History of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)

This is a History of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan.

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, 1950–1955, 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. 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 foreign affairs, 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, 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, although this was not revealed until the mid-1990s when it was exposed by The New York Times.

1960s to 1990s

For the majority of the 1960s, the LDP (and Japan) were led by Eisaku Sato, 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 Socialists 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. Since then the opposition has been gaining momentum, especially in the 2003 and 2004 Parliamentary Elections.

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.

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.

In a party leadership election held on 23 September 2007, the LDP elected Yasuo Fukuda as its President. Fukuda defeated Taro Aso for the post, receiving 330 votes against 197 votes for Aso. However Fukuda resigned suddenly in September 2008, and Aso became Prime Minister after winning the presidency of the LDP in a 5-way election.

In the 2009 elections, 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, after a three way race, becoming only the second LDP leader who was not simultaneously prime minister.

Presidents of the LDP

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		Image	Election results
		Took Office	Left Office
Interim President Committee
-	Ichirō Hatoyama 鳩山 一郎 Hatoyama Ichirō	15 November 1955	5 April 1956
	Bukichi Miki 三木 武吉 Miki Bukichi
	Banboku Oono 大野 伴睦 Ōno Banboku
	Taketora Ogata 緒方 竹虎 Ogata Taketora		28 January 1956
	Tsuruhei Matsuno 松野 鶴平 Matsuno Tsuruhei	10 February 1956	5 April 1956
President
1	Ichirō Hatoyama 鳩山 一郎 Hatoyama Ichirō	5 April 1956	14 December 1956
2	Tanzan Ishibashi 石橋 湛山 Ishibashi Tanzan	14 December 1956	21 March 1957
3	Nobusuke Kishi 岸 信介 Kishi Nobusuke	21 March 1957	14 July 1960
4	Hayato Ikeda 池田 勇人 Ikeda Hayato	14 July 1960	1 December 1964
5	Eisaku Satō 佐藤 榮作 Satō Eisaku	1 December 1964	5 July 1972
6	Kakuei Tanaka 田中 角榮 Tanaka Kakuei	5 July 1972	4 December 1974
7	Takeo Miki 三木 武夫 Miki Takeo	4 December 1974	23 December 1976
8	Takeo Fukuda 福田 赳夫 'Fukuda Takeo	23 December 1976	1 December 1978
9	Masayoshi Ōhira 大平 正芳 Ōhira Masayoshi	1 December 1978	12 June 1980
—	Eiichi Nishimura 西村 英一 Nishimura Eiichi (Acting)	12 June 1980	15 July 1980
10	Zenko Suzuki 鈴木 善幸 Suzuki Zenkō	15 July 1980	25 November 1982
11	Yasuhiro Nakasone 中曾根 康弘 Nakasone Yasuhiro	25 November 1982	31 October 1987
12	Noboru Takeshita 竹下 登 Takeshita Noboru	31 October 1987	2 June 1989
13	Sōsuke Uno 宇野 宗佑 Uno Sōsuke	2 June 1989	8 August 1989
14	Toshiki Kaifu 海部 俊樹 Kaifu Toshiki	8 August 1989	30 October 1991
15	Kiichi Miyazawa 宮澤 喜一 Miyazawa Kiichi	31 October 1991	29 July 1993
16	Yōhei Kōno 河野 洋平 Kōno Yōhei	31 October 1991	29 July 1993
17	Ryutaro Hashimoto 橋本 龍太郎 Hashimoto Ryūtarō	1 October 1995	24 July 1998
18	Keizō Obuchi 小渕 恵三 Obuchi Keizō	24 July 1998	5 April 2000
19	Yoshirō Mori 森 喜朗 Mori Yoshirō	5 April 2000	24 April 2001
20	Junichiro Koizumi 小泉 純一郎 Koizumi Jun'ichirō	24 April 2001	26 September 2006		2001: Junichiro Koizumi - 298 Ryutaro Hashimoto - 155 Tarō Asō - 31 2006: Junichiro Koizumi - 339 Shizuka Kamei - 139 Takao Fujii - 65 Masahiko Kōmura - 54
21	Shinzō Abe 安倍 晋三 Abe Shinzō	26 September 2006	26 September 2007		see election Sep 2006 Shinzō Abe - 464 Tarō Asō - 136 Sadakazu Tanigaki - 102
22	Yasuo Fukuda 福田 康夫 Fukuda Yasuo	26 September 2007	22 September 2008		see election 2007 Yasuo Fukuda - 330 Tarō Asō - 197
23	Tarō Asō 麻生 太郎 Asō Tarō	22 September 2008	16 September 2009		see election 2008 Tarō Asō - 351 Kaoru Yosano - 66 Yuriko Koike - 46 Nobuteru Ishihara - 37 Shigeru Ishiba - 25
24	Sadakazu Tanigaki 谷垣 禎一 Tanigaki Sadakazu	28 September 2009	26 September 2012		see election 2009 Sadakazu Tanigaki - 300 Taro Kono - 144 Yasutoshi Nishimura - 58
25	Shinzō Abe 安倍 晋三 Abe Shinzō	26 September 2012	Incumbent		Shinzō Abe - 108 Shigeru Ishiba - 89