Talk:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

	Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) is part of WikiProject Japan, a project to improve all Japan-related articles. If you would like to help improve this and other Japan-related articles, please join the project. All interested editors are welcome.
B	This article has been rated as B-Class on the quality scale.
Japan To-do: edit purge Improve to Featured status Japan Improve ASIMO Burakumin and Buraku Liberation League Takako Doi Chikamatsu Monzaemon Education in Japan Japanese architecture Japanese art Japanese robotics Japanese strategic planning for the Pacific (1905-1940) List of Emperors of Japan (transl. from ja) Emperor Yozei of Japan List of Japanese artists Namioka, Aomori Nihonjinron Sadako Ogata Oishi Yoshio Politics of Japan Yagyu Shinkage-ryu Center Shiken (大学入試センター試験) More... Review First Sino-Japanese War Hinduism in Japan Inland Sea Kigo Narihira Santosen Temple Sazae-san Stroke order Heizo Takenaka Giovanni Battista Sidotti Requests See Requested articles Listed for deletion See this page, this page, and this page for lists. Grammar corrections Gaijin Takefuji Need images Every prefecture, see Subdivisions of Japan Sendai - Add demographic images More... Translate from Japanese Wikipedia Iemoto (家元) Blue Ribbon Award (Film) (ブルーリボン賞 (映画)) Gesaku (ja:戯作) More... Transliterations missing for Military ranks and insignia of the Japan Self-Defense Forces Wikify Ibaraki University Ikawa, Shizuoka Ima, Ai ni Yukimasu Japanese sculpture Mori Goro Organization of the Imperial Japanese Central China Army Organization of the Imperial Japanese North China Army Pre-Modern Japanese Studies Mailing List Sangaria Shaken Takefuji Vote: Talk:Dokdo#Rename vote Watch this list — Edit this list

Contents 1 Organized when? 2 Faction split to form party? 3 Koizumi member of 2 factions? 4 Conservative/Moderate? 5 Factions 6 CIA Influence? 7 History 8 Policy Affairs Research Council 9 Fact Check 10 Term Limit on LDP Presidency

[edit] Organized when?

I bet LDP was organized in 1955. Do you have reliabe source that attests the priministers were from LDP since 1948? Taku 20:42 Jan 2, 2003 (UTC)

Sorry my mistake. I am translating a book about history of Japan. You are right ... I will fix it. In fact, since 1948, the rulers were from Jiyuto or Minshuto which have merged in 1955. Thanks Takusan for your correction :-) If I have time I will right more on politics of Japan. -- Youssefsan

I am just wondering so the book about history of Japan has a misconception? --Taku

No. I had read "conservatives" and I thought it was eaqual to LDP -- Youssefsan

---

Liberal Democrat Party is also a name used by Liberal Democrats (UK) and various other countries.

Thanks. -- Youssefsan

---

The page was moved to reflect the fact that the title is a proper name. Eclecticology 20:52 Feb 13, 2003 (UTC)

---

Koizumi is not a member of Hashimoto faction but was of Mori faction (not written), or this "Koizumi" is another.

[edit] Faction split to form party?

Under factions, would it be useful to list factions that split to form new political parties?

This article needs to be updated to mention the recent People's New Party split. Yodakii 05:01, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Koizumi member of 2 factions?

Heisei Kenkyukai (Hashimoto Faction), .. It is now led by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in the lower house and Aoki Mikio in the upper house. ... Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyukai (Mori Faction), led by Mori Yoshiro. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is a member of this faction.

Is Koizumi really a leader of one faction and a member of another? Can someone clear this up? I can't read Japanese well enough to find out.

Koizumi Junichiro is former leader of Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyukai. He is not member of Heisei Kenkyukai. Sh 06:07, 27 Jul 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Conservative/Moderate?

Someone added that the LDP was a moderate party. Electionworld.org, Worldstatesmen.org, and also the Japanese Consulate General of LA have confirmed that the LDP is a conservative party, and the most conservative party. New Komeito has quite a moderatly radical agenda. I am re-editing.

The LDP is a big tent. You have LDP leaders as diverse as Kono Yohei and Aso Taro. But 90% of LDP leaders are conservative compared to the opposition in Japan. The LDP is not an extreme right wing party, nor is it a particularly moderate right-wing party. It is very plainly, very simply, "conservative." Any attempt to modify that descriptor is just acceptance of one side or another's political posturing. ALC Washington 00:33, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Factions

The "Factions" section needs to be updated. I don't know enough to do much about now. Also, should the new members be included in a seperate faction? Some are already calling it "Koizumi Children". --Yodakii 14:28, 14 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] CIA Influence?

"From the 1950s through the 1970s, the American Central Intelligence Agency spent millions of dollars attempting to influence elections in Japan to favor the LDP against more leftist, Soviet backed parties, such as the Socialists and the Communists, although this was not revealed until the mid-1990s when The New York Times exposed it."

Sources? That's a pretty heavy accusation to be throwing around. I'm not saying I doubt it (the actions are actually quite in character with certain CIA operations of the period, IMO), but there does need to be a verifiable source for the information. Maybe the NY Times article(s) relating to this should be cited?

Whoops, forgot to sign that. Anyway, I found a source from the JPRI. I'll add it to the article. Moonsword 00:47, 12 December 2005 (UTC)

Yup It's True! [1]

see below too

LATE PREMIER YOSHIDA REPORTEDLY KNEW OF CIA-LDP PAYMENTS. 249 words 18 October 1994 BBC Monitoring Service: Asia-Pacific English (c) 1994 The British Broadcasting Corporation _F Kyodo News Service, Tokyo, in English 0459 gmt 15 Oct 94

Excerpts from report (for a previous report, see FE/2127 E/4 [10])

Washington, 14th October: The late Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida knew of secret manoeuvres by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to procure military material from Japan in the early 1950s, according to a US professor's research made available Friday [14th October].

The CIA launched the manoeuvres in 1951 to procure tungsten, a material to reinforce steel for military use during the 1950-53 Korean War and other purposes in the intensified Cold War, said the study by the late Howard Schonberger, a professor at the University of Maine. The late Kay Sugahara, a Japanese-American businessman, and the late Yoshio Kodama, a Japanese ultrarightist, were involved in Project "W" (W for wolfram, another name for tungsten), the research said...

Sugahara, also an official of the US Office of Strategic Services, the predecessor of the CIA, procured tungsten from Japan through Kodama and paid 2.8m US dollars to the rightist, the manuscript said...Then Bank of Japan Governor Hisato Ichimada, now deceased, also knew about development of the project, the research said...

Former CIA Director William Colby denied Friday [14th October] both Project "W" and earlier media reports that the CIA formed a "special group" in 1958 to study the feasibility of financially assisting the LDP.

(c) BBC Monitoring Summary of World Broadcasts.

Document bbcfe00020011105dqai000nn

The good news is that the Japanese are happy about the end result--Caligvla 21:58, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] History

The history section completely misses the partys many connections to organised crime (yakuza). Especially Yoshio Kodama, the main power behind the formation of the party. Also Ryoichi Sasakawa.

Maybe I should do this myself. But I sense I wouldn't get away with adding such things without good sources. --Apoc2400 10:12, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Policy Affairs Research Council

According to various sources (eg. Stockwin) the head of the LDP Policy Affairs Research Council is one of the most senior figures of the LDP. However I have found it hard to find out anything about this council except for the fact its head is important. Can anyone give more information?129.12.200.49 22:39, 25 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Fact Check

Something's funny with this sentence, from the Structure section: To make the system more democratic, Prime Minister Miki Takeo introduced a "primary" system in 1978, which opened the balloting to some 1.5 million LDP members. Takeo Fukuda was Prime Minister in 1978, not Miki, who resigned two years earlier. Could someone clarify/correct this? -David Schaich 00:52, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

I've replaced Miki Takeo with Takeo Fukuda. -David Schaich 01:43, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Term Limit on LDP Presidency

"At the apex of the LDP's formal organization is the president (japanese: sosai), who can serve two three-year terms (The presidential term was increased to three years from two years in 2002)." I think it will be quite useful to add a reference here. As in the LDP constitution it only mentioned that " The President shall be elected by vote according to the Rules for the Election of President of the Party, which shall be stipulated separately." (http://www.jimin.jp/jimin/english/e-Rule/e-Ru-ch2.html) but it seems The Rules aren't on the site. Can anyone give some help here?