1. THE POLITICAL PARTIES OF JAPAN

2. INTRODUCTION Legislative Executive

3. Aikoku Koto Kenseito Jiyuto Keishinto Shimpoto Kensei honto

4. Meiji Constitution  De Facto Parliementary System Failed, because of corruption Raise of Japanese Militarism Post World War II

5. 6IX MAJOR POLITICAL PARTIES Liberal Democratic Party Japan Socialist Party Komeito (Clean Government Party) Democratic Socialist Party Japan Communist Party United Social Democratic Party

6. JIYU MINSHUTO OR JIMINTO

7. DEFINITION Described as “a coalition of factions.”  the merger of two conservative parties 1.Japan Democratic Party (Nihon Minshuto) 2.Liberal Party (Jiyuto) 15 November 1955 Why merged? 1.Japan Socialist Party was going to reunificate 2.Enthusiasm for the “permanent conservative rule” in Japan’s postwar Constitution

8. ALLIANCE Japan Democratic Party Led by Hatoyama Japan Liberal Party Led by Yoshida Shigeru Hatoyama was the previous Prime Minister before the Occupation forces purged his government. Yoshida was the subtitution. Hatoyama expected Yoshida to relinquish the leadership back to him once the Occupation forces were gone. Yoshida refused.

9. IDEOLOGY Very flexible (due to the merger), sometimes bordering on being vaguish A free capitalist system for government and economy Good relations with the US as Japan’s foreign policy Characteristics: 1.A national political party 2.An advocate of pacifism 3.A democratic party that “rejects both communism and class-oriented socialism” 4.A party that respects the parliamentary system 5.A progressive party 6.A force aiming for the realisation of a welfare state

10. PLATFORM LDP promotes: 1.Reinforcement of national ethics and education 2.Political and bureaucratic reform 3.The achievement of economic self-reliance and stability 4.The construction of a welfare state 5.The active pursuit of peaceful diplomacy 6.The restitution of national independence (e.g. the buildup of the Self-Defence Forces and the revision of the Constitution)

11. PROBLEMS Flexibility  LDP policy swung from left to right and back like a pendulum Yoshida: US-centered diplomacy Hatoyama: wanted to restore ties with Soviet Union Rampant vote buying  presidential elections are controlled by “the root of all evil” The New Liberal Club  the Lockheed scandal Dissidents within the party

12. NEVERTHELESS LDP held 299 seats in the House of Representatives (64%) & 118 seats in the House of Councillors (48%) LDP is the permanent conservative rule in Japan, almost synonymous with the central government itself Long monopoly on power

13. JAPAN SOCIALIST PARTY( NIPPON SHAKAITO) “New Declaration” : the new social democratic model; rejects the Marxism-Leninism idea; adopting the West-European style social democratic platform Left to right ideological spectrum Clash inside: Left and right wing parties *Left: Marxism-Le ninism of Communist Party *Right: Christian social democracy

14. KŌMEITŌ Established on 17th November 1964, as the political arm of the Sōka Gakkai Kōmeitō has maintained its position as the third largest party in the Diet under the chairmain Yano Jun’ya he attempted to convey an image of rejuvenated leadership and bold innovation while emphasizing the Kōmeitō’s character as an open national party The Kōmeito won 25 seats in the House of Representatives in 1967 general election, and 47 seats two years later Although remain in third place in both houses of the Diet, its vote share has never risen above 11%

15. KŌMEITŌ Freedom of publication controversy in 1969 The party attempted to prevent publication of the book Sòka Gakkai o kiru (I denounce Sòka Gakkai) by the political commentator Fujiwara Hirotatsu The policy of separating politics and religion resulted in gaining fewer votes and seats The anxious party then decided to cooperate with the Communists in the Diet, representing anti LDP, antireactionary, and anti-big capital forces Yet, this partnership was an uneasy as it challenged them to clarify their stance on fundamental constitutional principles of pacifism, basic human rights, and parliamentary democracy After knowing that Sòka Gakkai secretly concluded a “10-year accord” with JCP to maintain amicable relations, in 1975 convention, the part enunciated an anticommunist stance and a vision of coalition with the JSP and DSP

16. KŌMEITŌ With a membership of 193,000 and an income of ¥12.8 billion in 1986, the Kōmeitō qualifies as a large political party, but is still struggling to overcome its structural weaknesses by establishing itself as an open party and a potential coalition partner

17. MINSHATO A left-wing party established January 24, 1964 Leans to West European style of social democracy rather than Marxist socialism Thriving to break LDP’s monopoly of power Built an alliance with fundamental three principles: 1. Unclassified defense of the Constitution 2. Establishment of a welfare state 3. Adherence to parliamentary democracy Criticized US – Japan security agreement which implies its neutralist foreign policy

18. NIHON KYOSANTO Outlawed by tFounded in 1922 he Peace Preservation Law of the Imperial Army Began to commence public activities after the World War II Once split into two factions, Mainstream and International faction

19. NIHON KYOSANTO The party reunited again in 1955 Miyamoto Kenji rose up as the secretary general in 1958 Began to change stance into peaceful revolution in 1961 Declaring themselves as independent from the other communist party Under Miyamoto, a lot of party platform and constitution revisions had been done Japanese Communist Party began to be more active in International affairs but still not fully accepted domestically Other political parties in Japan is keeping their distance with the communists

20. UNITED SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY The USDP or the Social Democratic Federation formed on March 26, 1978. The party represents the views of pragmatic right- wing socialist who broke with the leftist-led Japan Socialist Party (JSP). The USDP begun to voice hopes for a "historic reapproachement" that would bring together JSP with the Democratic Socialist Party (DSP) and the USDP. The USDP calls for a fundamental reorientation of socialist movement and advocates participation of citizen to Japanese politics.

21. The USDP has taken positive stance toward the idea of a coalition government, proposing to draw up blueprint for government, and take the lead in translating it into reality. Under Eda Satsuki, the USDP has failed to register steady gains since its secured three lower house and three upper house seats. In order to make its presence in the House of Representatives, the USDP join other opposition parties; the New Liberal Club in September 1981. In 1986, the party membership stood at 8,000 and annual income at ¥69 million.

22. THAT’S ALL FOR NOW