Misplaced Pages

#960039

33-846: As of July 2012, RENGO has 54 affiliate unions and 47 local organizations. RENGO was historically affiliated with the Democratic Party of Japan , but on June 28, 2012, president Nobuaki Koga made a speech at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters stating that the confederation may reconsider its future. In 2014, it endorsed LDP-supported candidate Yoichi Masuzoe for the Tokyo gubernatorial election . Many unions are affiliated with RENGO: Observer affiliate: Friendly affiliate: RENGO also has local organizations for each of Japan's 47 prefectures . Democratic Party (Japan, 1998) The Democratic Party of Japan ( 民主党 , Minshutō )

66-515: 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. The DPJ's stance on nuclear power was that steady steps should be taken towards nuclear power, but not too quickly as to possibly endanger safety. The DPJ had some political factions or groups, although they were not as factionalized as

99-706: A motto. The party also claimed that yūai had a phonetic similarity to the English "you and I", representing their hope of cooperating with ordinary Japanese. The party was led by Lower House member Kansei Nakano , now a member of the Democratic Party . In April 1998, the New Fraternity Party merged with the Good Governance Party , the previous Democratic Party (1996) and the Democratic Reform Party ( 民主改革連合 , Minshu-Kaikaku-Rengō ) to form

132-506: A move largely considered in preparation for the 2003 general election held on 9 November 2003. This move immediately gave the DPJ eight more seats in the House of Councilors. In the 2003 general election , the DPJ gained a total of 178 seats. This was short of their objectives, but nevertheless a significant demonstration of the new group's strength. Following a pension scandal, Naoto Kan resigned and

165-421: 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. Democratic Centrism pursued the following five goals. The DPJ's policy platforms included the restructuring of civil service, monthly allowance to

198-446: A special convention agreed for 27 March. On 4 March 2016, the DPJ and JIP asked supporters for suggestions for a name for the new party. On 14 March 2016 the name of the new party was announced as Minshintō , having been the most popular choice of possible names polled among voters. With the addition of Representatives form Vision of Reform , the DPJ and JIP merged to form the Democratic Party on 27 March 2016. The dissolution of

231-518: The August 2009 general election , at which the party swept the LDP from power in a massive landslide, winning 308 seats (out of a total of 480 seats), reducing the LDP from 300 to 119 seats – the worst defeat for a sitting government in modern Japanese history. This was in marked contrast to the closely contested 1993 general election , the only other time the LDP has lost an election. The DPJ's strong majority in

264-507: The House of Representatives and thirty-eight members of the House of Councilors . Moreover, the party officials were elected as well at the party convention for the first time; Naoto Kan , former Health and Welfare Minister was appointed as the president of the party and Tsutomu Hata , former prime minister as secretary-general. On 24 September 2003 the party formally merged with the small, centre-right Liberal Party led by Ichirō Ozawa in

297-542: The New Frontier Party to create a new party which retained the DPJ name. In 2003, the party was joined by the Liberal Party of Ichirō Ozawa . Following 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 . The DPJ

330-568: The 320 seats (a two-thirds majority) needed to override the upper chamber's veto power. Hatoyama was thus forced to form a coalition government with the Social Democratic Party and the People's New Party to ensure their support in the House of Councillors. On 2 June 2010, Hatoyama announced his resignation before a party meeting and officially resigned two days later. He cited breaking a campaign promise to close an American military base on

363-442: The DPJ and the fact that the DPJ aligned itself with the foreign policy of the LDP. The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) called their philosophy ' Democratic Centrism  [ ja ] ' ( 民主中道 , minshu-chūdō ) , which was determined in the first party convention on 27 April 1998. DPJ is generally classified as a centrist party, but it is also classified as a centre-left in the context of Japanese politics in contrast to

SECTION 10

#1733085892961

396-614: The DPJ did not obtain a majority in the Diet. He was replaced by Seiji Maehara in September 2005. However, Maehara's term as party leader lasted barely half a year. Although he initially led the party's criticism of the Koizumi administration, particularly in regards to connections between LDP lawmakers and scandal-ridden Livedoor , the revelation that a fake email was used to try and establish this link greatly damaged his credibility. The scandal led to

429-463: The DPJ has often been designated as a big tent party. The DPJ claimed themselves to be revolutionary in that they are against the status quo and the current governing establishment. The DPJ argued 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 inflexible. The DPJ wanted to "overthrow

462-421: The DPJ is mainly attributed to the fact that the reforms that the DPJ advocated for were hard to put into place because of electoral restrictions, economic restrictions, and the fact that the reforms that would reduce the power of the bureaucracy would help deprive the DPJ of the power to implement their other reforms. Other factors that affected the dissolution of the party were the internal conflicts that paralyzed

495-589: The DPJ merged with the Japan Innovation Party and Vision of Reform to form the Democratic Party ( Minshintō ), which in turn merged with the Party of Hope to form the Democratic Party for the People . 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

528-490: 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. On 27 March 2016,

561-481: The House of Representatives assured that Hatoyama would be the next prime minister to replace Tarō Asō , leader of the LDP. Hatoyama was nominated on September 16 and formally appointed later that day by Emperor Akihito in the Tokyo Imperial Palace and formed his Cabinet . However, the DPJ did not have a majority in the House of Councillors, which was not contested at the election, and fell just short of

594-522: The July upper house election. Naoto Kan succeeded Hatoyama as the next President of DPJ and Prime Minister of Japan. At the July 2010 House of Councillors election , the DPJ lost ten seats and their coalition majority. Prior to the election Kan raised the issue of an increase to Japan's 5 per cent consumption tax in order to address the country's rising debt. This proposal, together with Ozawa and Hatoyama's scandals,

627-496: The LDP labeled as the "second" Prime Minister of the Kan cabinet. In September 2010, the government intervened to weaken the surging yen by buying U.S. dollars , a move which temporarily relieved Japan's exporters. The move proved popular with stock brokers, Japanese exporters, and the Japanese public. It was the first such move by a Japanese government since 2004. Later, in October, after

660-523: The LDP, which has traditionally placed high priority on intra-party factional alignment. The groups were, the most influential to the least influential: The Independent's Club was a minor political party which formed a political entity with the DPJ in both chambers of the house. The Presidents of Democratic Party of Japan ( 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 ) . New Fraternity Party The New Fraternity Party ( 新党友愛 , Shintō Yūai )

693-531: The LDP. The DPJ aimed to create a platform broad enough to encompass the views of politicians who had roots in either the Liberal Democratic Party or Japan Socialist Party . Party leader Naoto Kan compared the DPJ to the Olive Tree alliance of former Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi , and described his view that it needed to be "the party of Thatcher and Blair ". The DPJ had both conservative and social-democratic elements. Because of this position,

SECTION 20

#1733085892961

726-465: 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." 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

759-615: The island of Okinawa Prefecture as the main reason for the move. On 28 May 2010, soon after and because of increased tensions after the possible sinking of a Korean ship by North Korea , Hatoyama had made a deal with U.S. President Barack Obama to retain the base for security reasons, but the deal was unpopular in Japan. He also mentioned money scandals involving a top party leader, Ozawa, who resigned as well, in his decision to step down. Hatoyama had been pressured to leave by members of his party after doing poorly in polls in anticipation of

792-418: The rejection of his Postal privatization bills saw a major setback to the DPJ's plans of obtaining a majority in the Diet. The DPJ leadership, particularly Okada, had staked their reputation on winning the election and driving the LDP from power. When the final results were in, the DPJ had lost 62 seats, mostly to its rival the LDP. Okada resigned the party leadership, fulfilling his campaign promise to do so if

825-530: The resignation of Representative Hisayasu Nagata and of Maehara as party leader on 31 March. New elections for party leader were held on 7 April, in which Ichirō Ozawa was elected president. In the Upper House election 2007 , the DPJ won 60 out of 121 contested seats, with 49 seats not up for re-election. Ozawa resigned as party leader in May 2009 after a fundraising scandal and Yukio Hatoyama succeeded Ozawa before

858-439: The wider Japanese public preferred Kan to Ozawa by as much as a 4–1 ratio. In the final vote by DPJ lawmakers Kan won with 206 votes to Ozawa's 200. After the leadership challenge, Kan reshuffled his cabinet and removed many prominent members of the pro-Ozawa faction from important posts in the new cabinet. The cabinet reshuffle also resulted in the promotion of long-time Kan ally Yoshito Sengoku to Chief Cabinet Secretary, who

891-408: The yen had offset the intervention and had reached a 15-year high, the Kan cabinet approved a stimulus package worth about 5.1 trillion yen ($ 62 billion) in order to weaken the yen and fight deflation. On 24 February 2016, the DPJ announced an agreement to merge with the smaller Japan Innovation Party (JIP) and Vision of Reform ahead of the Upper House elections in the summer, with a merger at

924-409: Was a centrist to centre-left , liberal or social-liberal political party in Japan from 1998 to 2016. The party's origins lie in the previous Democratic Party of Japan , which was founded in September 1996 by politicians of the centre-right and centre-left with roots in the Liberal Democratic Party and Japan Socialist Party . In April 1998, the previous DPJ merged with splinters of

957-546: Was a Japanese political party that existed in early 1998. It was founded by Diet members that broke away from the New Frontier Party in January 1998. The party has political roots in Minsha kyōkai , and Minsha kyōkai is now the main political factions of the centrist DPP . The name has its origins in the Taishō period democratic movements, which used the word yūai ( fraternity ) as

990-637: Was established in 1947 and dissolved in 1950. The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) was formed on 27 April 1998. It was a merger of four previously independent parties that were opposed to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)—the previous Democratic Party of Japan , the Good Governance Party (民政党, Minseitō ), the New Fraternity Party (新党友愛, Shintō-Yūai ), and the Democratic Reform Party (民主改革連合, Minshu-Kaikaku-Rengō ). The previous parties ranged in ideology from conservative to social-democratic . The new party began with ninety-three members of

1023-449: 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 Phillip Lipscy and Ethan Scheiner as the "paradox of political change without policy change". Legislative productivity under

RENGO - Misplaced Pages Continue

1056-405: Was replaced with moderate liberal Katsuya Okada . In the 2004 House of Councilors elections, the DPJ won a seat more than the ruling Liberal Democrats, but the LDP still maintained its firm majority in total votes. This was the first time since its inception that the LDP had garnered fewer votes than another party. The 2005 snap parliamentary elections called by Junichiro Koizumi in response to

1089-586: Was viewed as one of the causes for the party's poor performance in the election. The divided house meant the government required the cooperation of smaller parties including Your Party and the Communist Party to ensure the passage of legislation through the upper house. Ozawa challenged Kan's leadership of the DPJ in September 2010 . Although Ozawa initially had a slight edge among DPJ members of parliament, local rank-and-file party members and activists overwhelmingly supported Kan, and according to opinion polls

#960039