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Japanese liberalism(自由主義 or リベラリズム)[note 1] formed in the nineteenth century as a reaction against traditional society. In the twentieth century 'liberal' (自由) gradually became a synonym for conservative, and today the main conservative party in the country is named Liberal Democratic Party (自由民主党, Jiyū-Minshutō). The defunct Democratic Party (民主党, Minshutō) was considered in part a centrist-liberal party, as are most parties which derived from it. The liberal character of the Liberal League (自由連合, Jiyū Rengō) is disputed, as it is also considered to be conservative by some. This article is limited to liberal(リベラル)parties with substantial support, proved by having had representation in parliament.
Modern Japanese liberalism
Liberals in Japan are generally considered united by one major factor: their opposition to changing the post-World War II constitution forbidding the creation of a national military.[2]
Before the 1990s, Japanese liberals did not form a prominent individual political party.
Since the 1990s, most conservative liberals have left the LDP. The Japan New Party (JNP) and New Party Sakigake are the parties founded by Japanese conservative-liberals against the LDP's nationalist project, which lead to the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ)-liberalism tradition. Japan's previous liberal party, the DPJ, was led by moderates of both the right-wing LDP and left-wing JSP.
Currently, the LDP has not been considered a liberal party. In the past, liberals in the LDP became opposition forces after leaving the party, so "liberal" generally became a force against "conservative" in Japanese politics in the 21st century. The current DPJ-liberalism tradition is being continued by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ).[7]
As the LDP becomes an increasingly solid conservative party, and the socialist movement that led the traditional anti-LDP camp has lost control in Japan's opposition political camp, gradually shifting from the centre-right "liberal" in the European and Australian sense of the past to the centre-left "liberal" in the American sense.[1] Currently, the LDP is the largest conservative party in Japan, and the CDPJ is the largest liberal party in Japan.
Timeline
The sign ⇒ means a reference to another party in that scheme. For inclusion in this scheme it isn't necessary that parties labelled themselves "liberal".
From Public Party of Patriots until Constitutional Party
1874: Liberals founded the Aikoku Kōtō (愛国公党, Public Party of Patriots)
1881: The Aikoku Kōtō is continued by the Jiyūtō (自由党, Liberal Party)
1891: The Jiyūtō is renamed into Rikken Jiyūtō (立憲自由党, Constitutional Liberal Party)
1898: The Rikken Jiyūtō merged with the ⇒ Shimpotō into the Kenseitō (憲政党, Constitutional Party)
1898: A faction seceded as the ⇒ Kensei Hontō; with the former Jiyūtō faction reorganizing itself into the New Kenseitō
1900: The party is taken over by the oligarchy and renamed into Rikken Seiyūkai (立憲政友会, Association of Friends of Constitutional Government)
From Constitutional Reform Party to Reform Club
1882: The Rikken Kaishintō (立憲改進党, Constitutional Reform Party) is formed
1896: The party is continued by the Shimpotō (進歩党, Progressive Party)
1898: The party merged into the ⇒ Kenseitō
1898: The Kenseitō fell apart and a faction formed the Kensei Hontō (憲政本党, Orthodox Constitutional Party), renamed in 1910 into the Rikken Kokumintō (立憲国民党, Constitutional National Party)
1913: A faction seceded as the ⇒ Rikken Dōshikai
1922: The Rikken Kokumintō is renamed Kakushin Club (革新倶楽部, Reform Club)
1920s: The Kakushin Club merged into the Rikken Seiyūkai
From Association of Friends of the Constitution to Constitutional Democratic Party
1913: A faction of the ⇒ Rikken Kokumintō formed the Rikken Dōshikai (立憲同志会, Association of Friends of the Constitution), renamed Kenseikai (憲政会, Constitutional Politics Association) in 1916
1927: The Kenseikai merged with the ⇒ Seiyūhontō into the Rikken Minseitō (立憲民政党, Constitutional Democratic Party)
1940: The party is dissolved by the military junta
Orthodox Constitutional Friends Party
1924: A faction of the Rikken Seiyūkai formed the Seiyūhontō (政友本党, Orthodox Constitutional Friends Party)
1927: The party merged into the ⇒ Rikken Minseitō
Postwar period
In postwar Japan, liberal (リベラル) tendencies did not stand out much among major political parties for more than 40 years. During the Japanese Empire, liberals, including the Constitutional Democratic Party, were swept away by several political parties. The center-right liberal-conservatives (自由保守主義) became the 'leftist faction' of the right-wing conservative Liberal Democratic Party, and the center-left progressive-liberals (革新自由主義) formed the 'rightist faction' within the left-wing Socialist Party.
From Renewal Party to Liberal Party
1993: A liberal faction of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (自由民主党, Jiyū-Minshutō) seceded as the Renewal Party (新生党, Shinseitō)
1994: The Renewal Party merged with other factions into the New Frontier Party (新進党, Shinshintō, "New Progressive Party")
2019: Liberal Party merged into ⇒ Democratic Party for the People
New Harbinger Party
1993: A liberal faction of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (自由民主党, Jiyū-Minshutō) seceded as the New Harbinger Party (新党さきがけ, Shintō Sakigake)
1996: Most members left to co-found the ⇒ Democratic Party of Japan
1998: The remainder of the party evolved in conservative direction and renamed itself as Harbinger (さきがけ, Sakigake), before becoming the ecologist Green Assembly (みどりの会議, Midori no Kaigi) in 2002
1998: The party merged with the Good Governance Party, the New Fraternity Party and the Democratic Reform Party to form a new, enlarged Democratic Party of Japan (1998) (民主党, Minshutō)
2003: The ⇒ Liberal Party (1998) merged into the party
2018: The remaining Democratic Party merged with Kibō no Tō to form the Democratic Party for the People (国民民主党, Kokumin Minshutō), which includes liberals and conservatives.
2020: The majority faction of DPP merged into the new CDP, while the minority faction remain in the DPP.
Liberal leaders
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2018)
Liberalism in South Korea – This was also influenced by Japanese liberalism during its early formation.
Notes
^In Japan, American and European style "liberal" / "liberalism" is often referred to as "リベラル" / "リベラリズム" in katakana.[1] Although the term "自由主義" in kanji is also synonymous with "リベラリズム", "自由主義" is also used by conservatives, including LDP, in a similar sense to anti-communism or economic liberalism.
References
^ ab"今さら聞けない?! 「保守」「リベラル」ってなんだ？" [Can't you ask about them now ?! What are "conservative" and "liberal"?] (in Japanese). Retrieved 15 May 2020.
^Arthur Stockwin; Kweku Ampiah, eds. (2017). Rethinking Japan: The Politics of Contested Nationalism. Lexington Books. p. 196. ISBN9781498537933. ... of the debate is the left/liberal "peace movement" currently led by Japanese academics, including legal scholars, and more recently by students, but which until the end of the Cold War was spearheaded by the Japan Socialist Party.
^Tetsuya Kataoka, ed. (1992). Creating Single-party Democracy: Japan's Postwar Political System. Hoover Institution Press. p. 2. ISBN9780817991111. The constitution was defended by the JSP, the mainstay of kakushin (radical-liberal forces), ...
^Japan Almanac. Mainichi Newspapers. 1975. p. 43. In the House of Representatives, the Liberal-Democratic Party, guided by conservative liberalism, is the No.1 party holding a total of 279 seats or 56.8 per cent of the House quorum of 491.
^American Assembly; Willard Long Thorp, eds. (1964). Japan's School Curriculum for The 2020s: Politics, Policy, and Pedagogy. Prentice-Hall. p. 17. It is no accident that Japanese radical liberalism and democratic socialism were both closely connected in their beginnings with the Christian movement in Japan. The first Japanese Socialist Party was born in an Americansponsored Christian church in Tokyo, and the majority of its members were Christians with intimate American connections.
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