Departments
Intermediate Japanese - Free Online Course
JIMINTŌ
自民党
Liberal Democratic Party; LDP
The assurance of political freedoms was a central goal of the Allied Occupation of Japan following World War II. This freedom of course includes the existence of multiple political factions. Citizens have the right to form and join political parties, and many exist in Japan: the Democratic Party of Japan ( Minshutō / 民主党), the New Clean Government Party (Kōmeitō / 公明党), and the Social Democratic Party (Shakai Minshu-tō / 社会民主党), just to name a few. There is even a Japanese Communist Party (Nihon Kyōsan-tō / 日本共産党).
However, no political party has had as much impact on postwar Japan as the Liberal Democratic Party, or LDP. Since it was founded in 1955, the LDP has held power more consistently than any other political group. From 1955 through 1993, the LDP enjoyed an uninterrupted run of control over the government. At the time of this writing (2006), the LDP is again in power. The current Prime Minister of Japan, Koizumi Junichiro, is the President of the LDP.
Early Goals and Successes
The Liberal Democratic Party coalesced in the early postwar era from a combination of different conservative and nationalist groups. (The full name of the party in Japanese is Jiyū Minshutō / 自由民主党, although the abbreviated form, Jimin-tō / 自民党, is more common.) From the beginning, the LDP has had strong ties with Japan’s business establishment and industry leaders. The platform of the LDP has been generally emphasized three goals: economic development, national defense, and close ties with the United States.
On one hand, the LDP deserves credit for guiding Japan from postwar poverty to its current status as economic giant. Without the LDP’s emphasis on commercial and industrial growth, it is easy to imagine a postwar Japan that remained an economic basket case. Even a fall into the communist camp would not have been out of the question. While the LDP’s preference for a close relationship with the United States has been criticized, the reliance on the U.S. defense umbrella freed Japan from the burdens of extensive national defense expenditures during the Cold War years, and also kept the nation out of international conflicts.
LDP Scandals
Despite these successes, the LDP’s record has not been spotless. Cozy ties between business and government circles have drawn a number of prominent LDP leaders into embarrassing scandals. The first major blow to the party’s reputation struck in 1976, with the affair that has come to be known as the Lockheed Scandal.
The trouble began when Kodama Yoshio, a former war criminal and right-wing activist, arranged for $7 million to be funneled from the U.S. aircraft manufacturer Lockheed to a number of Japan’s political leaders. The objective behind these machinations was to secure a civilian aircraft contract for the American firm. Former LDP Prime Minister Tanaka (1972-1974) was found guilty of taking bribes and sentenced to prison time. The sitting LDP Prime Minister at the time of the scandal, Miki Takeo (1974-1976), was not directly implicated in the bribery scheme, but was nevertheless forced to resign.
Another major scandal shook the LDP in 1988, during the administration of LDP Prime Minister Takeshita Noboru. A large real estate conglomerate, the Recruit Corporation, issued stock at bargain prices to LDP politicians before offering them to the public. When the public sale of the shares commenced, the price of the stock skyrocketed, and the politicians reaped huge profits.
The scandal broke in the summer of 1988, and by early 1989 three of Takeshita’s senior cabinet members had been forced to resign in disgrace. Takeshita himself admitted to receiving some of the Recruit shares. He at first refused to leave office, but public outcry over the scandal finally forced him to announce his resignation in April.
A new prime minister, Uno Sousuke, took office that summer; but it wasn’t long before a new scandal was brewing. Information came to light which connected Uno to several ladies of the evening. In better times, Japanese voters might have been able to turn a blind eye such peccadilloes; but the still simmering Recruit scandal had made the electorate less tolerant. Uno resigned after just sixty-eight days in office.
The LDP Loses and Regains Power
In the early 1990s, Japan’s so-called Bubble Economy burst, and at last Japanese voters were ready to hand the reins of leadership to a different party. In July 1993, the LDP suffered a landslide defeat to the Japan Socialist Party (JSP). The LDP effectively lost control of parliament for more than two years, and a member of the JSP, Murayama Tomiichi, became prime minister in 1994.
A series of disasters in Japan and threats from abroad ultimately compelled Japanese voters to return to the LDP. In 1995, Japan suffered a devastating earthquake that killed 6,400 people, as well as terrorist attacks in the Tokyo subway system. Polls revealed that the public was dissatisfied with the way the JSP handled both crisis. By 1996, the LDP had staged a comeback in the Japanese parliament.
In the late 1990s, the foreign policies of both China and North Korea became more aggressive. This prompted a renewed appreciation of the objectives traditionally championed by the LDP. While the party has suffered temporary election setbacks, they have resumed their run as the dominant political organization in Japan.
