Democratic Party of Japan

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Democratic Party of Japan
Democratic Party of Japan Logo
President Ichiro Ozawa
Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama
Councilors Leader Azuma Koshiishi
Representatives Leader
Founded January 8, 1998
Headquarters 1-11-1 Nagata-cho
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0014
Japan
Political ideology Social liberalism, center-left
International affiliation None
Color(s) Red and Black (informally)
Number of Councilors 83
Number of Representatives 113
Website Democratic Party of Japan
A campaigning van parked outside Hotel Rich in Niigata.
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A campaigning van parked outside Hotel Rich in Niigata.

The Democratic Party of Japan (民主党 Minshutō?) is a social liberal party in Japan. It is Japan's second largest party and main opposition party. It grew from a small party to a major force in modern Japan.

Contents

[edit] History

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 Ichiro 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 Ichiro 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 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, although it is now significantly weakened.

DPJ members sit with members of the Independent's Club, a coalition of Democrats who are liberal centrists, in both houses of the Diet.

[edit] Other facts

  • The DPJ gains much of its support from blue-collar workers 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 European member of the Diet) and Ren Hou (half-Taiwanese).

[edit] Factions

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:

    • Hatoyama Group: led by former Liberal Democrat Yukio Hatoyama, has about 60 lawmakers in the Diet. They lean closer to the center than the Kan Group.
    • Isshin-kai: supporters of the former Liberal Party leader Ichiro Ozawa, though he is not a member of the faction. About 50 members.
    • Kan Group: led by former Party President Naoto Kan. Is one of the more left leaning factions. About 30 members.
    • Liberal Party Group: made up of former Liberal Party members. About 30 members, and is led by Ichiro Ozawa and Hirohisa Fujii.
    • Japan Socialist Party Group: the most left-leaning faction, created by more moderate members of the former Japan Socialist Party 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.
    • Ryoun-kai: the second most conservative 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, the party Sakigake morphed into when it dissolved, which is now dissolved. About 20 seats. 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 Hatoyama Faction. Former party president Katsuya Okada sits with no faction, yet he supports the Kan Group.

[edit] President of DPJ

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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.

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