Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)
Liberal Democratic Party 自由民主党 Jiyū-Minshutō | ||
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Councillors 117 / 248 | ||
Representatives | 259 / 465 | |
Prefectures[13] | 1,283 / 2,643 | |
Municipalities[13] | 2,179 / 29,608 | |
Party flag | ||
Website | ||
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The Liberal Democratic Party (自由民主党, Jiyū-Minshutō), frequently abbreviated to LDP or Jimintō (自民党), is a major
The LDP was formed in 1955 as a merger of two conservative parties: the
The LDP is often described as a big tent, but also as right-wing and conservative.[18] While lacking a cohesive political ideology, the party's platform has historically supported increased defense spending and maintaining close military ties with the United States.[19] The party's history and internal composition have been characterized by intense factionalism ever since its emergence in 1955, with its parliamentary members currently split among six factions, each of which vies for influence in the party and the government.[20][21] The incumbent prime minister and party president is Fumio Kishida.
History
This section needs additional citations for verification. (July 2019) |
Beginnings
The LDP was formed in 1955
The LDP began with reforming Japan's international relations, ranging from entry into the United Nations, to establishing diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union. Its leaders in the 1950s also made the LDP the main government party, and in all the elections of the 1950s, the LDP won the majority vote, with the only other opposition coming from left-wing politics, made up of the Japan Socialist Party and the Japanese Communist Party.
From the 1950s to the early 1970s, the United States Central Intelligence Agency spent millions of dollars to aid the LDP against leftist parties such as the Socialists and the Communists,[24][25] although this was not revealed until the mid-1990s when it was exposed by The New York Times.[26]
1960s to 1990s
For the majority of the 1960s, the LDP (and Japan) were led by Eisaku Satō, beginning with the hosting of the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, and ending in 1972 with Japanese neutrality in the Vietnam War and with the beginning of the Japanese asset price bubble. By the end of the 1970s, the LDP went into its decline, where even though it held the reins of government many scandals plagued the party, while the opposition (now joined with the Kōmeitō (1962–1998)) gained momentum.
In 1976, in the wake of the Lockheed bribery scandals, a handful of younger LDP Diet members broke away and established their own party, the New Liberal Club (Shin Jiyu Kurabu). A decade later, however, it was reabsorbed by the LDP.
By the late 1970s, the Japan Socialist Party, the Japanese Communist Party, and the Komeito along with the international community used major pressure to have Japan switch diplomatic ties from Taiwan (Republic of China) to the People's Republic of China.
In 1983, the LDP was a founding member of the
The LDP managed to consistently win elections for over three decades, and the LDP's decades in power allowed it to establish a highly stable process of policy formation. This process would not have been possible if other parties had secured parliamentary majorities. LDP strength was based on an enduring, although not unchallenged, coalition of big business, small business, agriculture, professional groups, and other interests. Elite bureaucrats collaborated closely with the party and interest groups in drafting and implementing policy. In a sense, the party's success was a result not of its internal strength but of its weakness. It lacked a strong, nationwide organization or consistent ideology with which to attract voters. Its leaders were rarely decisive, charismatic, or popular. But it functioned efficiently as a locus for matching interest group money and votes with bureaucratic power and expertise. This arrangement resulted in corruption, but the party could claim credit for helping to create economic growth and a stable, middle-class Japan. [citation needed]
Despite winning the 1986 general election by a landslide, by the end of 1980s, the LDP started to suffer setbacks in elections due to unpopular policies on trade liberalisation and tax, as well as a scandal involving their leader Sōsuke Uno and the Recruit scandal. The party lost its majority in the House of Councillors for the first time in 34 years in the 1989 election.[28]
Out of power
The LDP managed to hold on to power in
Seven opposition parties — including several formed by LDP dissidents — formed the
In 1994, the Japan Socialist Party and New Party Sakigake left the ruling coalition, joining the LDP in the opposition. The remaining members of the coalition tried to stay in power as the minority Hata Cabinet under the leadership of Tsutomu Hata, but this failed when the LDP and the Socialists, bitter rivals for 40 years, formed a majority coalition. The Murayama Cabinet was dominated by the LDP, but it allowed Socialist Tomiichi Murayama to occupy the Prime Minister's chair until 1996 when the LDP's Ryutaro Hashimoto took over.
1996–2009
In the 1996 election, the LDP made some gains but was still 12 seats short of a majority. However, no other party could possibly form a government, and Hashimoto formed a solidly LDP minority government. Through a series of floor-crossings, the LDP regained its majority within a year.
The party was practically unopposed until 1998 when the opposition
In the dramatically paced
On 10 November 2003, the
After a victory in the
The LDP remained the largest party in both houses of the Diet, until 29 July 2007, when the LDP lost its majority in the upper house.[30]
In a party leadership election held on 23 September 2007, the LDP elected Yasuo Fukuda as its president. Fukuda defeated Tarō Asō for the post, receiving 330 votes against 197 votes for Aso.[31][32] However Fukuda resigned suddenly in September 2008, and Asō became Prime Minister after winning the presidency of the LDP in a five-way election.
In the 2009 general election, the LDP was roundly defeated, winning only 118 seats—easily the worst defeat of a sitting government in modern Japanese history, and also the first real transfer of political power in the post-war era. Accepting responsibility for this severe defeat, Aso announced his resignation as LDP president on election night. Sadakazu Tanigaki was elected leader of the party on 28 September 2009,[33] after a three-way race, becoming only the second LDP leader who was not simultaneously prime minister.[citation needed]
2009–present
The party's support continued to decline, with prime ministers changing rapidly, and in the
In July 2015, the party pushed for expanded military powers to fight in foreign conflict through Shinzo Abe and the support of Komeito.[40]
Yoshihide Suga took over from Shinzo Abe in September 2020 after a three-way race. After Suga declined to run for re-election, successor Fumio Kishida led the party to a victory in the October 2021 Japanese general election after a four-way race, defying expectations.[41]
Despite support dropping in 2022 after the assassination of Shinzo Abe over connections between various party members and the Unification Church, the party had a good showing in the 2023 Japanese unified local elections, winning over half of the 2260 prefectural assembly seats being contested and six governorship positions.[42]
On 18–19 January 2024, following a scandal involving failure to report and misuse of ¥600 million in campaign funds by members of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan's conservative Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyūkai and Shisuikai factions in violation of Japanese campaign finance and election law, three factions (Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyūkai, Shisuikai, in addition to PM Kishida's Kōchikai) all announced their intention to dissolve entirely in hopes of restoring public trust.[43][44] Several LDP lawmakers were indicted, including incumbent lawmakers Yasutada Ōno and Yaichi Tanigawa, who both resigned from the party following their indictments.[45]
Ideology and political stance
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Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) |
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Part of a series on |
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The LDP is usually associated with conservatism,
The LDP members hold a variety of positions that could be broadly defined as being to the right of main opposition parties. Many of its ministers, including current Prime Minister
The LDP could also be compared to the
Historical
In the case of the LDP administration under the 1955 System in Japan, their degree of economic control was stronger than that of Western conservative governments; it was also positioned closer to social democracy.[65] Since the 1970s, the oil crisis has slowed economic growth and increased the resistance of urban citizens to policies that favor farmers.[66] To maintain its dominant position, the LDP sought to expand party supporters by incorporating social security policies and pollution measures advocated by opposition parties.[66] It was also historically closely positioned to corporate statism.[67][68]
2021 manifesto
During the 2021 general election the released LDP policy manifesto, titled "Create a new era together with you", which included among other things support for:[69][70][71]
- Wealth redistribution to revive the Japanese economy and empowering the middle class
- Tax breaks for corporations willing to raise wages
- Advance administrative reforms to facilitate digitalization
- High investment in science and technology and increased funds for university research
- Secure robust supply chains for critical materials, such as rare earths
- Continued development of nuclear fusion power generation, and expansion of renewable energy to achieve carbon neutralityby 2050
- Reaching UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals targets
- Offer subsidies for enterprises if they move into new industries
- Electronic COVID-19 vaccine passports
- Expanding support for small and medium businesses hit by the COVID-19 pandemic
- Constitutional amendments, including the proposed Japanese constitutional referendum to formalize the current existence of the Japan Self-Defense Forces in Article 9 of the Constitution and creating an emergency response clause
- Raising Japan's defense budget from the current 1% to "two percent or more" of gross domestic product (GDP) and enhancing Japan's defense capabilities
- Advance understanding of LGBT rights, although the party is not in favor of same-sex marriage,[72] with 50% of its election candidates being "undecided" and those opposed largely outnumbering those in favor[73]
- Acceptance of foreign workers and improving management to cover labor shortages
- Support Taiwan's bid to join the CPTPP agreement and WHO observer status
- Promoting further nuclear disarmament and nuclear nonproliferation
Structure
At the apex of the LDP's formal organization is the president (総裁, sōsai), who can serve three[74] three-year terms. (The presidential term was increased from two years to three years in 2002 and from two to three terms in 2017). When the party has a parliamentary majority, the party president is the prime minister. The choice of party president is formally that of a party convention composed of Diet members and local LDP figures, but in most cases, they merely approved the joint decision of the most powerful party leaders. To make the system more democratic, Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda introduced a "primary" system in 1978, which opened the balloting to some 1.5 million LDP members. The process was so costly and acrimonious, however, that it was subsequently abandoned in favor of the old "smoke-filled room" method—so-called in allusion to the notion of closed discussions held in small rooms filled with tobacco smoke.
After the party president, the most important LDP officials are the Secretary-General (kanjicho), the chairmen of the LDP Executive Council (somukaicho), and of the Policy Affairs Research Council or "PARC" (政務調査会, seimu chōsakai).
Leadership
As of 10 January 2024:[75]
Position | Name | House | Faction |
---|---|---|---|
President | Fumio Kishida | Representatives | None |
Vice President | Tarō Asō | Representatives | Asō (Shikōkai) |
Secretary-General
|
Toshimitsu Motegi | Representatives | Motegi (Heisei Kenkyūkai) |
Chairperson, General Council | Hiroshi Moriyama | Representatives | Moriyama (Kinmirai Seiji Kenkyūkai) |
Chairperson, Policy Affairs Research Council | Kisaburo Tokai | Representatives | None |
Chairperson, Election Strategy Committee | Yuko Obuchi
|
Representatives | None |
Chairperson, Party Organization and Movement Headquarters | Yasushi Kaneko | Representatives | None |
Chairperson, Public Relations Headquarters | Takuya Hirai | Representatives | None |
Chairperson, Diet Affairs Committee | Yasukazu Hamada | Representatives | None |
Executive Acting Secretary-General | Hiroshi Kajiyama | Representatives | None |
Chairperson, General Assembly of Party Members of the House of Councillors | Masakazu Sekiguchi | Councillors | Takeshita (Heisei Kenkyūkai) |
Secretary-General for the LDP in the House of Councillors | Vacant | N/A | N/A |
Factions
This section needs additional citations for verification. (November 2020) |
This section needs to be updated.(March 2024) |
Since the genesis of the Liberal Democratic Party in 1955, factions have existed, but they have changed over time. Despite this change, factions in the party today can be traced back to their 1955 roots, a testament to the stability and institutionalized nature of Liberal Democratic Party factions.[76] The party's history and internal composition have been characterized by intense factionalism ever since its emergence in 1955, with its parliamentary members currently split among six factions, each of which vies for influence in the party and the government.[21] The incumbent Prime Minister and party president, Fumio Kishida, was the leader of the now defunct Kōchikai faction from 2012 until his resignation in 2023.
Current factions in the LDP include:
Name | Ideology | Political position | Leader | Members |
---|---|---|---|---|
|
Right-wing | Tarō Asō[77] | 56 | |
|
Conservatism | Right-wing | Toshimitsu Motegi[78] | 53 |
? | ? | Hiroshi Moriyama[79] | 8 | |
Independent | N/A | 78 |
Membership
The LDP had over 5.5 million party members in 1991.[80] By December 2017 membership had dropped to approximately one million members.[3]
Performance in national elections until 1993
This section needs additional citations for verification. (November 2020) |
Election statistics show that, while the LDP had been able to secure a majority in the twelve House of Representatives elections from May 1958 to February 1990, with only three exceptions (December 1976, October 1979, and December 1983), its share of the popular vote had declined from a high of 57.8 percent in May 1958 to a low of 41.8 percent in December 1976, when voters expressed their disgust with the party's involvement in the Lockheed scandal.[citation needed] The LDP vote rose again between 1979 and 1990. Although the LDP won an unprecedented 300 seats in the July 1986 balloting, its share of the popular vote remained just under 50 percent. The figure was 46.2 percent in February 1990. Following the three occasions when the LDP found itself a handful of seats shy of a majority, it was obliged to form alliances with conservative independents and the breakaway New Liberal Club. In a cabinet appointment after the October 1983 balloting, a non-LDP minister, a member of the New Liberal Club, was appointed for the first time. On 18 July 1993, in lower house elections, the LDP fell so far short of a majority that it was unable to form a government.
In the upper house, the July 1989 election represented the first time that the LDP was forced into a minority position. In previous elections, it had either secured a majority on its own or recruited non-LDP conservatives to make up the difference of a few seats.
The political crisis of 1988–89 was testimony to both the party's strength and its weakness. In the wake of a succession of issues—the pushing of a highly unpopular
Uno's successor, the eloquent if obscure
In October 1991, Prime Minister Kaifu Toshiki failed to attain passage of a political reform bill and was rejected by the LDP, despite his popularity with the electorate. He was replaced as prime minister by
Election results
Legislative results
House of Representatives
Election | Leader | No. of candidates |
Seats | Position | Constituency votes | PR Block votes | Status | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | ± | Share | No. | Share | No. | Share | |||||
1958 | Nobusuke Kishi | 413 | 289 / 467
|
61.8% | 1st | 22,976,846 | 57.80% | Government | |||
1960 | Hayato Ikeda | 399 | 300 / 467
|
11 | 64.2% | 1st | 22,740,272 | 57.56% | Government | ||
1963 | 359 | 283 / 467
|
17 | 60.5% | 1st | 22,423,915 | 54.67% | Government | |||
1967 | Eisaku Satō | 342 | 277 / 486
|
6 | 56.9% | 1st | 22,447,838 | 48.80% | Government | ||
1969 | 328 | 288 / 486
|
11 | 59.2% | 1st | 22,381,570 | 47.63% | Government | |||
1972 | Kakuei Tanaka
|
339 | 271 / 491
|
17 | 55.1% | 1st | 24,563,199 | 46.85% | Government | ||
1976 | Takeo Miki | 320 | 249 / 511
|
22 | 48.7% | 1st | 23,653,626 | 41.78% | Government | ||
1979 | Masayoshi Ōhira | 322 | 248 / 511
|
1 | 48.5% | 1st | 24,084,131 | 44.59% | Government | ||
1980 | 310 | 284 / 511
|
36 | 55.5% | 1st | 28,262,442 | 47.88% | Government | |||
1983 | Yasuhiro Nakasone | 339 | 250 / 511
|
34 | 48.9% | 1st | 25,982,785 | 45.76% | LDP-NLC coalition | ||
1986 | 322 | 300 / 512
|
50 | 58.5% | 1st | 29,875,501 | 49.42% | Government | |||
1990 | Toshiki Kaifu | 338 | 275 / 512
|
25 | 53.7% | 1st | 30,315,417 | 46.14% | Government | ||
1993 | Kiichi Miyazawa | 285 | 223 / 511
|
52 | 43.6% | 1st | 22,999,646 | 36.62% | Opposition (until 1994) | ||
LDP- JSP-NPS coalition(since 1994) | |||||||||||
1996 | Ryutaro Hashimoto | 355 | 239 / 500
|
16 | 47.8% | 1st | 21,836,096 | 38.63% | 18,205,955 | 32.76% | LDP-SDP-NPS coalition |
2000 | Yoshirō Mori | 337 | 233 / 480
|
6 | 48.5% | 1st | 24,945,806 | 40.97% | 16,943,425 | 28.31% | LDP-Komeito-NCP coalition |
2003 | Junichiro Koizumi | 336 | 237 / 480
|
4 | 49.3% | 1st | 26,089,326 | 43.85% | 20,660,185 | 34.96% | LDP-Komeito coalition |
2005 | 346 | 296 / 480
|
59 | 61.6% | 1st | 32,518,389 | 47.80% | 25,887,798 | 38.20% | LDP-Komeito coalition | |
2009 | Tarō Asō | 326 | 119 / 480
|
177 | 24.7% | 2nd | 27,301,982 | 38.68% | 18,810,217 | 26.73% | Opposition |
2012 | Shinzo Abe | 337 | 294 / 480
|
175 | 61.2% | 1st | 25,643,309 | 43.01% | 16,624,457 | 27.79% | LDP-Komeito coalition |
2014 | 352 | 291 / 475
|
3 | 61.2% | 1st | 25,461,427 | 48.10% | 17,658,916 | 33.11% | LDP-Komeito coalition | |
2017 | 332 | 284 / 465
|
7 | 61.0% | 1st | 26,719,032 | 48.21% | 18,555,717 | 33.28% | LDP-Komeito coalition | |
2021 | Fumio Kishida | 338 | 259 / 465
|
25 | 55.7% | 1st | 27,626,235 | 48.08% | 19,914,883 | 34.66% | LDP-Komeito coalition |
House of Councillors
Election | Leader | Seats | Nationwide[f] | Prefecture | Status | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total[g] | Contested | Number | % | Number | % | |||
1956 | Ichirō Hatoyama | 122 / 250
|
61 / 125
|
11,356,874 | 39.7% | 14,353,960 | 48.4% | Governing minority |
1959 | Nobusuke Kishi | 132 / 250
|
71 / 125
|
12,120,598 | 41.2% | 15,667,022 | 52.0% | Governing majority |
1962 | Hayato Ikeda | 142 / 250
|
69 / 125
|
16,581,637 | 46.4% | 17,112,986 | 47.1% | Governing majority |
1965 | Eisaku Satō | 140 / 251
|
71 / 125
|
17,583,490 | 47.2% | 16,651,284 | 44.2% | Governing majority |
1968 | 137 / 250
|
69 / 125
|
20,120,089 | 46.7% | 19,405,546 | 44.9% | Governing majority | |
1971 | 131 / 249
|
62 / 125
|
17,759,395 | 44.5% | 17,727,263 | 44.0% | Governing majority | |
1974 | Kakuei Tanaka | 126 / 250
|
62 / 125
|
23,332,773 | 44.3% | 21,132,372 | 39.5% | Governing majority |
1977 | Takeo Fukuda | 125 / 249
|
63 / 125
|
18,160,061 | 35.8% | 20,440,157 | 39.5% | Governing minority |
1980 | Masayoshi Ōhira | 135 / 250
|
69 / 125
|
23,778,190 | 43.3% | 24,533,083 | 42.5% | Governing majority |
1983 | Yasuhiro Nakasone | 137 / 252
|
68 / 126
|
16,441,437 | 35.3% | 19,975,034 | 43.2% | Governing majority |
1986 | 143 / 252
|
72 / 126
|
22,132,573 | 38.58% | 26,111,258 | 45.07% | Governing majority | |
1989 | Sōsuke Uno | 109 / 252
|
36 / 126
|
15,343,455 | 27.32% | 17,466,406 | 30.70% | Governing minority |
1992 | Kiichi Miyazawa | 106 / 252
|
68 / 126
|
14,961,199 | 33.29% | 20,528,293 | 45.23% | Governing minority (until 1993) |
Minority (1993–1994) | ||||||||
LDP- JSP-NPS governing majority(since 1994) | ||||||||
1995 | Yōhei Kōno | 111 / 252
|
46 / 126
|
10,557,547 | 25.40% | 11,096,972 | 27.29% | LDP-JSP-NPS governing majority |
1998 | Ryutaro Hashimoto | 102 / 252
|
44 / 126
|
14,128,719 | 25.17% | 17,033,851 | 30.45% | LDP–(Lib.–Komeito) governing majority (until 2000) |
LDP–Komeito–NCP governing majority (since 2000) | ||||||||
2001 | Junichiro Koizumi | 111 / 247
|
64 / 121
|
21,114,727 | 38.57% | 22,299,825 | 41.04% | LDP–Komeito–NCP governing majority (until 2003) |
LDP–Komeito governing majority (since 2003) | ||||||||
2004 | 115 / 242
|
49 / 121
|
16,797,686 | 30.03% | 19,687,954 | 35.08% | LDP–Komeito governing majority | |
2007 | Shinzo Abe | 83 / 242
|
37 / 121
|
16,544,696 | 28.1% | 18,606,193 | 31.35% | LDP–Komeito governing minority (until 2009) |
Minority (since 2009) | ||||||||
2010 | Sadakazu Tanigaki | 84 / 242
|
51 / 121
|
14,071,671 | 24.07% | 19,496,083 | 33.38% | Minority (until 2012) |
LDP–Komeito governing minority (since 2012) | ||||||||
2013 | Shinzo Abe | 115 / 242
|
65 / 121
|
18,460,404 | 34.7% | 22,681,192 | 42.7% | LDP–Komeito governing majority |
2016 | 121 / 242
|
56 / 121
|
20,114,833 | 35.9% | 22,590,793 | 39.9% | LDP–Komeito governing majority | |
2019 | 113 / 245
|
57 / 124
|
17,712,373 | 35.37% | 20,030,330 | 39.77% | LDP–Komeito governing majority | |
2022 | Fumio Kishida | 119 / 248
|
63 / 125
|
18,256,245 | 34.43% | 20,603,298 | 38.74% | LDP–Komeito governing majority |
Logos
-
Liberal Democratic Party's logo (before 2017)
-
Liberal Democratic Party's red variant logo (since 2017)
Notes
- big-tent conservative party (see factions table below).[4][5] The LDP has been described as centre-right,[6] but the LDP also has far-right[a][7] and ultraconservative[8] factions, including members belonging to the ultranationalist Nippon Kaigi (see List of members of Nippon Kaigi).
- ISBN 9780595316526.
In 1955, with funds from the ultranationalists, the conservatives merged the Liberal Party with the Democratic Party to form the Liberal Democratic Party (LPD), which effectively held the Japanese Communist Party in check.
"Chiiki no koe de aratana nippon e"
"Ware-ra"
References
- This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Country Studies. Federal Research Division.
- Japan Country Studies – Library of Congress
- ISBN 978-90-04-38055-4. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
The Jiyu Minshu, the LDP's party paper, began to focus on rural development from June 2014.
- ^ "自民党学生部". www.tokyo-jimin.jp. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ a b "自民党員7年ぶり減少 108万人、19年末時点". 日本経済新聞 (in Japanese). 2 March 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ISBN 978-1-59884-162-6.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-134-32806-2.
- . 28 September 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
Abe's center-right Liberal Democratic Party (LDP),
... 12 Seirankai: an extreme-right faction formed within the LDP in July 1973; after Kim Dae Jung was abducted from ...
- "Japan is having an election next month. Here's why it matters". The Japan Times. 22 November 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
When Abe appointed five female ministers in September, two of which were forced to step down over scandals, a number of political commentators viewed the move with some cynicism, suggesting that the prime minister didn't pay much attention to the qualifications of the candidates. Most of the women he chose were ultra-conservatives such as Eriko Yamatani, minister in charge of the North Korea abductee issue.
- "Japan, led by less apologetic generation, stays tough in South Korea feud". Reuters. 8 August 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
Electoral system changes and three years in opposition helped ultra-conservative lawmakers and lobby groups strengthen their clout in the LDP.
For nearly two decades the right-wing Liberal-Democratic Party has dominated Japanese politics with nearly two-thirds of Diet seats.
- Roger Blanpain; Michele Tiraboschi; Pablo Arellano Ortiz (2008). The Global Labour Market: From Globalization to Flexicurity. Kluwer Law International. p. 268. ISBN 978-90-411-2722-8.
- Jeff Kingston (2011). Japan in Transformation, 1945-2010. Routledge. p. 19. ISBN 978-1-317-86192-8.
- Bradley Richardson (2001). "Japan's "1955 System" and Beyond". In Larry Diamond; Richard Gunther (eds.). Political Parties and Democracy. JHU Press. p. 145. ISBN 978-0-8018-6863-4.
- Paul W. Zagorski (2009). Comparative Politics: Continuity and Breakdown in the Contemporary World. Routledge. p. 111. ISBN 978-1-135-96979-0.
- Ray Christensen (2000). Ending the LDP Hegemony: Party Cooperation in Japan. University of Hawaii Press. p. 232. ISBN 978-0-8248-2295-8.
- "The Resurgence of Japanese Nationalism". 22 July 2015. Archived from the original on 19 August 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
- "As Hiroshima's legacy fades, Japan's postwar pacifism is fraying". The Conversation UK. 6 August 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
Even though much of the Japanese public does not agree with the LDP's nationalist platform, the party won big electoral victories by promising to replace the DPJ's weakness with strong leadership – particularly on the economy, but also in foreign affairs.
- "Why Steve Bannon Admires Japan". The Diplomat. 22 June 2018.
In Japan, populist and extreme right-wing nationalism has found a home within the political establishment.
- "Shinzo Abe and the rise of Japanese nationalism". New Statesman. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
As a new emperor takes the throne, prime minister Abe is consolidating his ultranationalist "beautiful Japan" project. But can he overcome a falling population and stagnating economy?
- "Japan's ruling conservatives have been returned to power, but amid voter frustration, challenges lurk for Kishida". The Conversation. 1 November 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
Japan's ruling conservative nationalist Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) will remain comfortably in power under its new prime minister Fumio Kishida, after the weekend's national election.
- A Weiss (31 May 2018). Towards a Beautiful Japan: Right-Wing Religious Nationalism in Japan's LDP.
For nearly two decades the right-wing Liberal-Democratic Party has domi-nated Japanese politics with nearly two-thirds of Diet seats.