Liberal Democratic party, Japanese political party

Liberal Democratic party (LDP), Japanese political party. It began as the conservative Liberal party, which, under Shigeru Yoshida Yoshida, Shigeru , 1878–1967, Japanese statesman. He was until 1954 the most powerful political figure in postwar Japan. He was ambassador to Italy (1930–32) and to Great Britain (1936–39).
..... Click the link for more information. , became the dominant political force in Japan following World War II. In 1955 the Liberals merged with the newly created Japan Democratic party. Retaining control of the Japanese government for 38 years, the LDP supported Japan's alliance with the United States and fostered close links between Japanese business and government. Following charges of corruption in Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa Miyazawa, Kiichi , 1919–, Japanese politician, b. Fukuyama. A member of an eminent political family, he graduated from Tokyo Univ. and served in the finance ministry during the Allied occupation.
..... Click the link for more information. 's government, it lost its parliamentary majority in the 1993 elections, which put a coalition government in power. In spite of numerous defections by LDP members of parliament over the party's failure to enact political reform, it remained Japan's largest political party. Since 1994, when the LDP returned to power, it has been the senior partner in a series of coalition governments. Ryutaro Hashimoto Hashimoto, Ryutaro , 1937–2006, Japanese politician, b. Tokyo, grad. Keio Univ. He entered politics in 1963, when he was elected to parliament from Okayama prefecture.
..... Click the link for more information. became LDP leader in 1995, assuming the post of deputy prime minister in Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama Murayama, Tomiichi , 1924–, Japanese politician. A long-time labor union official and member of the Socialist party, he was originally elected to parliament in 1972.
..... Click the link for more information. 's cabinet. Upon Murayama's resignation early in 1996, Hashimoto became prime minister; Keizo Obuchi Obuchi, Keizo , 1937–2000, Japanese politician, prime minister of Japan (1998–2000), b. Nakanojo. The son of a silk manufacturer and politician, Obuchi graduated from Waseda Univ.
..... Click the link for more information. succeeded Hashimoto as party leader and prime minister in 1998. When Obuchi was incapacitated by a severe stroke in 2000, Yoshiro Mori Mori, Yoshiri, 1937–, Japanese politician, prime minister of Japan (2000–2001), b. Neagari. Born into a political family in rural Ishikawa prefecture and educated at Waseda Univ., he was a newspaper reporter before his first election to the Diet in 1969.
..... Click the link for more information. , secretary-general of the LDP, succeeded him as prime minister, but the unpopular Mori was replaced in less than a year by Junichiro Koizumi Koizumi, Junichiro , 1942–, Japanese political leader, b. Yokosuka. From a political family, he studied economics at Keio Univ. (grad. 1967) and the London School of Economics.
..... Click the link for more information. . Koizumi, who headed the LDP until 2006, was succeeded as party leader by Shinzo Abe Abe, Shinzo , 1954–, Japanese politician. The son and grandson of politicians (his grandfather was Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi), he served as secretary to his father and succeeded to his father's seat in the Diet in 1993.
..... Click the link for more information. .

See also Postwar Japan under Japan Japan , Jap. Nihon or Nippon, country (2005 est. pop. 127,417,000), 145,833 sq mi (377,835 sq km), occupying an archipelago off the coast of E Asia.
..... Click the link for more information. .

Liberal Democratic Party

(LDP; Jiyu Minshuto), a political party of Japan expressing the interests of big capital, the rural bourgeoisie, and the privileged bureaucracy.

The Liberal Democratic Party was established in November 1955 through the merger of the Liberal and Democratic parties. Because of its majority in parliament, the LDP has formed the one-party government of Japan since the moment it was constituted. The domestic policies of the LDP include the placing of limitations on the democratic freedoms of the workers, reconsideration of the constitution (particularly its ninth article, which proclaims Japan’s renunciation of war and the maintenance of armed forces), remilitarization of the country, and cultivation of nationalistic ideology. A cornerstone of the foreign policy line of the LDP is the continuation of Japan’s military and political alliance with the USA. In the early 1970’s the party began to develop relations with the USSR and other socialist countries. The main foreign-policy goal of the LDP is to elevate Japan’s political influence to a level commensurate with its increased economic potential.

The party is structured to meet the needs of parliamentary struggle. LDP sections in cities and prefectures serve basically only as organs for staging election campaigns. The congress is formally considered to be the highest body of the party, but in fact all power is concentrated in the hands of the party leadership. Takeo Miki became the president of the party in December 1974, simultaneously occupying the post of prime minister of the country. The LDP’s press organ is the newspaper Jiyu Minshu.

REFERENCES

Latyshev, I. A. Praviashchaia liberal’no-demokraticheskaia partiia Iaponii i ee politika. Moscow, 1967.
Sovremennaia Iaponiia: Spravochnik. Moscow, 1968.

D. V. PETROV

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