Liberal Party (Japan, 1998)
Liberal Party 自由党 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| President | Ichirō Ozawa |
| Secretary-General | Takeshi Noda |
| Founded | 1 January 1998 |
| Dissolved | 26 September 2003 |
| Split from | New Frontier Party |
| Merged into | Democratic Party of Japan |
| Ideology | Social liberalism, Centrism, Neoconservatism, Neoliberalism |
| Political position | Centre-right[1] |
| Colors | Blue |
The Liberal Party (自由党 Jiyū-tō) was a Japanese political party (not to be confused with the centre-right Liberal Democratic Party) formed in 1998 by Ichirō Ozawa and Hirohisa Fujii. It is now defunct, having joined the Democratic Party of Japan in 2003.
The Liberal Party was formed from remnants of the New Frontier Party after it dissolved in 1998. The party did do quite well for a new party, joining the opposition led by the Democratic Party of Japan and also including the New Kōmeitō, the Social Democratic Party and Japanese Communist Party, and thus helped contest elections against the ruling Liberal Democrats (LDP).
In January 1999, it formed a coalition with the ruling LDP under Keizō Obuchi.[2] Takeshi Noda as Minister for Home Affairs became its only member in the realigned Obuchi cabinet, later replaced by Toshihiro Nikai as Minister of Transportation. Later that year, the New Kōmeitō joined the coalition as well, and party president Ichirō Ozawa decided to lead the Liberals back into the opposition as he saw his party's position endangered.[3] But some members of the coalition wanted to stay in the government and eventually formed the breakaway New Conservative Party.[4]
In October 2003, because of the upcoming election, the Liberal Party finally merged with the Democratic Party of Japan[5] and all its members joined the new party, making an influential grouping within the party. The Democratic Party did tremendously well, and Hirohisa Fujii became the Secretary General of the Democratic Party, while Ichiro Ozawa led the Liberal Party faction within the DPJ.
Presidents of LP
| No. | Name | Term of office | Image | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took Office | Left Office | |||
| 1 | Ichirō Ozawa 小沢 一郎 Ozawa Ichirō |
1 January 1998 | 26 September 2003 |  |
Election results
General election results
| Election | Leader | # of candidates | # of seats won | # of Constituency votes | % of Constituency vote | # of PR Block votes | % of PR Block vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Ichirō Ozawa | 75 | 22 | 2,053,736 | 3.37% | 6,589,490 | 11.01% |
Councillors election results
| Election | Leader | # of seats total | # of seats won | # of National votes | % of National vote | # of Prefectural votes | % of Prefectural vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Ichirō Ozawa | 12 | 6 | 5,207,813 | 9.28% | 980,249 | 1.75% |
| 2001 | Ichirō Ozawa | 8 | 6 | 4,227,148 | 7.72% | 3,011,787 | 5.54% |
References
- ↑ Jeff Kingston (26 November 2013). Japan in Transformation, 1945-2010. Routledge. pp. 19–. ISBN 978-1-317-86192-8.
- ↑ "Obuchi puts happy face on minority coalition launch". The Japan Times. 1999-01-14. Retrieved 2009-02-02.
- ↑ "Liberal Party left in limbo after abandonment of bill". The Japan Times. 1999-12-15. Retrieved 2009-02-02.
- ↑ "Noda faction names party Conservative". The Japan Times. 2000-04-04. Retrieved 2009-02-02.
- ↑ "The Democratic Party of Japan". Democratic Party of Japan. 2006. Retrieved 2008-09-06.
See also
- Liberalism
- Contributions to liberal theory
- Liberalism worldwide
- List of liberal parties
- Liberal democracy
- Liberalism in Japan
- Democratic Party of Japan