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
Japan Farmers Party (1947–49) Japan Farmers Party (1947–49) The Japan Farmers Party (, "Nihon Nōmintō") was a political party in Japan. The party was established by Katsutarō Kita and four independent MPs on 25 February 1947, Kita having previously formed the Japan Cooperative Party in August 1946. However, three of them, including Kita, were removed from the House of Representatives shortly afterwards as part of the post-war purge. In the 1947 general elections the party won four seats, and a further four MPs joined the party after the elections. After talks about a merger with the National Cooperative Party failed due to the opposition