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The Liberal Democratic Party (自由民主党, Jiyū-Minshutō), frequently abbreviated to LDP or Jimintō (自民党), is a major conservative and Japanese nationalist political party in Japan. The LDP was formed in 1955 as a merger of two conservative parties: the Liberal Party and the Japan Democratic Party.
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Liberal-Democratic Party of Japan (LDP), Japan’s largest political party, which has held power almost continuously since its formation in 1955. The party has generally worked closely with business interests and followed a pro-U.S. foreign policy. During nearly four decades of uninterrupted power (1955–93), the LDP oversaw Japan’s remarkable recover...
Although the LDP was formally created in 1955, its antecedents can be traced back to political parties of the 19th century. These parties formed before Japan even had a constitution, a parliament, or elections and were primarily protest groups against the government. One of these was the Jiyūtō (Liberal Party), formed in 1881, which advocated a radical agenda of democratic reform and popular sovereignty. The Rikken Kaishintō (Constitutional Reform Party) was a more moderate alternative, formed in 1882, advocating parliamentary democracy along British lines. Party names and alliances continued to be fluid after the first elections in 1890, eventually leading to the creation of Rikken Seiyūkai (Friends of Constitutional Government) and Seiyūkai’s main rival, which operated under several names: Shimpotō (Progressive Party), Kenseikai (Constitutional Party), and finally Minseitō (Democratic Party). With the rise of militarism in Japan, however, the political parties lost influence. In 1940 they disbanded, and many of their members joined the government-sponsored Imperial Rule Assistance Association (Taisei Yokusankai).
The Japanese surrender at the end of World War II in 1945 was followed by a decade of political confusion. New parties were formed from the remnants of the old ones: the Liberal Party built on the old Seiyūkai, whereas the Progressive Party drew on factions of both the Seiyūkai and the Minseitō. The party system was highly fluid, with parties frequently merging or dissolving. For example, from 1945 to 1954 the Progressive Party changed its name four times, becoming the Democratic Party in 1947, the National Democratic Party in 1950, the Reform Party in 1952, and finally the Japan Democratic Party in 1954. In 1947–48 this party also joined with the Socialist Party to form a brief coalition government under the auspices of the U.S.-led occupation of Japan (1945–52).
Other than this coalition government, it was common for two or three conservative parties to dominate Japan’s political scene in the first postwar decade. This decade ended on November 15, 1955, when the Democrats and the Liberals formally united to form the Liberal-Democratic Party. With this merger, the LDP established itself as the conservative alternative to the growing power of the socialist and communist parties.
Two cleavages were important in the first years of the party. The first pitted LDP politicians who previously had worked in the national bureaucracy before becoming LDP candidates against those who had served as politicians before and during World War II. The bureaucratic group had a powerful protégé in Yoshida Shigeru, an ex-bureaucrat who served as leader of the Liberal Party and as prime minister of Japan during most of the occupation. The ex-bureaucrats filled the gap left when the occupation authorities banned nearly all former politicians from active participation in politics. As these bans were lifted in the late 1940s and early ’50s and these politicians returned to politics, however, the conflict between these two groups led to a power struggle within the LDP.
The second cleavage centred on the tension between conservative and nationalist party leaders who advocated a revision of some elements of Japan’s new constitution (which had been drawn up by occupation authorities and included prohibitions on waging war and maintaining a military) and those who defended the new constitutional framework. This specific issue divided the party, but its foreign policy corollary—the question of Japan’s relations with the United States—divided the LDP from its socialist and communist opponents. These debates reached a fever pitch with the massive public protests in 1960 against Japan’s ratification of the main security treaty between the United States and Japan. The party forced the ratification through the lower house of the Diet (legislature) in a special midnight session after police had removed opposition politicians who were blocking the session’s opening. Public outrage precipitated the resignation of Prime Minister Kishi Nobusuke, and his successors set aside the divisive issues of constitutional reform and foreign policy and focused instead on an agenda of economic growth.
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Oct 28, 2021 · Oct 28th 2021. SINCE ITS FOUNDING in 1955, Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has dominated the country’s politics. The party has ruled uninterrupted, save two brief stints in 1993 to...
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Nov 24, 2021 · The LDP is the ruling party in Japan and has been in power for most of the post-war period. Learn about its history, organization, leaders, policies and news on its official website.
Sep 29, 2021 · Fumio Kishida has won a race to lead Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), putting him on course to become the next prime minister. Mr Kishida will succeed Yoshihide Suga, who...
