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The is a
Social Liberal Political Party in
Japan founded in 1998 by the merger of several smaller parties. It is the second-largest party in the
House Of Representatives and the largest party in the
House Of Councillors , and it constitutes the primary opposition to the long-dominant
Liberal Democratic Party of current
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe .
The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) was formed on
April 27 ,
1998 . It was a merger of four previously independent parties that were opposed to the ruling
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)—the previous
Democratic Party Of Japan , the
Good Governance Party (民政党, ''Minseito''), the
New Fraternity Party (新党友愛, ''Shinto-Yuai''), and the
Democratic Reform Party (民主改革連合, ''Minshu-Kaikaku-Rengo''). These were all new parties that were either
Liberal or
Social-democratic . The new party began with ninety-three members of the
House Of Representatives and thirty-eight members of the
House Of Councillors .
In 2001, the DPJ elected Japan's first European and foreign-born
Diet member,
Marutei Tsurunen (born ''Martti Turunen'' in
Finland ), showing its anti-traditionalism and liberalism. The party grew and won a significant number of seats in the 2000 and 2001 Diet elections.
On
September 24 ,
2003 , the party formally merged with the small,
Center -
Right Liberal Party led by
Ichirō Ozawa —the move was largely considered to be done in preparation for the
Election On November 9, 2003 . This move immediately gave the DPJ eight more seats in the House of Councillors.
On
October 22 ,
2003 , in a speech delivered jointly by former Party President
Naoto Kan and former Liberal Party President
Ichirō Ozawa in Okayama, Kan stated: "The LDP should give up the reins of power to the DPJ for once, creating a two-party system that will enable changes of government to take place."
In the elections themselves, the Democrats gained a total of 178 seats. This was short of their objectives, but nevertheless a significant demonstration of the new group's strength. Following a
Pension scandal, Naoto Kan resigned, and was replaced with a moderate liberal—
Katsuya Okada .
In the 2004 House of Councillors elections, the DPJ won a seat more than the ruling Liberal Democrats, but the LDP still maintained its firm majority in total votes. However, this was an extremely important outcome, since it was the first time since its inception that the LDP had garnered fewer votes than another party. Pundits hypothesized that this might signal a shift in Japanese politics away from the catch-all LDP. It remained to be seen, however, whether or not this was simply the result of protest votes against the LDP, who had been rocked by the national pension scandal earlier that year.
The 2005 snap parliamentary elections called by
Junichiro Koizumi in response to the rejection of his Japan Post privatization bill saw a major setback to the DPJ's plans of obtaining a majority in the Diet. The DPJ leadership, particularly Okada, had staked their reputation on winning the election and driving the LDP from power. When the final results were in, the DPJ had lost 62 seats, mostly to its rival the LDP, which had been steadily losing seats for many years. Okada resigned the party leadership, fulfilling his campaign promise to do so if the DPJ did not obtain a majority in the Diet. He was replaced by
Seiji Maehara in September 2005. Despite this electoral setback, the Democratic Party remains the primary rival of the ruling Liberal Democrats and their coalition partner
New Komeito .
In
Upper House Election 2007 , the DPJ won 60 out of 121 contested seats, with 49 seats not up to the election, became the largest party in the Upper House for the first time since its establishment.
DPJ members sit with members of the
Independent's Club , a coalition of Democrats who are liberal centrists, in both houses of the Diet.
- The DPJ gains much of its support from Blue-collar Worker s and also from the liberal Middle Class . It is also gaining support from women and from the urban classes.
- On Domestic Policy , the party is liberal, and is the largest opposition party and also Japan's largest centrist party.
- The DPJ also counts several members of non-Japanese ancestry, including Marutei Tsurunen (the first Europe an member of the Diet) and Ren Hou (half- Taiwan ese).
The Democrats do have some factions, or groups, as they are more commonly called, but are not as factionalized as the LDP, which has traditionally placed high priority on intra-party factional alignment. The groups are, from the most influential to the least influential:
- --- , has about 60 lawmakers in the Diet. They lean closer to the center than the Kan Group.
- --- , though he is not a member of the faction. About 50 members.
- --- . Is one of the more left leaning factions. About 30 members.
- --- members. About 30 members, and is led by Ichirō Ozawa and Hirohisa Fujii .
- --- who felt the Social Democratic Party was too radical. About 30 seats, led by Takahiro Yokomichi .
- --- Democratic Socialist Party: members of the former Democratic Socialist Party which merged with the DPJ early on. About 50 members, led by Takashi Yonezawa .
- --- and right-leaning faction. Most of its members are from The Sakigake Party , who did not want to join the more Ecologist Midori No Kaigi which Sakigake morphed into when it dissolved (Midori no Kaigi itself is now disbanded). Ryoun-kai has about 20 seats in the assembly and is led by Seiji Maehara and Yukio Edano .
- --- Conservative Group : the smallest and most conservative faction. Liberal Democrats who joined the DPJ sit with the Conservatives. Has only a few members.
The Independent's Club, a liberal centrist faction which sits with the Democratic Party in both chambers of the house, is not a separate political entity, yet part of the Democratic Party (not a faction or group) which calls itself the Independent's Club.
The largest and most influential faction is the . Former party president
Katsuya Okada sits with no faction, yet he supports the Kan Group.
#
Naoto Kan Apr 1998 - Sep 1999
#
Yukio Hatoyama Sep 1999 - Dec 2002
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Naoto Kan Dec 2002 - May 2004
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Katsuya Okada May 2004 - Sep 2005
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Seiji Maehara Sep 2005 -Mar 2006
#
Ichirō Ozawa Apr 2006 -
- Democratic Party of Japan
The official website of the Democratic Party. Has a very organized English section, and also a fast and reliable e-mail address on both the Japanese and English pages.
