Liberal Party (Japan, 1890) Liberal Party (Japan, 1890) The Liberal Party (, "Jiyūtō") was a political party in Japan. The party was established in August 1890 by 130 members of the House of Representatives who had been elected in July, and was initially named the Constitutional Liberal Party (立憲自由党, "Rikken Jiyūtō"). It was a merger of the Aikoku Kōtō, Daidō Club and Daidō Kyōwakai, together with several local parties. Initially led by Itagaki Taisuke, who had founded the original Liberal Party in 1881, it was renamed the "Liberal Party" in March 1891. It lost several Representatives in May 1891 when Ōi Kentarō's Kantō faction
Social Democratic Party (Japan) party's self-definition as a class-based party and its symbiotic relationship with the General Council of Trade Unions of Japan (Sōhyō), the public-sector workers' confederation, few efforts were made to attract non-union constituencies. Although some Sōhyō unions supported the Japan Communist Party, the Japan Socialist Party remained the representative of Sohyo's political interests until the merger with private-sector unions and the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengō) in 1989. Because of declining union financial support during the 1980s, some Japan Socialist Party Diet members turned to dubious fund-raising methods. One was involved in the Recruit affair. The Japan Socialist Party, like others,