Democratic Party of Japan

Not to be confused with Democratic Party of Japan (1996–98).

Democratic Party of Japan 民主党
Democratic Party Logo
President	Katsuya Okada
Secretary-General	Yukio Edano
Councilors leader	Akira Gunji
Representatives leader	Katsuya Okada
Founded	27 April 1998 (1998-04-27)
Merger of	Democratic (1996-98) Good Governance New Fraternity Democratic Reform
Headquarters	1-11-1 Nagata-cho, Chiyoda, Tokyo 100-0014, Japan
Membership  (2012)	326,974
Ideology	Centrism
Political position	Centre
International affiliation	Progressive Alliance
Colors	Red and black (informally)
Councillors	59 / 242
Representatives	73 / 475
Prefectural assembly members	264 / 2,725
Municipal assembly members	1,074 / 32,070
Website
www.dpj.or.jp
Politics of Japan Political parties Elections

The Democratic Party of Japan (民主党, Minshutō) is a centrist political party in Japan founded in 1998 by the merger of several opposition parties. After the 2009 election, the DPJ became the ruling party in the House of Representatives, defeating the long-dominant Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and gaining the largest number of seats in both the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors.

After winning a landslide victory in 2009, it was ousted from government by the LDP in the 2012 general election. It retained 57 seats in the lower house, and still had 88 seats in the upper house. During its time in office, the DPJ was beset by internal conflicts and struggled to implement many of its proposed policies, an outcome described by political scientists as the "paradox of political change without policy change." Legislative productivity under the DPJ was particularly low, falling to levels unprecedented in recent Japanese history according to some measures. However, the DPJ implemented a number of progressive measures during its time in office such as the provision of free public schooling through high school, increases in child-rearing subsidies, expanded unemployment insurance coverage, extended duration of a housing allowance, and stricter regulations safeguarding part-time and temporary workers.

It is not to be confused with the now-defunct Japan Democratic Party that merged with the Liberal Party in 1955 to form the Liberal Democratic Party. It is also different from another Democratic Party, which was established in 1947 and dissolved in 1950.

History

Main article: History of the Democratic Party of Japan

See also: the previous Democratic Party of Japan (1996–1998)

Philosophy

The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) call their philosophy Democratic Centrism (ja:民主中道, minshu-chūdō), which was determined in the first party convention on April 27, 1998.

View of the status quo

The DPJ claim themselves to be revolutionary in that they are against the status quo and the current governing establishment. The DPJ argue that the bureaucracy and the size of the Japanese government is too large, inefficient, and saturated with cronies and that the Japanese state is too conservative and stiff. The DPJ wants to "overthrow the ancient régime locked in old thinking and vested interests, solve the problems at hand, and create a new, flexible, affluent society which values people's individuality and vitality."

Political standpoint

We stand for those who have been excluded by the structure of vested interests, those who work hard and pay taxes, and for people who strive for independence despite difficult circumstances. In other words, we represent citizens, taxpayers, and consumers. We do not seek a panacea either in the free market or in the welfare state. Rather, we shall build a new road of the democratic center toward a society in which self-reliant individuals can mutually coexist and the government's role is limited to building the necessary systems.

Goals

Democratic Centrism pursues the following five goals.

• Transparent, just and fair society

The Democratic Party seek to build a society governed with rules which are transparent, just and fair.

• Free market and inclusive society

While the party argue that the free market system should "permeate" economic life, they also aim for an inclusive society which guarantees security, safety, and fair and equal opportunity for each individual.

• Decentralized and participatory society

The party intend to devolve the centralized government powers to citizens, markets, and local governments so that people of all backgrounds can participate in decision-making.

• Compliance with the three constitutional principles

The Democratic Party proclaim to hold the values in the meaning of the constitution to "embody the fundamental principles of the Constitution": popular sovereignty, respect for fundamental human rights, and pacifism.

• International relations based on self-reliance and mutual coexistence

As a member of the global community, the party seek to establish Japan's international relations in the fraternal spirit of self-reliance and mutual coexistence to restore the world's trust in the country.

Policy platforms

The DPJ's policy platforms include the restructuring of civil service, monthly allowance to a family with children (¥26,000 per child), cut in gas tax, income support for farmers, free tuition for public high schools, banning of temporary work in manufacturing, raising the minimum-wage to ¥1,000 and halting of increase in sales tax for the next four years.

Structure

• Supreme Advisers – Yoshihiko Noda, Hirotaka Akamatsu, Takahiro Yokomichi, Satsuki Eda
• President – Katsuya Okada
• Acting President – Akira Nagatsuma, Renhō
• Vice Presidents:
  • Toshimi Kitazawa
  • Naoki Tanaka
  • Kazuhiro Haraguchi
  • Mieko Kamimoto
• Secretary General – Yukio Edano
• Acting Secretary General – Masaharu Nakagawa
• Chair, Policy Research Committee – Goshi Hosono
• Acting Chair, Policy Research Committee – Takeaki Matsumoto
• Chair, Diet Affairs Committee – Yoshiaki Takaki
• Acting Chair, Diet Affairs Committee – Jin Matsubara
• Chair, DPJ Caucus, House of Councillors – Akira Gunji
• Secretary General, DPJ Caucus, House of Councillors – Yuichiro Hata
• Chair, Diet Affairs Committee, DPJ Caucus, House of Councillors – Kazuya Shimba
• Chair, Standing Officers Council – Takeshi Maeda
• Chair, Gender Equality Promotion Headquarters - Mieko Kamimoto
• Chair, Election Campaign Committee – Koichiro Gemba
• Chair, Administration Committee – Shunichi Mizuoka
• Chair, Financial Committee – Toshio Ogawa
• Chair, Organisation Committee – Koichi Takemasa
• Chair, Public Relations Committee – Kumiko Hayashi
• Chair, Corporate & External Organisations Committee – Minoru Yanagida
• Chair, National Rallying and Canvassing Committee – Takahiro Kuroiwa
• Chair, Women Committee – Makiko Kikuta
• Chair, Youth Committee – Takahiro Kuroiwa
• Chair, General Meeting of DPJ Diet Members - Masayuki Naoshima

Factions

The DPJ has some political factions or groups, although they are not as factionalized as the LDP, which has traditionally placed high priority on intra-party factional alignment. The groups are, from the most influential to the least influential:

• Ryōun-kai (lit. 'Transcendent Association'): the second most conservative faction. Most of its members are from The Sakigake Party. Ryoun-kai has about 40 seats in the assembly and is led by Seiji Maehara and Yoshihiko Noda.
• Seiken kōyaku wo Jitsugen suru kai (lit. 'Association for the Realization of Political Promises'): formed by defectors from LDP and led by former party leader Yukio Hatoyama, has about 30 conservative lawmakers in the Diet. Former name is 'Seiken kotai wo Jitsugen suru kai'.
• Minsha Kyōkai 民社協会　(lit. 'Democratic Socialist Group'): members of the former centrist Democratic Socialist Party which merged with the DPJ early on. About 25 members, led by Tatsuo Kawabata.
• Kuni no katachi kenkyūkai 国の形研究会(lit. 'Country Form Research Society'): led by Party President Naoto Kan. Is a liberal leaning faction. About 20 members.
• Shin seikyoku kondankai (lit. 'Panel for a New Political Situation'): the most left-leaning faction, created by members of the former Japan Socialist Party who felt the Social Democratic Party was too radical. About 20 seats, led by Takahiro Yokomichi.

The Independent’s Club is a minor political party which forms a political entity with the DPJ in both chambers of the house.

Presidents of DPJ

Further information: History of the Democratic Party of Japan § Presidents of DPJ

The Presidents of Democratic Party of Japan (ja:民主党代表, Minshutō Daihyō), the formal name is 民主党常任幹事会代表 (Minshutō Jyōnin-Kanji-Kai Daihyō).

Election results

All-time highest values are bolded

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	Yukio Hatoyama	262	127 / 480	16,811,732	27.61%	15,067,990	25.18%
2003	Naoto Kan	277	177 / 480	21,814,154	36.66%	22,095,636	37.39%
2005	Katsuya Okada	299	113 / 480	24,804,786	36.44%	21,036,425	31.02%
2009	Yukio Hatoyama	330	308 / 480	33,475,334	47.43%	29,844,799	42.41%
2012	Yoshihiko Noda	267	57 / 480	13,598,773	22.81%	9,268,653	15.49%
2014	Banri Kaieda	198	73 / 475	11,916,838	22.50%	9,775,991	18.33%

Councillors election results

Election	Leader	# of seats total	# of seats won	# of National votes	% of National vote	# of Prefectural votes	% of Prefectural vote
1998	Naoto Kan	47 / 252	27 / 126	12,209,685	21.75%	9,063,939	16.20%
2001	Yukio Hatoyama	59 / 247	26 / 121	8,990,524	16.42%	10,066,552	18.53%
2004	Katsuya Okada	82 / 242	50 / 121	21,137,457	37.79%	21,931,984	39.09%
2007	Ichirō Ozawa	109 / 242	60 / 121	23,256,247	39.48%	24,006,817	40.45%
2010	Naoto Kan	106 / 242	44 / 121	18,450,139	31.56%	22,756,000	38.97%
2013	Banri Kaieda	59 / 242	17 / 121	7,268,653	13.4%	8,646,371	16.3%

See also

• Politics of Japan
  • List of political parties in Japan
  • Timeline of liberal parties in Japan
    • Democratic Socialist Party (Japan)
    • Social Democratic Party (Japan)
    • Good Governance Party
    • Democratic Party of Japan (1996–98)
    • Democratic Reform Party
    • New Fraternity Party
• Marutei Tsurunen: Japan's first deputy of European origin

Further reading

• Kenji Kushida and Phillip Lipscy. 2013. Japan under the DPJ: The Politics of Transition and Governance. Stanford: Brookings/Walter H. Shorenstein Asia Pacific Research Center
• Phillip Lipscy and Ethan Scheiner. 2012. "Japan under the DPJ: The Paradox of Political Change without Policy Change" Journal of East Asian Studies 12(3): 311-322.
• Japan after Kan: Implications for the DPJ’s Political Future, Q&A with Richard J. Samuels (MIT) August 2011
• Daniel Sneider, The New Asianism: Japanese Foreign Policy under the Democratic Party of Japan (Asia Policy, July 2011)
• Leif-Eric Easley, Tetsuo Kotani and Aki Mori, Electing a New Japanese Security Policy? Examining Foreign Policy Visions within the Democratic Party of Japan (Asia Policy, August 2009)
• Linus Hagström (2010) The Democratic Party of Japan’s Security Policy and Japanese Politics of Constitutional Revision: A Cloud over Article 9? Australian Journal of International Affairs 64 (5): 512–28.

External links

• Democratic Party of Japan
• Democratic Party of Japan's channel on YouTube