Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)

Liberal Democratic Party
自由民主党 or 自民党

Jiyū-Minshutō or Jimintō
President Shinzō Abe
Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai
Councillors leader Seiko Hashimoto
Representatives leader Shinzō Abe
Founded 15 November 1955 (1955-11-15)
Merger of Japan Democratic Party
Liberal Party
Headquarters 11-23, Nagatachō 1-chome, Chiyoda, Tokyo 100-8910, Japan
Newspaper Jiyū Minshu[1]
Membership (2017)

1,068,560

(As of 31 December 2017)[2]
Ideology Japanese nationalism[3]
National conservatism[4]
Social conservatism[5]
Liberal conservatism[6][7]
Economic liberalism[8]
Right-wing populism[9]
Japanese neoconservatism[10]
Political position Centre-right[11] to right-wing[12]
International affiliation None
Colors Green and Red
Anthem
"われら"[13]
"We"
Councillors
125 / 242
Representatives
283 / 465
Prefectural assembly members[14]
1,266 / 2,614
City, special ward, town and village assembly members[14]
2,009 / 30,101
Election symbol
Website
jimin.jp

The Liberal Democratic Party of Japan (自由民主党, Jiyū-Minshutō), frequently abbreviated to LDP or Jimintō (自民党), is a conservative[15] political party in Japan.

The LDP has near continuously been in power since its foundation in 1955—a period called the 1955 System—with the exception of a period between 1993 and 1994, and again from 2009 to 2012. In the 2012 election it regained control of government. It holds 291 seats in the lower house and 121 seats in the upper house, with the Komeito the governing coalition has the supermajority in both houses. Prime Minister Shinzō Abe and many present and former LDP ministers are also known members of Nippon Kaigi, a monarchist and negationist organization.[16]

The LDP is not to be confused with the now-defunct Liberal Party (自由党, Jiyūtō), which merged with the Democratic Party of Japan (民主党, Minshutō) to become the Democratic Party (民進党, Minshintō), the main opposition party until 2017.[17]

History

Beginnings

Launching convention, 15 November 1955

The LDP was formed in 1955 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 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.

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 the 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,[18][19] although this was not revealed until the mid-1990s when it was exposed by The New York Times.[20]

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 the Republic of China to the People's Republic of China. During the 1980s, the LDP was responsible for Japan's unprecedented economic growth, and the successful economy.

Headquarters of the LDP in Tokyo.

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

But by 1993, the end of the miracle economy and other reasons (e.g. 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. 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.

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 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 wouldn't 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 Shinzō 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.

After a victory in the Japan general election, 2005, the LDP held an absolute majority in the Japanese House of Representatives and formed a coalition government with the New Komeito Party. 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.[21]

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.[22][23] However Fukuda resigned suddenly in September 2008, and Asō became Prime Minister after winning the presidency of the LDP in a 5-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,[24] after a three-way race, becoming only the second LDP leader who was not simultaneously prime minister.

Recent political history

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.[25][26] 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),[27] and the New Renaissance Party (新党改革, Shintō Kaikaku). The party had some success in the 2010 House of Councilors election, netting 13 additional seats and denying the DPJ a majority.[28][29] 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. Shinzō Abe became Prime Minister for the second time.[30]

In July 2015, the party pushed for expanded military powers to fight in foreign conflict through Shinzō Abe and the support of Komeito party.[31]

Ideology

The LDP has not espoused a well-defined, unified ideology or political philosophy, due to its long-term government. Its members hold a variety of positions that could be broadly defined as being to the right of the opposition parties. 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.[32] In addition, the LDP opposes the legalization of same-sex marriage.[5]

Structure

At the apex of the LDP's formal organization is the president (総裁, sōsai), who can serve three[33] 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), and the chairmen of the LDP Executive Council (somukaicho) and of the Policy Affairs Research Council or "PARC" (政務調査会 seimu chōsakai).

The LDP is the most "traditionally Japanese" of the political parties because it relies on a complex network of patron-client (oyabun-kobun) relationships on both national and local levels. Nationally, a system of factions in both the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors ties individual Diet members to powerful party leaders. Locally, Diet members have to maintain koenkai (local support groups) to keep in touch with public opinion and gain votes and financial backing. The importance and pervasiveness of personal ties between Diet members and faction leaders and between citizens and Diet members gives the party a pragmatic "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" character. Its success depends less on generalized mass appeal than on the so-called sanban (three "ban"): jiban (a strong, well-organized constituency), kaban (a briefcase full of money), and kanban (prestigious appointment, particularly on the cabinet level).

Leadership

Position Name Faction
President Shinzō Abe Hosoda (Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyū-kai)
Deputy leader Masahiko Kōmura Asō (Shikō-kai)
Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai Nikai (Shisui-kai)
Vice Secretary-General Kōichi Hagiuda Hosoda
Deputy Secretary-General Motoo Hayashi Asō
Katsutoshi Kaneda Takeshita (Heisei Kenkyū-kai)
Naoki Okada Hosoda
Policy Affairs Research Council chief Fumio Kishida Kishida (Kōchi-kai)
Financial Affairs Committee chief Yūji Yamamoto Ishiba (Suigetsu-kai)
Election Campaign Committee chief Ryū Shionoya Hosoda
Party Organization general manager Taimei Yamaguchi Takeshita
Public Relations general manager Takuya Hirai Kishida
Diet Affairs Committee chief Hiroshi Moriyama Ishihara (Kinmirai Seiji Kenkyū-kai)
Chief Party Whip Akiko Santō Asō
Representatives General Council chief Hajime Funada Takeshita
General Affairs Council chief Wataru Takeshita Takeshita
Joint House General Council chief Hidehisa Otsuji Takeshita
Councillors General Council chief Seiko Hashimoto Hosoda
Councillors General Council Secretary-General Hiromi Yoshida Takeshita
Councillors Policy Affairs Council chief Keizō Takemi Asō
Councillors Diet Affairs Committee chief Masakazu Sekiguchi Takeshita
Central Political Graduate School director Takeshi Iwaya Asō

Factions

Membership

The LDP had over five million party members in 1990. By December 2017 membership had dropped to approximately one million members.[34]

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, 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.

Presidents of the Liberal Democratic Party

With the exception of Yohei Kono and Sadakazu Tanigaki, every President of the LDP (自由民主党総裁, Jiyū-Minshutō Sōsai) has also served as Prime Minister of Japan.

No. Name Term of office Election results
Took Office Left Office
Preceding parties: Democratic Party (1954) & Liberal Party (1950)
Interim President Committee
- Ichirō Hatoyama 15 November 1955 5 April 1956 Interim President Committee
Bukichi Miki
Banboku Oono
Taketora Ogata 28 January 1956
Tsuruhei Matsuno 10 February 1956 5 April 1956
President
1 Ichirō Hatoyama 5 April 1956 14 December 1956
Ichirō Hatoyama - 394
Nobusuke Kishi - 4
Others - 15
2 Tanzan Ishibashi 14 December 1956 21 March 1957
1st Round
Nobusuke Kishi - 223
Tanzan Ishibashi - 151
Mitsujiro Ishii - 137
2nd Round
Tanzan Ishibashi - 258
Nobusuke Kishi - 251
3 Nobusuke Kishi 21 March 1957 14 July 1960
1957
Nobusuke Kishi - 471
Kenzō Matsumura - 2
Tokutaro Kitamura - 1
Mitsujirō Ishii - 1
1959
Nobusuke Kishi - 320
Kenzō Matsumura - 166
Others - 5
4 Hayato Ikeda 14 July 1960 1 December 1964
1960 1st Round
Hayato Ikeda - 246
Mitsujirō Ishii - 194
Aiichirō Fujiyama - 49
Others - 7
1960 2nd Round
Hayato Ikeda - 302
Mitsujirō Ishii - 194
1962
Hayato Ikeda - 391
Eisaku Satō - 17
Others - 20
July 1964
Hayato Ikeda - 242
Eisaku Satō - 160
Aiichirō Fujiyama - 72
Hirokichi Nadao - 1
5 Eisaku Satō 1 December 1964 5 July 1972
November 1964
Eisaku Satō - Green tickY
Aiichirō Fujiyama - Red XN
Ichirō Kōno - Red XN
1966
Eisaku Satō - 289
Aiichirō Fujiyama - 89
Shigesaburō Maeo - 47
Hirokichi Nadao - 11
Uichi Noda - 9
Others - 5
1968
Eisaku Satō - 249
Takeo Miki - 107
Shigesaburō Maeo - 95
Others - 25
1970
Eisaku Satō - 353
Takeo Miki - 111
Others - 3
6 Kakuei Tanaka 5 July 1972 4 December 1974
Tanaka Kakuei - 282
Takeo Fukuda - 180
7 Takeo Miki 4 December 1974 23 December 1976
1974
Takeo Miki - Green tickY
Takeo Fukuda - Red XN
Masayoshi Ōhira - Red XN
Yasuhiro Nakasone - Red XN
8 Takeo Fukuda 23 December 1976 1 December 1978
1976
Takeo Fukuda - Green tickY
Masayoshi Ōhira - Red XN
9 Masayoshi Ōhira
(Died in office)
1 December 1978 12 June 1980
1st Round
Masayoshi Ōhira - 748
Fukuda Takeo - 638
Yasuhiro Nakasone - 93
Toshio Kōmoto - 46
2nd Round
Unopposed
Eiichi Nishimura 12 June 1980 15 July 1980 Acting
10 Zenkō Suzuki 15 July 1980 25 November 1982
1st Round
Zenko Suzuki - Green tickY
Kiichi Miyazawa - Red XN
Yasuhiro Nakasone - Red XN
Toshio Kōmoto - Red XN
2nd Round
Unopposed
11 Yasuhiro Nakasone 25 November 1982 31 October 1987
1982 1st Round
Yasuhiro Nakasone - 57.6% (559,673)
Toshio Kōmoto - 27.2% (265,078)
Shintarō Abe - 8.2% (80,443)
Ichirō Nakagawa - 6.8% (66,041)
1982 2nd Round
Unopposed
1984
Unopposed Walkover
1986
1-year Extension
12 Noboru Takeshita 31 October 1987 2 June 1989
1987
Noboru Takeshita - Green tickY
Shintarō Abe - Red XN
Kiichi Miyazawa - Red XN
13 Sōsuke Uno 2 June 1989 8 August 1989
1989
Sōsuke Uno - Green tickY
Masayoshi Itō - Red XN
14 Toshiki Kaifu 8 August 1989 30 October 1991
1st Round
Toshiki Kaifu - 279
Yoshirō Hayashi - 120
Shintarō Ishihara - 48
2nd Round
Unopposed
15 Kiichi Miyazawa 31 October 1991 29 July 1993
Kiichi Miyazawa - 285
Michio Wantanabe - 120
Hiroshi Mitsuzuka - 87
16 Yōhei Kōno 29 July 1993 1 October 1995
1st Round
Yōhei Kōno - 208
Michio Wantanabe - 159
2nd Round
Unopposed
17 Ryutaro Hashimoto 1 October 1995 24 July 1998
1995
Ryutaro Hashimoto - 304
Junichiro Koizumi - 87
1997
Unopposed Walkover
18 Keizō Obuchi 24 July 1998 5 April 2000
1998
Keizō Obuchi - 225
Seiroku Kajiyama - 102
Junichiro Koizumi - 84
1999
Keizō Obuchi - 350
Koichi Kato - 113
Taku Yamasaki - 51
19 Yoshirō Mori 5 April 2000 24 April 2001
2000
Yoshirō Mori - Green tickY
Mikio Aoki - Red XN
Masakuni Murakami - Red XN
Hiromu Nonaka - Red XN
Shizuka Kamei - Red XN
20 Junichiro Koizumi 24 April 2001 20 September 2006
2001 1st Round
Junichiro Koizumi - 298
Ryutaro Hashimoto - 155
Tarō Asō - 31
2001 2nd Round
Unopposed
2003
Junichiro Koizumi - 339
Shizuka Kamei - 139
Takao Fujii - 65
Masahiko Kōmura - 54
21 Shinzō Abe 20 September 2006 26 September 2007
Shinzō Abe - 464
Tarō Asō - 136
Sadakazu Tanigaki - 102
22 Yasuo Fukuda 26 September 2007 22 September 2008
Yasuo Fukuda - 330
Tarō Asō - 197
23 Tarō Asō 22 September 2008 16 September 2009
24 Sadakazu Tanigaki 28 September 2009 26 September 2012
Sadakazu Tanigaki - 300
Taro Kono - 144
Yasutoshi Nishimura - 54
(21) Shinzō Abe 26 September 2012 Incumbent
2012 1st Round
Shinzō Abe - 464
Shigeru Ishiba - 199
Nobuteru Ishihara - 96
Nobutaka Machimura 34
Yoshimasa Hayashi - 27
2012 2nd Round
Shinzō Abe - 108
Shigeru Ishiba - 89
2015
Unopposed Walkover
Shinzō Abe - 553
Shigeru Ishiba - 254

Election results

General election results

Election Leader # of candidates # of seats won # of Constituency votes % of Constituency vote # of PR Block votes % of PR Block vote Government/Opposition
1958 Nobusuke Kishi 413
289 / 467
23,840,170 59.0% Government
1960 Hayato Ikeda 399
300 / 467
22,950,404 58.1% Government
1963 Hayato Ikeda 359
283 / 467
22,972,892 56.0% Government
1967 Eisaku Satō 342
277 / 486
22,447,838 48.9% Government
1969 Eisaku Satō 328
288 / 486
22,381,570 47.6% Government
1972 Tanaka Kakuei 339
271 / 491
24,563,199 46.9% Government
1976 Takeo Miki 320
249 / 511
23,653,626 41.8% Government
1979 Masayoshi Ōhira 322
248 / 511
24,084,130 44.59% Government
1980 Masayoshi Ōhira 310
284 / 511
28,262,442 47.88% Government
1983 Yasuhiro Nakasone 339
250 / 511
25,982,785 45.76% LDP-NLC coalition
1986 Yasuhiro Nakasone 322
300 / 512
29,875,501 49.42% Government
1990 Toshiki Kaifu 338
275 / 512
30,315,417 46.14% Government
1993 Kiichi Miyazawa 285
223 / 511
22,999,646 36.62% Opposition (until 1994)
LDP-JSP-NPS coalition (since 1994)
1996 Ryutaro Hashimoto 355
239 / 500
21,836,096 38.63% 18,205,955 32.76% LDP-SDP-NPS coalition
2000 Yoshirō Mori 337
233 / 480
24,945,806 40.97% 16,943,425 28.31% LDP-NKP-NCP coalition
2003 Junichiro Koizumi 336
237 / 480
26,089,326 43.85% 20,660,185 34.96% LDP-NKP coalition
2005 Junichiro Koizumi 346
296 / 480
32,518,389 47.80% 25,887,798 38.20% LDP-NKP coalition
2009 Tarō Asō 326
119 / 480
27,301,982 38.68% 18,810,217 26.73% Opposition
2012 Shinzō Abe 337
294 / 480
25,643,309 43.01% 16,624,457 27.79% LDP-NKP coalition
2014 Shinzō Abe 352
291 / 475
25,461,427 48.10% 17,658,916 33.11% LDP-KM coalition
2017 Shinzō Abe 332
284 / 465
26,719,032 48.21% 18,555,717 33.28% LDP-KM coalition

Councillors election results

Election Leader # of seats total # of seats won # of National votes
from 1983: # of Proportional votes
% of National vote
from 1983: % of Proportional vote
# of Prefectural votes % of Prefectural vote Majority/Minority
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 Shinzō 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 Shinzō Abe
115 / 242
65 / 121
18,460,404 34.7% 22,681,192 42.7% LDP–Komeitō governing majority
2016 Shinzō Abe
121 / 242
56 / 121
20,114,833 35.9% 22,590,793 39.9% LDP–Komeitō governing majority

See also

References

  1. 機関紙誌のご案内. Liberal Democratic Party.
  2. 役員会後 二階幹事長記者会見 (Press release). Liberal Democratic Party. 2018-03-05.
  3. "The Resurgence of Japanese Nationalism (the Globalist)". Archived from the original on 19 August 2016. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
  4. Ganesan (2015). Bilateral Legacies in East and Southeast Asia. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. p. 67.
  5. 1 2 Inada, Miho; Dvorak, Phred. "Same-Sex Marriage in Japan: A Long Way Away?" Archived 16 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine.. The Wall Street Journal. 20 September 2013. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  6. William D. Hoover, ed. (2011). Historical Dictionary of Postwar Japan. Scarecrow Press. p. 211. ISBN 978-0-8108-7539-5.
  7. Karan, Pradyumna P. (2005), Japan in the 21st century: environment, economy, and society, University Press of Kentucky
  8. Muramatsu, Michio (1997). State and Administration in Japan and Germany: A Comparative Perspective on Continuity and Change. Walter de Gruyter. p. 117.
  9. Lindgren, Petter (2012). "The Era of Koizumi's Right-Wing Populism" (PDF). University of Oslo.
  10. Hebert (2011). Wind Bands and Cultural Identity in Japanese Schools. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 44.
  11. The Liberal Democratic Party is widely described as centre-right:
    • Roger Blanpain; Michele Tiraboschi (2008). The Global Labour Market: From Globalization to Flexicurity. Kluwer Law International. p. 268. ISBN 978-90-411-2722-8.
    • Ludger Helms (18 October 2013). Parliamentary Opposition in Old and New Democracies. Routledge. p. 97. ISBN 978-1-317-97031-6.
    • Jeffrey Henderson; William Goodwin Aurelio Professor of Greek Language and Literature Jeffrey Henderson (11 February 2011). East Asian Transformation: On the Political Economy of Dynamism, Governance and Crisis. Taylor & Francis. p. 54. ISBN 978-1-136-84113-2.
    • Peter Davies; Derek Lynch (16 August 2005). The Routledge Companion to Fascism and the Far Right. Routledge. p. 236. ISBN 978-1-134-60952-9.
  12. "Unwelcome Change – A Cabinet Reshuffle Poses Risks For Japan's Ties with Neighbors". The Economist. 30 August 2014.
  13. "党歌・シンボル". jimin.jp. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  14. 1 2 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 2017
  15. The Liberal Democratic Party is widely described as conservative:
    • Roger Blanpain; Michele Tiraboschi (2008). The Global Labour Market: From Globalization to Flexicurity. Kluwer Law International. p. 268. ISBN 978-90-411-2722-8.
    • Jeff Kingston (26 November 2013). Japan in Transformation, 1945-2010. Routledge. p. 19. ISBN 978-1-317-86192-8.
    • Larry Diamond; Richard Gunther (26 December 2001). Political Parties and Democracy. JHU Press. p. 145. ISBN 978-0-8018-6863-4.
    • Paul W. Zagorski (10 September 2012). Comparative Politics: Continuity and Breakdown in the Contemporary World. Routledge. p. 111. ISBN 978-1-135-96979-0.
    • Ray Christensen (January 2000). Ending the Ldp Hegemony: Party Cooperation in Japan. University of Hawaii Press. p. 232. ISBN 978-0-8248-2295-8.
  16. "Tea Party Politics in Japan Archived 17 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine." (New York Times - 2014/09/13)
  17. "The Democratic Party of Japan". Democratic Party of Japan. 2006. Retrieved 2008-09-06.
  18. Weiner, Tim (1994-10-09). "C.I.A. Spent Millions to Support Japanese Right in 50's and 60's". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-12-29.
  19. "Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, Vol. XXIX, Part 2, Japan". United States Department of State. 2006-07-18. Retrieved 2007-12-29.
  20. Johnson, Chalmers (1995). "The 1955 System and the American Connection: A Bibliographic Introduction". JPRI Working Paper No. 11.
  21. Norimitsu Onishi; Yasuko Kamiizumi; Makiko Inoue (2007-07-29). "Premier's Party Suffers Big Defeat in Japan". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-07-29.
  22. Martig, Naomi (23 September 2007). "Japan's Ruling Party Chooses New Leader". VOA News. Archived from the original on 20 August 2008.
  23. "Fukuda wins LDP race / Will follow in footsteps of father as prime minister", The Daily Yomiuri, September 23, 2007.
  24. Sadakazu Tanigaki Elected LDP President "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
  25. "'Major win' for Japan opposition". BBC News. 2009-08-30. Retrieved 2009-08-31.
  26. "衆院党派別得票数・率(比例代表)". (in Japanese) Jiji. 2009-08-31.
  27. Martin, Alex (11 April 2010). "LDP defectors launch new political party". The Japan Times. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  28. "House of Councillors The National Diet of Japan". Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  29. "参議院インターネット審議中継". Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  30. The Japan Times
  31. NYT, 2015 Archived 14 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
  32. The Liberal Democratic Party - "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 3 November 2016. Retrieved 2012-05-04.
  33. http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/new-rules-give-japans-abe-chance-to-lead-until-2021
  34. 役員会後 二階幹事長記者会見 (Press release). Liberal Democratic Party. 2018-03-05.

Bibliography

  • Helms, Ludger (2013). Parliamentary Opposition in Old and New Democracies. Routledge Press. ISBN 1-31797-031-4.
  • Henderson, Jeffrey (2011). East Asian Transformation: On the Political Economy of Dynamism, Governance and Crisis. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 1-13684-113-X.
  • 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)

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