(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.
D. V. PETROV