Democratic Party of Japan

The Democratic Party (Japanese民主党, Minshutō, engl. The Democratic Party of Japan, DPJ short, sporadically DP) is a political party in Japan. It has long been the second most powerful force in Japanese politics behind the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP ), but could get at the general election in 2009 for the first time the absolute majority. It was founded in 1996 and has since focused much of the opposition, one of its objectives is to transform Japan into a two-party system. According to the annual report on the financing of political parties, the party had about 42,000 members in fiscal 2006 and received state funding of political parties in the amount of 10.48 billion yen ( 60 million euros ).

Since the DPJ has grown with the People's Party and the Japanese politics is highly people-oriented, the political direction can not narrow down exactly. However, they represent liberal positions to a greater extent than the LDP and is described as " center-left " party. The strongest support in elections getting them in urban areas. Like the LDP, the DPJ is divided into factions; but these are less sharply defined and are based on party affiliations and loyalties from before the founding of the Party.

• 4.1 Party Chairman 4.1.1 "old" DPJ (1996-1998 )
• 4.1.2 "new" DPJ (1998 -)

• 5.1 National
• 5.2 prefecture level
• 5.3 Local Governments

Origin and history

The initiative for the establishment of the Democratic Party emerged in 1996 from Naoto Kan and Yukio Hatoyama from the New Party Sakigake, which reigned along with the LDP and the ailing Social Democratic Party ( SDP). Following the resignation of Prime Minister Murayama Tomiichi the SDP was in an existential crisis and the largest opposition party, the New Progressive Party ( NFP ), was chaired by the dominant ex- LDP politician Ichirō Ozawa. With the aim to build a third force, Kan and Hatoyama Kunio Hatoyama formed together with ( NFP ) and Tomiko Okazaki (formerly SDP ) is a founding committee for the Democratic Party.

In September 1996, the DPJ was formally established with 50 lower house and upper house 5 deputies, presided shared Naoto Kan and Yukio Hatoyama. Despite this unclear management structure, nor the lack of party rank and unclear party program, the party received in the general election in October 1996, 52 seats and expanded its position as the third largest party out easily. Initially, the future of the DPJ in the internal factional dispute between conservative former Sakigake members and former Social Democrats remained uncertain. In September 1997, the double peak was abolished Kan became party chairman, Secretary General Hatoyama.

Ozawa's NFP lost from 1996 a number of members that joined forces to form new groups. At the end of 1997, the NFP finally dissolved completely. The resulting groups in Parliament, the Taiyōtō ( "Sun Party") by Tsutomu Hata, the Kokumin no Koe ( " voice of the people " ) of Michihiko Kano and Katsuya Okada, the Shinto YUAI ( " New Brüderlichkeitspartei " ) of Kawabata Tatsuo, the From Five of Morihiro Hosokawa and Minshu Kaikaku Rengo ( "Democratic reform League" ) joined in January 1998, the DPJ faction in parliament, the party took a sudden the lead role in the opposition.

Start-up 1998

On 27 April 1998, was " new DPJ " established that the member parties of the joint parliamentary faction united - three of which had meanwhile joined forces to Minseitō. Under Naoto Kan presided the DPJ was able to improve its weak position in the second chamber in the upper house election in 1998. However, in 1999 Kan failed to vote for the party leader, Yukio Hatoyama became his successor.

" Koizumi era " and the electoral defeat of 2005

From the general election in 2000 the party was about 34 seats emerged stronger. A common election strategy with the now reduced to a splinter party the Social Democrats and the Liberal Party of Ichirō Ozawa was initially successful against the popular prime minister Koizumi Jun'ichirô. In 2002, Kan again the party chairmanship. In September 2003, the Liberal Party joined the DPJ. At the general election in 2003, which she first took up with a shadow cabinet and provide a clear manifesto ( Manifesto ), the party won 177 of 194 seats for the opposition: Even if they could not attack decisively the LDP majority, it was the DPJ succeeded to grow as the dominant opposition party.

2004 was forced to resign in the pension system, the party leader Katsuya Okada Kan took over after a scandal involving missed payments. The reforms of Prime Minister Koizumi led meanwhile to internal disputes in the LDP. As the planned postal privatization in 2005 threatened to fail in the intra-party opposition, the hour of the DPJ seemed to have come. Koizumi left the opponents of postal privatization, the so-called "rebels", to exclude from the LDP and called new elections. However, it was not possible DPJ to capitalize on the situation. The high popularity of Koizumi, the fact that the political program of the DPJ in many areas even more radical reforms than Koizumi called for, and the hesitant thematization of the unpopular Iraq deployment of the Self-Defense Forces resulted in the general election on 11 September 2005 a violent defeat. The DPJ lost 64 seats, the Chairman Okada resigned.

Seiji Maehara and the Livedoor scandal

Yet in September 2005, took over Seiji Maehara, the leadership of the party. He narrowly won against Naoto Kan, who was again put to the vote. Thus, the party opted for a more youthful, fresh face in order to renew itself from the inside can. Maehara said himself: "I will work to build the party back and bring democracy in Japan to work. " Politically, it is ultimately the goal, and this statement could also be heard from the ranks of DPJ already, Japan the two-party system closer to bring. So said on 22 October 2003 (as part of the merger between DPJ and LP) Kan: " The LDP should the power at least once to give the DPJ, so that a two-party system allows the change of government. "

In early 2006 tried to draw political capital from the Livedoor scandal, the DPJ: After accounting fraud, insider trading and aggressive acquisition policy to the collapse of the Internet company Livedoor had led charges against the ruling LDP have been made to be involved in the illegal activities of livedoor. However, an argument put forward as evidence in this regard e- mail turned out to be launched by the DPJ forgery, whereupon Maehara resigned on 31 March as party chairman.

On April 7, the experienced Ichirō Ozawa was elected with 119 votes to 72 for Naoto Kan as party leader. Ozawa, who knows the political opposition LDP as a longtime deputy, former Secretary-General and Minister of the Interior from the inside, said after the election: " I have great responsibility in view of the tasks ahead of us - the renewal of the party and the way to power. "

Gain the upper house majority in 2007 and rejection of the grand coalition

For elections to the House of Lords on 29 July 2007, the DPJ emerged as the strongest party. The election campaign had been determined by a scandal in the state pension system, several ministerial resignations and related doubts about the leadership of Prime Minister Abe. The Manifesto Ozawa, the DPJ 's election program, made three key election promises:

• Introduction of a " retirement savings account " for documentation of pension rights
• Introduction of a child's allowance in the amount of 26,000 yen and efforts for a more child-friendly society
• Revitalization of rural areas through the promotion of agriculture by means of an " individual income subsidy system "

Although the government ability of the LDP -led coalition was only slightly affected by the loss of the majority in the second chamber, as they possessed in the House by a two -thirds majority. However, the LDP president and prime minister Shinzō Abe came back soon after the election and was replaced by Yasuo Fukuda.

Fukuda negotiated in the fall of 2007 with Ichirō Ozawa, given the new majorities ( Nejire Kokkai ) and the political dispute over the extension of the anti- terrorism law on the formation of a grand coalition, in which it is unclear from which side the initiative for the talks. The party rejected a possible cooperation with the LDP as well as from the following resignation offer from Ozawa. After the failure of the initiative, the DPJ opposition intensified its work and urged early elections. Through a blockade they hindered the government's work: Particularly hard hit were the extension of the anti -terrorism law, the mineral oil and the occupation of the Governor of the Bank of Japan. The use of refueling ships in the Indian Ocean had to be interrupted, gasoline prices fell for a month and Toshirō Muto, the government candidate for the leadership of the Central Bank, was rejected.

2009 election campaign and change of government

After a fundraising scandal involving the construction company Nishimatsu Kensetsu in March 2009, Ozawa came back two months later as party chairman. Democratic lawmakers from both chambers voted 16 May 2009 Yukio Hatoyama as his successor. Hatoyama led the Democratic Party in the face of poor poll numbers for the LDP leader and Prime Minister Taro Aso optimistic about the election to parliament of Tokyo Prefecture in July 2009. The party won a historic victory and was the LDP after 40 years as the strongest party in Tokyo peel off. Asō, from his own party under pressure, dissolved the lower house.

The central slogan of the DPJ in the lower house election campaign in 2009 was the requirement for a change of government ( seiken Kótai ). In the election manifesto ( Manifesto ), the DPJ made ​​several costly campaign promises, including as 2007, the demands for child support and higher agricultural subsidies, as well as the abolition of the toll and the " temporary tax rate " ( zantei zeiritsu ) on gasoline. In return, they promised to " waste " ( mudazukai ) to reduce public funds in infrastructure projects and authorities and reduce the influence of the ministerial bureaucracy on policy decisions. The nomination of constituency candidates the party cooperated with allies in the opposition, including the Social Democratic Party ( SDP) and the People's New Party ( NVP). The general election gave the DPJ won a landslide majority and the biggest of a single party in the post-war history. After coalition talks with SDP and NVP Yukio Hatoyama was elected prime minister. In the cabinet Hatoyama, the DPJ made ​​16 of 18 ministers of state.

The party had a few months after the government takeover losses in their poll numbers accept: Yukio Hatoyama was affected as Ichirō Ozawa by a funding scandal since the summer of 2009; and after the government takeover of the party had to abandon or weaken several of its election promises for cost reasons, including the reduction in the fuel tax and the abolition of the toll.

On 2 June 2010 Yukio Hatoyama announced his resignation as party leader and prime minister. Naoto Kan was so then newly elected Prime Minister on 4 June 2010 again as party leader and the DPJ majority in parliament. In the elections of July 2010, the party, whilst once again received the most votes, but lost more constituency seats and thus the upper house majority. In the resulting " twisted parliament " she is dependent on cooperation with parts of the opposition because it does not have a two-thirds majority in the House.

Parliamentary groups

The DPJ Group (民主党·无 所属 クラブ, Minshutō - Mushozoku Kurabu; Democratic Party / Independent Club) in the House has 291 members (as of January 2012). In the upper house, there is a common fraction (民主党·新 绿 风 会, Minshutō - Shinryokufūkai; Democratic Party / Shinryokufūkai ) with 106 members, group chairman is there Azuma Koshiishi.

Factions

Even if the factionalism in the DPJ is not so fixed as in the LDP, and the deputies of the DPJ are organized into factions, which often result from common political origin before the party establishment. Compared to the LDP, the boundaries between the factions fluctuate more and a deputy may be a member of multiple groups simultaneously. Accordingly, the factions also rare as closed blocks behave in policy decisions and votes. In media and the public, they are usually named after their lead politicians like the LDP, in contrast to the LDP but not with addition -ha (派, " faction " ) but - gurūpu (グループ, " group " of English group). The factions of the DPJ are:

• Ozawa group of followers of Ichirō Ozawa, consisting of the Isshinkai (一 新 会, dt " Erneuerungsrat " ) from predominantly young / new members, another group of former members of the Liberal Party. The group is characterized by the so-called " Ozawa Children" ( Ozawa selected young candidates who were able to prevail in large numbers in 2009 ) has grown with over 100 members to clearly dominant group of the party. It is sometimes compared to the former Tanaka faction of the LDP, the long the fortunes of the LDP and therefore the country specific and had risen in their Nachfolgefaktion Heisei Kenkyūkai Ozawa himself up in the lead, before in 1993 he left the LDP and for the first time in the opposition forced.
• O Seiken Kōyaku Jitsugen suru Kai (政権公約を実現する会, dt ' Assembly on the implementation of the election program " ), Hatoyama Yukio Hatoyama group, part of former members of the New Party Sakigake.
• Seiken Senryaku Kenkyūkai (政 権 戦 略 研究 会, dt " Research on Political Strategy"), Hata Group by Tsutomu Hata, Kozo Watanabe and Hajime Ishii, partly made ​​up of former members of the New Progressive Party.
• Ryōunkai (凌云 会, dt about " over-the - clouds Council " ), Maehara Seiji Maehara - group, Yukio Edano and Yoshito Sengoku, partly made ​​up of former members of the New Party Sakigake and the New Japan Party.
• Kaseikai (花 斉 会, dt about "Let Flower flower - gathering " ), Noda - group Yoshihiko Noda and Akihisa Nagashima, partly from graduates of the Matsushita Seikei Juku (松下 政 経 塾, Eng. Matsushita Institute of Government and Management ).
• Minshakyōkai (民 社 协会, German " Democratic- Socialist Society" ), Kawabata Tatsuo Kawabata - group made ​​up of former members of the former Democratic- Socialist Party ( Minshatō ).
• Kuni no Katachi Kenkyūkai (国のかたち研究会, dt " Research for the state of the country" ), Kan - group Naoto Kan and Satsuki Eda, partly made ​​up of former members of the New Party Sakigake.
• Liberal no Kai (リベラルの会, Riberaru no Kai, dt " Assembly of the liberals" ), Hideo Hiraoka group and Shoichi Kondō.
• Shinseikyoku Kondankai (新 政局 恳谈 会, dt ' advisory board for a new political situation " ), Yokomichi Group by Takahiro Yokomichi and Azuma Koshiishi consisting of former members of the Socialist Party of Japan.
• , Nippon no grand design ' Kenkyūkai, founded in March 2011 Gemba group of about 30 MPs to Minister Koichiro Gemba.

The official names of the factions are similar sinnfrei as the LDP rival; however, expresses the membership of the factions because of the broad political spectrum of the DPJ to a greater extent common political positions than in the LDP. The membership of the DPJ ranges from former socialists and social democrats like Naoto Kan or Takahiro Yokomichi to Conservative and liberal former members of the LDP as Seiji Maehara or Ichirō Ozawa.

Management structure

Party chairman

Main article: Election of the Chairman of the Japanese Democratic Party

Similar to the LDP, the chairman is formally elected by MPs, party members and supporters, but certainly in most cases only by the national parliament.

"Old" DPJ (1996-1998)

• Naoto Kan, Yukio Hatoyama ( Co - Chair): May. 1996 - September 1997
• Naoto Kan: May. 1997 - April 1998

"New" DPJ (1998 -)

• Naoto Kan: Apr. the 1998 September 1999
• Yukio Hatoyama: May. 1999 - December 2002
• Naoto Kan: Dec. 2002 May 2004
• Katsuya Okada: May, 2004 - September 2005
• Seiji Maehara: May. 2005 - April 2006
• Ichirō Ozawa: Apr. 2006- May 2009
• Yukio Hatoyama May 2009 - June 2010
• Naoto Kan: June 2010 - August 2011
• Yoshihiko Noda: August 2011 -

Party Executive

Important positions in the Party Board, along with party leaders are (as of 31 August 2011)

• The Secretary-General Azuma Koshiishi,
• The Chairman of the Committee Seiji Maehara policy research
• And the Chairman of the Committee for Parliamentary Affairs ( Kokkai Taisaku iinkai ) Hirofumi Hirano.

In addition, join the board, among other things, the "supreme adviser " ( saikō komon ) Tsutomu Hata, Yukio Hatoyama, Naoto Kan, Kozo Watanabe, Satsuki Eda, Hirohisa Fujii and Katsuya Okada, the deputy chairman ( fuku - Daihyō ), the chairman of the election committee Yoshiaki Takai, the Deputy Secretary General ( kanjichō Daiko ) Shinji Tarutoko, the Deputy Secretary General ( kanjichō dairi ) Koriki Jojima, the chairmen of various committees and eleven regional property managers organized according to the proportional representation blocks in the lower house.

The traditionally influential post of chairman of the policy research committee (政策 调查 会, seisaku Chosakai ) as the whole body in 2009 abolished in order to reduce the influence of the ministerial bureaucracy on political decisions and to transfer more of the people's elected officials in parliament and government. The position of the new party leader Naoto Kan was reintroduced in June 2010.

Election results

National

Electoral victories highlighted as the strongest party in bold.

Prefecture level

The position of the Democratic Party in the prefectures is weak compared to its position in national politics. By 2012, it is her across the country succeeded in only two Prefecture parliaments to become the largest party: Iwate and Tokyo. Overall, it represents about 500 of the approximately 2,500 Prefecture MPs nationwide. Some of the 41 prefecture parliamentary elections, which were performed at the single regional elections in 2011, their candidates received 16.4% of the vote against 37.6 % for LDP candidates.

Few DPJ -supported gubernatorial candidate can prevail against an LDP -backed candidates, including among others Takuya Tasso in Iwate, Heita Kawakatsu in Shizuoka, Yukiko Kada in Shiga and Shuichi Abe in Nagano. In many prefectures, the major parties support but explicitly or implicitly a common candidate for governor.

Municipal level

Despite its reputation as an urban party succeeds the Democratic Party in the ( since 2012: 20) regierungsdesignierten cities only in individual cases, to beat the LDP; at the 15 council elections in big cities, which are carried out at the uniform regional elections in 2011, their candidates received a total of 17.2% of the vote against 24.1% for LDP candidates. Only in Sapporo ( Hokkaido ), she won a relative majority of seats. Its strong position in the city of Nagoya ( Aichi ), which was considered a stronghold of the Democratic Council, they had lost during the recall elections recently.

Selected with Democratic support big city mayors include Fumio Ueda in Sapporo ( Hokkaido ), and Fumiko Hayashi in Yokohama ( Kanagawa ), the support for candidates in many places exceeds party lines or Allparteienkandidaten be placed (without Communists ). Beyond the major cities, Tokyo's districts and some exceptions, local politics is organized a little party politics.