Liberalism in Japan


Japanese liberalism formed in the nineteenth century as a reaction against traditional society. In the twentieth century 'liberal' gradually became a synonym for conservative, and today the main conservative party in the country is named Liberal Democratic Party. The defunct Democratic Party was considered in part a centrist-liberal party, as are most parties which derived from it. The liberal character of the Liberal League is disputed, as it is also considered to be conservative by some. This article is limited to liberal parties with substantial support, proved by having had representation in parliament.

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.
Before the 1990s, Japanese liberals did not form a prominent individual political party.
Since the 1990s, most conservative liberals have left the LDP. The Japan New Party and New Party Sakigake are the parties founded by Japanese conservative-liberals against the LDP's nationalist project, which lead to the Democratic Party of Japan -liberalism tradition. Japan's previous liberal party, the DPJ, was led by moderates of both 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 Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.
Since Japanese conservatism was influenced by Shinto, Japan's radical liberalism and democratic socialism were more influenced by Christianity.
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-right "liberal" in the European and Australian sense of the past to the centre-left "liberal" in the American sense. Currently, the LDP is the largest conservative party in Japan, and the CDPJ is the largest liberal party in Japan.

Timeline

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".

From Public Party of Patriots until Constitutional Party

  • 1874: Liberals founded the
  • 1881: The Aikoku Kōtō is continued by the
  • 1891: The Jiyūtō is renamed into
  • 1898: The Rikken Jiyūtō merged with the ⇒ Shimpotō into the
  • 1898: A faction seceded as the ⇒ Kensei Hontō; with the former Jiyūtō faction reorganizing itself into the New Kenseitō
  • 1900: The party is taken over by the oligarchy and renamed into

From Constitutional Reform Party to Reform Club

  • 1882: The is formed
  • 1896: The party is continued by the
  • 1898: The party merged into the ⇒ Kenseitō
  • 1898: The Kenseitō fell apart and a faction formed the, renamed in 1910 into the
  • 1913: A faction seceded as the ⇒ Rikken Dōshikai
  • 1922: The Rikken Kokumintō is renamed
  • 1920s: The Kakushin Club merged into the Rikken Seiyūkai

From Association of Friends of the Constitution to Constitutional Democratic Party

  • 1913: A faction of the ⇒ Rikken Kokumintō formed the, renamed in 1916
  • 1927: The Kenseikai merged with the ⇒ Seiyūhontō into the
  • 1940: The party is dissolved by the military junta

Orthodox Constitutional Friends Party

  • 1924: A faction of the Rikken Seiyūkai formed the
  • 1927: The party merged into the ⇒ Rikken Minseitō

Postwar period

In postwar Japan, liberal 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 became the 'leftist faction' of the right-wing conservative Liberal Democratic Party, and the center-left progressive-liberals formed the 'rightist faction' within the left-wing Socialist Party.

From Renewal Party to Liberal Party

New Harbinger Party

  • 1993: A liberal faction of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party seceded as the New Harbinger Party
  • 1996: Most members left to co-found the ⇒ Democratic Party of Japan
  • 1998: The remainder of the party evolved in conservative direction and renamed itself as Harbinger, before becoming the ecologist Green Wind in 2002

Democratic Party of Japan (1998–2016)

CDP and DPP (2017–present)