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Liberalism in Japan

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Japanese liberalism (自由主義 or リベラリズム)[note 1] formed in the nineteenth century as a reaction against traditional society. In the twentieth century 'liberal' (自由) gradually became a synonym for conservative, and today the main conservative party in the country is named Liberal Democratic Party (Jiyu Minshuto). The defunct Democratic Party (Minshuto) was considered in part a centrist-liberal party, as are most parties which derived from it. The liberal character of the Liberal League (Jiyu Rengo) is disputed, as it is also considered to be conservative by some. This article is limited to liberal (リベラル) parties with substantial support, proved by having had representation in parliament. The sign ⇒ means a reference to another party in that scheme. For inclusion in this scheme it isn't necessary that parties labelled themselves "liberal".

Modern Japanese liberalism

Liberals in Japan are generally considered united by one major factor: their opposition to changing the post-World War II constitution forbidding the creation of a national military.[2]

Before the 1990s, Japanese liberals did not form a prominent individual political party.

Since the 1990s, most conservative liberals have left the LDP. The JNP and Sakigake are the parties founded by Japanese conservative liberals against the LDP's nationalist project, which now lead to the DPJ-liberalism tradition. Japan's modern liberal party, DPJ, which has been in full swing since the 1990s, was led by moderates of the right-wing LDP and left-wing JSP.

Currently, the LDP has not been considered a liberal party. In the past, liberals in the LDP became opposition forces after leaving the party, so "liberal" generally became a force against "conservative" in Japanese politics in the 21st century. The current DPJ-liberalism tradition is being continued by the CDPJ.[6]

Since Japanese conservatism was influenced by Shintoism, Japan's radical liberalism and democratic socialism against it were influenced by Christianity.[7]

As the LDP becomes an increasingly solid conservative party, and the socialist movement that led the traditional anti-LDP camp has lost control in Japan's opposition political camp, gradually shifting from the centre to centre-right "liberal" in the European sense of the past to the centre-left "liberal" in the American sense. Currently, the LDP is the largest right-wing conservative party in Japan, and the CDPJ is the largest centre-left liberal party in Japan.

Timeline

From Public Society of Patriots until Constitutional Politics Party

  • 1874: Liberals founded the Public Society of Patriots (Aikoku Koto)
  • 1881: The Aikoku Koto is continued by the Liberal Party (Jiyu-to)
  • 1891: The Jiyuto is renamed into Constitutional Liberal Party (Rikken Jiyuto)
  • 1898: The Constitutional Liberal Party merged with the ⇒ Progressive Party into the Constitutional Politics Party (Kenseito)
  • 1898: A faction seceded as the ⇒ Constitutional Center Party
  • 1900: The party is taken over by the oligarchy and renamed into Constitutional Political Friends Association (Rikken Seiyukai)

From Constitutional Progressive Party to Reform Club

From Constitutional Association of Allies to Constitutional Democratic Party

Authentic Constitutional Party of Political Friendship

From Renewal Party to Liberal Party (1993)

  • In postwar Japan, liberal (リベラル) tendencies did not stand out much among major political parties for more than 40 years. During the Japanese Empire, liberals, including the Constitutional Democratic Party, were swept away by several political parties. The center-right liberal-conservatives (自由保守主義) became the 'leftist faction' of the right-wing conservative Liberal Democratic Party, and the center-left progressive-liberals (革新自由主義) formed the 'rightist faction' within the left-wing Socialist Party.
  • 1993: A liberal faction of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (Jiyu-Minshuto) seceded as the Renewal Party (Shinseito)
  • 1994: The Renewal Party merged with other factions into the New Frontier Party (Shinshinto)
  • 1997: The New Frontier Party fell apart into many parties, among them since 1998 the Liberal Party (Jiyuto), but also the Good Governance Party (Minseito), the New Fraternity Party (Shinto-Yuai) and the Democratic Reform Party (Minshu-Kaikaku-Rengo)
  • 2000: Dissidents of the Liberal Party formed the New Conservative Party (Hoshuto)
  • 2003: The Liberal Party merged into the ⇒ Democratic Party of Japan
  • 2012: People's Life First split from the Democratic Party of Japan
  • 2012: People's Life First split into a new Liberal Party and Tomorrow Party of Japan
  • 2013: Tomorrow Party of Japan dissolved
  • 2019: Liberal Party merged into DPP

New Party Harbinger

  • 1993: A liberal faction of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (Jiyu-Minshuto) seceded as the New Party Harbinger (Shinto Sakigake)
  • 1996: Most members co-found the ⇒ Democratic Party of Japan
  • 1998: The party evolved in conservative direction, renamed into Harbinger (Sakigake) and further renamed in 2002 into Green Assembly (Midori No Kaigi)

Democratic Party of Japan (1998–2016)

CDP and DPP (2016–present)

  • 2017: The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (Rikken Minshuto, 立憲民主党) is formed as a centre-left social liberal party split from the Democratic Party.
  • 2018: The remaining Democratic Party merged with Kibō no Tō and form the Democratic Party for the People (Kokumin Minshutō, 国民民主党), which includes liberals and conservatives.
  • 2020: The majority faction of DPP merged into the new CDP, while the minority faction remain in the DPP.

Liberal leaders

  • Itagaki Taisuke
  • Yukio Hatoyama – Prime Minister of Japan from 16 September 2009 to 8 June 2010, Leader of the DPJ (1999–2002, 2009–2010)
  • Naoto Kan – Prime Minister of Japan from 8 June 2010 to 2 September 2011, Leader of the DPJ (1998–1999, 2002–2004, 2010–2011)
  • Yoshihiko Noda – Prime Minister of Japan from 2 September 2011 to 26 December 2012, Leader of the DPJ (2011–2012)
  • Yukio Edano – Leader of the Opposition (2017–2021).

See also

Notes

  1. ^ In Japan, American and European style "liberal" / "liberalism" is often referred to as "リベラル" / "リベラリズム" in Katakana.[1] The term "自由主義" in Kanji is also although synonymous with "リベラリズム", but "自由主義" is also used by conservatives, including LDP, in a similar sense to anti-communism or economic liberalism.

References

  1. ^ "今さら聞けない?! 「保守」「リベラル」ってなんだ？" [Can't you ask about them now ?! What are "conservative" and "liberal"?] (in Japanese). Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  2. ^ Brasor, Philip (21 October 2017). "Identifying the 'liberal' in Japanese politics". The Japan Times. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  3. ^ Arthur Stockwin; Kweku Ampiah, eds. (2017). Rethinking Japan: The Politics of Contested Nationalism. Lexington Books. p. 196. ISBN 9781498537933. ... of the debate is the left/liberal "peace movement" currently led by Japanese academics, including legal scholars, and more recently by students, but which until the end of the Cold War was spearheaded by the Japan Socialist Party.
  4. ^ Tetsuya Kobayashi (1976). Society, Schools, and Progress in Japan. Elsevier Science. p. 68. ISBN 978-1483136226.
  5. ^ Japan Almanac. Mainichi Newspapers. 1975. p. 43. In the House of Representatives, the Liberal-Democratic Party, guided by conservative liberalism, is the No.1 party holding a total of 279 seats or 56.8 per cent of the House quorum of 491.
  6. ^ Spremberg, Felix (25 November 2020). "How Japan's Left is repeating its unfortunate history". International Politics & Society Journal. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  7. ^ American Assembly; Willard Long Thorp, eds. (1964). Japan's School Curriculum for The 2020s: Politics, Policy, and Pedagogy. Prentice-Hall. p. 17. It is no accident that Japanese radical liberalism and democratic socialism were both closely connected in their beginnings with the Christian movement in Japan. The first Japanese Socialist Party was born in an Americansponsored Christian church in Tokyo, and the majority of its members were Christians with intimate American connections.
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