Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)

Liberal Democratic Party 自由民主党 Jiyū-Minshutō
President	Yoshihide Suga
Secretary-General	Toshihiro Nikai
Councilors Leader	Masakazu Sekiguchi
Founded	15 November 1955; 65 years ago (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 (2019)	1,086,298[2]
Ideology	Conservatism Japanese nationalism
Political position	Right-wing[3][a]
Colors	Green and   red[4]
Slogan	"国民のために働く"[5] "Kokumin no tame ni hataraku" ("Working for the people")
Anthem	"われら"[6] "Ware-ra" ("We")
Councillors	110 / 245
Representatives	277 / 465
Prefectural assembly members[7]	1,301 / 2,668
City, special ward, town and village assembly members[7]	2,180 / 29,762
Election symbol
Website
jimin.jp
Politics of Japan Political parties Elections ^ a: The Liberal Democratic Party is a big-tent conservative party.[8][9] The LDP is also described as centre-right,[10] but the LDP has both far-right,[11] ultra-conservative[12] factions, with many members belonging to Nippon Kaigi, and centrist factions.[13]

The Liberal Democratic Party (自由民主党, Jiyū-Minshutō), frequently abbreviated to LDP or Jimintō (自民党), is a conservative^[14] political party in Japan.

The LDP has almost 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 the government. It holds 285 seats in the lower house and 113 seats in the upper house, and in coalition with the Komeito since 1999, the governing coalition has a supermajority in both houses. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and many present and former LDP ministers are also known members of Nippon Kaigi, an ultranationalist^[15] and monarchist organization.^[16]

The LDP is not to be confused with the now-defunct Democratic Party of Japan (民主党, Minshutō), the main opposition party from 1998 to 2016, or the Democratic Party (民進党, Minshintō), the main opposition party from 2016 to 2017.^[17] The LDP is also not to be confused with the 1998-2003 Liberal Party (自由党, Jiyūtō) or the 2016-2019 Liberal Party (自由党, Jiyū-tō).

History[]

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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 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.

In 1983, the LDP was a founding member of the International Democrat Union. ^[21]

Liberal Democratic Hall Bldg., 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

After a victory in the 2005 Japan general election, 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[22]

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.^[23][24] 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,^[25] after a three-way race, becoming only the second LDP leader who was not simultaneously prime minister.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[26][27] 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),^{[citation needed]} the Sunrise Party of Japan (たちあがれ日本, Tachiagare Nippon),^[28] and the New Renaissance Party (新党改革, Shintō Kaikaku).^{[citation needed]} The party had some success in the 2010 House of Councilors election, netting 13 additional seats and denying the DPJ a majority.^[29][30] 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. Shinzo Abe became Prime Minister for the second time.^[31]

In July 2015, the party pushed for expanded military powers to fight in foreign conflict through Shinzo Abe and the support of Komeito party.^[32]

Ideology[]

The LDP has not espoused a well-defined, unified ideology or political philosophy, due to its long-term government, and has been described as a "catch-all" party.^[9] Its members hold a variety of positions that could be broadly defined as being to the right of the opposition parties. The LDP is usually associated with conservatism^[14] and Japanese nationalism.^[33] 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.^[34] In addition, the LDP opposes the legalization of same-sex marriage.^[35]

Historical[]

The LDP is a conservative party. However, in the case of the LDP administration under the 1955 System in Japan, their degree of economic control was stronger than that of Western conservative governments; it was also positioned closer to social democracy at that time.^[36] Since the 1970s, the oil crisis has slowed economic growth and increased the resistance of urban citizens to policies that favor farmers.^[37] To maintain its dominant position, the LDP sought to expand party supporters by incorporating social security policies and pollution measures advocated by opposition parties.^[37]

Structure[]

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At the apex of the LDP's formal organization is the president (総裁, sōsai), who can serve three^[38] 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).

Leadership[]

Factions[]

Since the genesis of the Liberal Democratic Party in 1955, factions have existed, but they have changed over time. Despite this change, factions in the party today can be traced back to their 1955 roots, a testament to the stability and institutionalized nature of Liberal Democratic Party factions.^[39]

Membership[]

The LDP had over five million party members in 1990.^{[citation needed]} By December 2017 membership had dropped to approximately one million members.^[2]

Performance in national elections until 1993[]

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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.^{[citation needed]} 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)^[40] has also served as the Prime Minister of Japan ().

No.	Name (Birth–death)	Constituency / title	Term of office		Election results	Image	Prime Minister (term)
			Took Office	Left Office
Preceding parties: Democratic Party (1954) & Liberal Party (1950)
Interim Leadership Committee (1955-1956)
–	Ichirō Hatoyama (1883–1959)	Rep for Tokyo 1st	15 November 1955	5 April 1956	None			himself 1954–56
	Bukichi Miki (1884–1956)	Rep for Kagawa 1st						Hatoyama I. 1954–56
	Banboku Oono (1890–1964)	Rep for Gifu 1st
	Taketora Ogata (1888–1956)	Rep for Fukuoka 1st		28 January 1956
	Tsuruhei Matsuno (1883–1962)	Cou for Kumamoto	10 February 1956	5 April 1956
Leader (1956-present)
1	Ichirō Hatoyama (1883–1959)	Rep for Tokyo 1st	5 April 1956	14 December 1956	show Ichirō Hatoyama – 394 Nobusuke Kishi – 4 Others – 15			himself 1954–56
2	Tanzan Ishibashi (1884–1973)	Rep for Shizuoka 2nd	14 December 1956	21 March 1957	show 1st Round Nobusuke Kishi – 223 Tanzan Ishibashi – 151 Mitsujiro Ishii – 137 show 2nd Round Tanzan Ishibashi – 258 Nobusuke Kishi – 251			himself 1956–57
3	Nobusuke Kishi (1896–1987)	Rep for Yamaguchi 1st	21 March 1957	14 July 1960	show 1957 Nobusuke Kishi – 471 Kenzō Matsumura – 2 Tokutaro Kitamura – 1 Mitsujirō Ishii – 1 show 1959 Nobusuke Kishi – 320 Kenzō Matsumura – 166 Others – 5			himself 1957–60
4	Hayato Ikeda (1899–1965)	Rep for Hiroshima 2nd	14 July 1960	1 December 1964	show 1960 1st Round Hayato Ikeda – 246 Mitsujirō Ishii – 194 Aiichirō Fujiyama – 49 Others – 7 show 1960 2nd Round Hayato Ikeda – 302 Mitsujirō Ishii – 194 show 1962 Hayato Ikeda – 391 Eisaku Satō – 17 Others – 20 show July 1964 Hayato Ikeda – 242 Eisaku Satō – 160 Aiichirō Fujiyama – 72 Hirokichi Nadao – 1			himself 1960–64
5	Eisaku Satō (1901–1975)	Rep for Yamaguchi 2nd	1 December 1964	5 July 1972	show November 1964 Eisaku Satō – Y Aiichirō Fujiyama – N Ichirō Kōno – N show 1966 Eisaku Satō – 289 Aiichirō Fujiyama – 89 Shigesaburō Maeo – 47 Hirokichi Nadao – 11 Uichi Noda – 9 Others – 5 show 1968 Eisaku Satō – 249 Takeo Miki – 107 Shigesaburō Maeo – 95 Others – 25 show 1970 Eisaku Satō – 353 Takeo Miki – 111 Others – 3			himself 1964–72
6	Kakuei Tanaka (1918–1993)	Rep for Niigata 3rd	5 July 1972	4 December 1974	show Tanaka Kakuei – 282 Takeo Fukuda – 180			himself 1972–74
7	Takeo Miki (1907–1988)	Rep for Tokushima At-large	4 December 1974	23 December 1976	show 1974 Takeo Miki – Y Takeo Fukuda – N Masayoshi Ōhira – N Yasuhiro Nakasone – N			himself 1974–76
8	Takeo Fukuda (1905–1995)	Rep for Gunma 3rd	23 December 1976	1 December 1978	show 1976 Takeo Fukuda – Y Masayoshi Ōhira – N			himself 1976–78
9	Masayoshi Ōhira (1910–1980) (Died in office)	Rep for Kagawa 2nd	1 December 1978	12 June 1980	show 1st Round Masayoshi Ōhira – 748 Fukuda Takeo – 638 Yasuhiro Nakasone – 93 Toshio Kōmoto – 46 show 2nd Round Unopposed			himself 1978–80
—	Eiichi Nishimura (1897–1987) Acting	Rep for Ōita 2nd	12 June 1980	15 July 1980	Acting			Ito 1980 Acting
10	Zenkō Suzuki (1911–2004)	Rep for Iwate 1st	15 July 1980	25 November 1982	show 1st Round Zenko Suzuki – Y Kiichi Miyazawa – N Yasuhiro Nakasone – N Toshio Kōmoto – N show 2nd Round Unopposed			himself 1980–82
11	Yasuhiro Nakasone (1918–2019)	Rep for Gunma 3rd	25 November 1982	31 October 1987	show 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) show 1982 2nd Round Unopposed show 1984 Unopposed Walkover show 1986 1-year Extension			himself 1982–87
12	Noboru Takeshita (1924–2000)	Rep for Shimane At-large	31 October 1987	2 June 1989	show 1987 Noboru Takeshita – Y Shintarō Abe – N Kiichi Miyazawa – N			himself 1987–89
13	Sōsuke Uno (1922–1998)	Rep for Shiga At-large	2 June 1989	8 August 1989	show 1989 Sōsuke Uno – Y Masayoshi Itō – N			himself 1989
14	Toshiki Kaifu (b. 1931)	Rep for Aichi 3rd	8 August 1989	30 October 1991	show 1st Round Toshiki Kaifu – 279 Yoshirō Hayashi – 120 Shintarō Ishihara – 48 show 2nd Round Unopposed			himself 1989–91
15	Kiichi Miyazawa (1919–2007)	Rep for Hiroshima 3rd	31 October 1991	29 July 1993	show Kiichi Miyazawa – 285 Michio Wantanabe – 120 Hiroshi Mitsuzuka – 87			himself 1991–93
16	Yōhei Kōno (b. 1937)	Rep for Kanagawa 5th	29 July 1993	1 October 1995	show 1st Round Yōhei Kōno – 208 Michio Wantanabe – 159 show 2nd Round Unopposed			Hosokawa 1993–94
								Hata 1994
								Murayama 1994–96 (coalition)
17	Ryutaro Hashimoto (1937–2006)	Rep for Okayama 4th	1 October 1995	24 July 1998	show 1995 Ryutaro Hashimoto – 304 Junichiro Koizumi – 87 show 1997 Unopposed Walkover
								himself 1996–98
18	Keizō Obuchi (1937–2000)	Rep for Gunma 5th	24 July 1998	5 April 2000	show 1998 Keizō Obuchi – 225 Seiroku Kajiyama – 102 Junichiro Koizumi – 84 show 1999 Keizō Obuchi – 350 Koichi Kato – 113 Taku Yamasaki – 51			himself 1998–2000
19	Yoshirō Mori (b. 1937)	Rep for Ishikawa 2nd	5 April 2000	24 April 2001	show 2000 Yoshirō Mori – Y Mikio Aoki – N Masakuni Murakami – N Hiromu Nonaka – N Shizuka Kamei – N			himself 2000–01
20	Junichiro Koizumi (b. 1942)	Rep for Kanagawa 11th	24 April 2001	20 September 2006	show 2001 1st Round Junichiro Koizumi – 298 Ryutaro Hashimoto – 155 Tarō Asō – 31 show 2001 2nd Round Unopposed show 2003 Junichiro Koizumi – 339 Shizuka Kamei – 139 Takao Fujii – 65 Masahiko Kōmura – 54			himself 2001–06
21	Shinzo Abe (b. 1954)	Rep for Yamaguchi 4th	20 September 2006	26 September 2007	show 2006 Shinzo Abe – 464 Tarō Asō – 136 Sadakazu Tanigaki – 102			himself 2006–07
22	Yasuo Fukuda (b. 1936)	Rep for Gunma 4th	26 September 2007	22 September 2008	show 2007 Yasuo Fukuda – 330 Tarō Asō – 197			himself 2007–08
23	Tarō Asō (b. 1940)	Rep for Fukuoka 8th	22 September 2008	16 September 2009 Acting: 16 September 2009 - 28 September 2009	show 2008 Tarō Asō – 351 Kaoru Yosano – 66 Yuriko Koike – 46 Nobuteru Ishihara – 37 Shigeru Ishiba – 25			himself 2008–09
24	Sadakazu Tanigaki (b. 1945)	Rep for Kyoto 5th	28 September 2009	26 September 2012	show 2009 Sadakazu Tanigaki – 300 Taro Kono – 144 Yasutoshi Nishimura – 54			Hatoyama Y. 2009–10
								Kan 2010–11
								Noda 2011–12
25 (21)	Shinzo Abe (b. 1954)	Rep for Yamaguchi 4th	26 September 2012	14 September 2020	show 2012 1st Round Shinzo Abe – 464 Shigeru Ishiba – 199 Nobuteru Ishihara – 96 Nobutaka Machimura 34 Yoshimasa Hayashi – 27 show 2012 2nd Round Shinzo Abe – 108 Shigeru Ishiba – 89 show 2015 Unopposed Walkover show 2018 Shinzo Abe – 553 Shigeru Ishiba – 254
								himself 2012–20
26	Yoshihide Suga (b. 1948)	Rep for Kanagawa 2nd	14 September 2020	Incumbent	show 2020 Yoshihide Suga – 377 Fumio Kishida – 89 Shigeru Ishiba – 68			himself 2020–present

Election results[]

General election results[]

Councillors election results[]

Leadership elections[]

• 2006 Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) leadership election
• 2007 Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) leadership election
• 2008 Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) leadership election
• 2009 Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) leadership election
• 2018 Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) leadership election
• 2020 Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) leadership election
• 2021 Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) leadership election

See also[]

• History of Japan
• Honebuto no hōshin
• Komeito
• Nippon Ishin no Kai
• Japan Business Federation
• Yomiuri Shimbun
• Nihon Keizai Shimbun
• Sankei Shimbun
• Netto-uyoku
• Nippon Kaigi
• List of political parties in Japan
• Politics of Japan

Notes[]

References[]

•  This article incorporates public domain material from the Library of Congress Country Studies website http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/.
• Japan Country Studies – Library of Congress

Bibliography[]

• Helms, Ludger (2013). Parliamentary Opposition in Old and New Democracies. Routledge Press. ISBN 978-1-31797-031-6.
• Henderson, Jeffrey (2011). East Asian Transformation: On the Political Economy of Dynamism, Governance and Crisis. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-13684-113-2.
• 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)

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Liberal Democratic Party of Japan.

• The official website of the LDP (Liberal Democratic Party) (in English)