Komeito
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The Komeito (公明党), also known as Clean Government Party or CGP, was a political party in Japan. It was centrist, sometimes also classified as centre-left.
[edit] History
Komeito is originally the Komei Political League, a section of the Soka Gakkai, a major organization that promotes Nichiren Buddhism.
From 1955 to 1967, the Soka Gakkai backed and got elected many candidates in local assembly politics: 51 out of 52 were elected in 1955; and by 1967 close to 2,000 were elected.
The League of the Soka Gakkai also backed candidates to the Upper House where 3 members were elected in 1956 - a number that has never ceased to increase since (25 members in 1967; 47 in 1969).
In 1964 the president of the Soka Gakkai of the time, Daisaku Ikeda, decided to split the Soka Gakkai (the religious body) from the League (political body). Thus was created the Komeito.
In 1969, the Komeito became the third political party in Japan.
It was usually supportive of the Japan Socialist Party, and was against the Liberal Democratic Party, the major ruling party at that time.
Komeito did quite well, and in 1993, when the LDP was for the first time declared an opposition party, the Komeito became one of the ruling parties, headed by the liberal Japan New Party, but which also included the Democratic Socialist Party, Japan Renewal Party, the New Party Sakigake, and the Japan Socialist Party. In 1994, however, the latter two parties left the coalition, and in July, they took over the rule making another coalition with the LDP. The Komeito was again thrown into opposition.
On December 5, 1994, The Komeito split into two parties. Lower House chairs and some of Upper House chars formed Komeito New Party, and 5 days later, they joined into the New Frontier Party. The others, i.e. local assembly members and the rest of Upper House chairs, formed Komei and independent friend of the New Frontier Party.
In 1998, however, the New Frontier Party dissolved and former Komeito members formed New Peace Party and Reform Club. They merged with Komei in the same year and then became known as the New Komeito. The New Komeito adopted more conservative agenda than former Komeito and in 1999 they supported the ruling party, the Liberal Democrats.[1]
