Political parties of the Empire of Japan public assembly, the press and on political discussion. The Meiji government had come to power by an elite of "samurai" from certain clans ("hanbatsu") and the "genrō" felt threatened by anything looking ever remotely like republicanism or democracy. During this period, Itagaki Taisuke and Ōkuma Shigenobu were leading figures in the legitimization of political parties. Itagaki created Japan's first political party, the Aikoku Kōtō, in 1873 in Tokyo to petition for an elected assembly, and a similar regional party based in Osaka, the Aikokusha. These groups were the basis of the Jiyutō (Liberal Party), founded in 1881 as Japan’s first
Democratic Liberal Party (Japan) and early elections were called in January 1949. The DLP won a landslide victory, taking 269 of the 466 seats, the first time a party had held a majority of seats since World War II. Shigeru Yoshida continued as Prime Minister. In March 1950 the party merged with the Alliance faction of the Democratic Party to form the new Liberal Party. Democratic Liberal Party (Japan) The Democratic Liberal Party (, "Minshujiyutō Minjutō") was a political party in Japan. The party was established in March 1947 as a merger of the Liberal Party, Dōshi Club and a faction of the Democratic