Liberal Party (Japan, 1890) saw the party reduced to 107 seats. In April 1896 it joined Itō Hirobumi's government and Liberal leader Itagaki Taisuke was appointed Minister of Home Affairs. After losing another two seats in the March 1898 elections, the party merged with Shimpotō in June 1898 to form the Kenseitō. 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
Democratic Party (Japan, 1996) members of Sakigake. At its formation, it had 39 parliamentarians. The party won 52 seats in the 1996 general election, becoming the second-largest opposition party after the New Frontier Party. In April 1998, the party was augmented by former members of the New Frontier Party, which had collapsed in December 1997, increasing it to 90 seats. It was then relaunched as the Democratic Party of Japan upon its merger with the Good Governance Party ("Minseitō"), New Fraternity Party and Democratic Reform Party. Democratic Party (Japan, 1996) The was a centrist political party in Japan, and one of the forerunners to