Liberal Party (Japan, 1881) Liberal Party (Japan, 1881) The is the name of several liberal political parties in the history of Japan, two of which existed in the Empire of Japan prior to 1945. The first Liberal Party of Japan was formed on October 18, 1881, by Itagaki Taisuke and other members of the Freedom and People's Rights Movement (League for the Establishment of a National Assembly) to agitate for the establishment of a national assembly, with a membership based on the ideals of liberal democracy under a constitutional monarchy. It attracted a wide following of former "samurai" who were discontent because they were
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