party in Japan. Vol. 4. Brill. p. 1626. ISBN 978-90-04-38055-4. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
The Jiyu Minshu, the LDP's party paper, began to focus on rural development from June 2014.
- ^ "自民党学生部". www.tokyo-jimin.jp. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^
- Florian Coulmas, ed. (2023). Japanese Propriety, Past and Present: Disciplined Liberalism. Taylor & Francis. p. 88. ISBN 9781000885835.
... in Japan's post-war political discourse often supporting leftist and socialist positions opposed to the ruling right-wing Liberal Democratic Party, which has always been favoured by Washington.
- "Japan's right-wing Liberal Democratic Party dominates parliamentary election". Business Insider. 10 July 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
- Shorrock, Tim (27 August 2019). "In a Major Shift, South Korea Defies Its Alliance With Japan". The Nation. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
- Akito Okada, ed. (2022). Japan's School Curriculum for The 2020s: Politics, Policy, and Pedagogy. Springer Nature. p. 14. ISBN 9789811920769.
In the case of Japan, the ideological basis of the right-wing LDP had almost no element of liberal (as in libertarian) thought, such as reliance on anti-nationalist liberalism and individualism, or vigilance against a centrally planned economy and welfare system.
- Arve Hansen; Jo Inge Bekkevold; Kristen Nordhaug, eds. (2020). The Socialist Market Economy in Asia: Development in China, Vietnam and Laos. Springer Nature. p. 318. ISBN 9789811562488.
Japan's economic miracle was largely formed under the leadership of the conservative right-wing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), ...
- Lam Peng Er; Purnendra Jain, eds. (2020). Japan's Foreign Policy in the Twenty-First Century: Continuity and Change. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 96. ISBN 9781498587969.
The rising tide of hawkish nationalism and historical revisionism spearheaded by the right-wing LDP Prime Minister Abe Shinzo in recent decades seems to confirm the doubt.
- Arthur Alexander (June 2018). "Expert Voices on Japan: Security, Economic, Social, and Foreign Policy Recommendations" (PDF). Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation.
- Katsuyuki Hidaka, ed. (2016). Japanese Media at the Beginning of the 21st Century. Routledge. ISBN 9781134988778.
Criticism of the unreservedly right-wing Liberal Democratic Party administration led by Abe Shinzō nevertheless remains strong. Together with advocating for changes to the constitution, the Abe administration has succeeded in passing ...
- Florian Coulmas, ed. (2023). Japanese Propriety, Past and Present: Disciplined Liberalism. Taylor & Francis. p. 88. ISBN 9781000885835.
- ^ 日本に定着するか、政党のカラー [Will the colors of political parties settle in Japan?]. The Nikkei (in Japanese). Nikkei, Inc. 21 October 2017. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
- ^ "自民党". jimin.jp. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ 党歌・シンボル. jimin.jp. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
- ^ a b Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, party membership statistics for chief executives and assembly members in prefectures and municipalities: Prefectural and local assembly members and governors/mayors by political party as of 31 December 2023
- ^ Ellington, Lucien (14 July 2009). Japan. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 978-1-59884-162-6.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
HookGilson20012was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^
- "Japan PM Yoshihide Suga to quit over discontent at Covid response". The Guardian. 3 September 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
Whoever ends up winning the contest for PM, there are unlikely to be major policy shifts by the centre-right LDP.
- "Japan goes to polls in one of most unpredictable elections in years: here's what's at stake". The Independent. 27 October 2024. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
Japan has been ruled by the same centre-right Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) for 65 of the past 69 years.
- "Commentary: A disastrous poll puts Japan politics on shaky path". Channel NewsAsia. 29 October 2024. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
But the LDP is fundamentally a centre-right organisation, and Ishiba offered no olive branch to the party's conservative wing.
- "Why Fumio Kishida's Future as Japan's Prime Minister Looks Uncertain". Time. 23 May 2024. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
Though the center-right Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has dominated the country's politics for nearly seven decades, the top job has frequently changed hands.
- "Shigeru Ishiba to be Japan's leader, winning on fifth attempt". Reuters. 28 September 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
"We ought to be a party that lets members discuss the truth in a free and open manner, a party that is fair and impartial on all matters and a party with humility," he told a press conference after winning the centre-right party's contest.
- "Japan PM Yoshihide Suga to quit over discontent at Covid response". The Guardian. 3 September 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
- ^ 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 reins 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.
- ^
- Mark R. Mullins, ed. (2021). The Routledge Handbook of Japanese Politics. University of Hawaii Press. p. 94. ISBN 9780824890162.
The first is provided by Yamatani Eriko, one of the darlings of Shinseiren and a person who represents the far right of the LDP.
- "The Dangerous Impact of the Far-Right in Japan". Washington Square News. 15 April 2019.
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.
- "Why Steve Bannon Admires Japan". The Diplomat. 22 June 2018.
In Japan, populist and extreme right-wing nationalism has found a home within the political establishment.
- Wesley Yee (January 2018). "Making Japan Great Again: Japan's Liberal Democratic Party as a Far Right Movement". The University of San Francisco.
- "Japan's ruling party under fire over links to far-right extremists". The Guardian. 13 October 2014.
- "For Abe, it will always be about the Constitution". The Japan Times. 4 July 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
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.
- Leonel Lim, Michael W. Apple, ed. (2016). The Strong State and Curriculum Reform: Assessing the politics and possibilities of educational change in Asia. Routledge. p. 167. ISBN 9781317579236.
... Far right LDP legislators led by Prime Minister (PM) Shinzo ̄ Abe demanded the withdrawal of the 1993 Ko ̄no Statement and attacked the ...
- Mark R. Mullins, ed. (2021). The Routledge Handbook of Japanese Politics. University of Hawaii Press. p. 94. ISBN 9780824890162.
- ^
- "Japan is having an election next month. Here's why it matters". The Japan Times. 22 November 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
When Abe appointed five female ministers in September, two of which were forced to step down over scandals, a number of political commentators viewed the move with some cynicism, suggesting that the prime minister didn't pay much attention to the qualifications of the candidates. Most of the women he chose were ultra-conservatives such as Eriko Yamatani, minister in charge of the North Korea abductee issue.
- "Japan, led by less apologetic generation, stays tough in South Korea feud". Reuters. 8 August 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
Electoral system changes and three years in opposition helped ultra-conservative lawmakers and lobby groups strengthen their clout in the LDP.
- "Japan is having an election next month. Here's why it matters". The Japan Times. 22 November 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
- ^ The Liberal Democratic Party is widely described as conservative:
- Roger Blanpain; Michele Tiraboschi; Pablo Arellano Ortiz (2008). The Global Labour Market: From Globalization to Flexicurity. Kluwer Law International. p. 268. ISBN 978-90-411-2722-8.
- Jeff Kingston (2011). Japan in Transformation, 1945-2010. Routledge. p. 19. ISBN 978-1-317-86192-8.
- Bradley Richardson (2001). "Japan's "1955 System" and Beyond". In Larry Diamond; Richard Gunther (eds.). Political Parties and Democracy. JHU Press. p. 145. ISBN 978-0-8018-6863-4.
- Paul W. Zagorski (2009). Comparative Politics: Continuity and Breakdown in the Contemporary World. Routledge. p. 111. ISBN 978-1-135-96979-0.
- Ray Christensen (2000). Ending the LDP Hegemony: Party Cooperation in Japan. University of Hawaii Press. p. 232. ISBN 978-0-8248-2295-8.
- ^ Sources describing the LDP as nationalist:
- "The Resurgence of Japanese Nationalism". 22 July 2015. Archived from the original on 19 August 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
- "As Hiroshima's legacy fades, Japan's postwar pacifism is fraying". The Conversation UK. 6 August 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
Even though much of the Japanese public does not agree with the LDP's nationalist platform, the party won big electoral victories by promising to replace the DPJ's weakness with strong leadership – particularly on the economy, but also in foreign affairs.
- "Why Steve Bannon Admires Japan". The Diplomat. 22 June 2018.
In Japan, populist and extreme right-wing nationalism has found a home within the political establishment.
- "Shinzo Abe and the rise of Japanese nationalism". New Statesman. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
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?
- "Japan's ruling conservatives have been returned to power, but amid voter frustration, challenges lurk for Kishida". The Conversation. 1 November 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
Japan's ruling conservative nationalist Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) will remain comfortably in power under its new prime minister Fumio Kishida, after the weekend's national election.
- A Weiss (31 May 2018). Towards a Beautiful Japan: Right-Wing Religious Nationalism in Japan's LDP.
- ^
- Shorrock, Tim (27 August 2019). "In a Major Shift, South Korea Defies Its Alliance With Japan". The Nation. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
- Arthur Alexander (June 2018). "Expert Voices on Japan: Security, Economic, Social, and Foreign Policy Recommendations" (PDF). Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation.
- Joy Hendry, ed. (2003). Understanding Japanese Society. Routledge. pp. 219–220. ISBN 9781134502561.
- ^ Park, Ju-min (12 October 2021). "Japan's ruling party unveils manifesto with focus on coronavirus, defence". Reuters. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
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