Democratic Party (Japan, 2016)

Not to be confused with Democratic Progressive Party, which has the same Chinese writing in its abbreviated name.
For other uses, see Democratic Party (Japan).
Democratic Party
民進党
Minshintō
AbbreviationDP
LeaderKohei Otsuka
Founded27 March 2016; 8 years ago (2016-03-27)
Dissolved7 May 2018; 6 years ago (2018-05-07)
Merger of
Merged intoDemocratic Party For the People[a]
HeadquartersNagatachō, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan
NewspaperMinshin Press
IdeologyLiberalism (Japanese)[b]
Political positionCentre to centre-left[b]
Colors  Blue[1][2]
  Red[2]
Website
minshin.jp
^ a: The candidates of this party ran as independents in 2017 Lower house election and sat within Group of Independents[3] and merged with Kibō no Tō to form DPFP, a party born from splits in the Liberal Democratic Party and Democratic Party.
^ b: But there were also some conservative[4][5][6] centre-right factions[7] within the party.

The Democratic Party (民進党, Minshintō, DP), was a political party in Japan. It was the largest opposition political party in Japan from 2016 until its marginalization in the House of Representatives in 2017.[8] The party was founded on 27 March 2016 from the merger of the Democratic Party of Japan and the Japan Innovation Party.[9] The majority of the party split on 28 September 2017, before the 2017 general election.[10] Many of its members contesting the election as candidates for the Party of Hope, Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan or as party members without nomination.[11][12][13][14] On 7 May 2018 the DP merged with the Party of Hope to form the Democratic Party For the People.[15][16]

  1. ^ 日本に定着するか、政党のカラー [Will the colors of political parties settle in Japan?] (in Japanese). Nikkei, Inc. 21 October 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  2. ^ a b 民進党のロゴマーク決定 青と赤で「M」表現 [The logo of the Democratic Party has been decided. It expresses the "M" by blue and red.]. The Asashi Shimbun Digital (in Japanese). The Asahi Shimbun Company. May 19, 2020. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  3. ^ Yano, Takeshi. 日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)の解説 [The Nihon Dai Hyakka Zensho: Nipponica's explanation]. kotobank.jp (in Japanese). The Asahi Shimbun Company. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  4. ^ "Japan election: Stage set for Abe-Koike showdown". The Straits Times. 28 September 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2020. A marriage of convenience could splinter the DP, which despite its left-leaning platform comprises a hodgepodge of liberals and conservatives. Some DP members have said it might be better to disband the party, whose toxic reputation stems from its disunity and botched rule from 2009 to 2012.
  5. ^ "Japan's Democratic Party doomed to opposition". East Asia Forum. 30 April 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2020. The DP cannot make up its mind whether it is a second conservative party that offers moderate alternatives to LDP policies or a 'progressive' party that stands on the other side of an ideological divide.
  6. ^ "Main opposition chief Renho resigns Democratic Party leadership". The Japan Times. 27 July 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2020. The upcoming presidential race, however, could further deepen division among conservative and liberal lawmakers in the party.
  7. ^
    • "Roadblocks to establishing a two-party political system in Japan". East Asia Forum. 24 October 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2020. The establishment of Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike's Party of Hope — which scalped candidates from the centre-right factions of the DP — failed to challenge the LDP.
    • "Where is Japan's party system headed?". East Asia Forum. 24 October 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2020. ... the disparate origins of these parties generated a persistent polarisation between the DPJ's conservative centre-right and progressive centre-left factions. Now these forces appear to have found their natural ideological homes.
  8. ^ 民進英語名、略称DPに Archived 2016-03-25 at the Wayback Machine Yomiuri Shimbun
  9. ^ "New opposition party launched with merger of DPJ, smaller party- Nikkei Asian Review". Archived from the original on 2016-03-28. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
  10. ^ Kubo, Hiroki; Matsumoto, Tomoko; Yamamoto, Kentaro (2022). "Party switching and policy disagreement: scaling analysis of experts' judgment". Japanese Journal of Political Science. 23 (3): 254–269. doi:10.1017/S1468109922000160. ISSN 1468-1099.
  11. ^ Asano, Masahiko; Patterson, Dennis (2022). "Risk, institutions, and policy in decisions to join a start-up party: evidence from the 2017 snap election in Japan". Japanese Journal of Political Science. 23 (1): 34–54. doi:10.1017/S1468109921000402. hdl:2346/92774. ISSN 1468-1099.
  12. ^ "Japanese opposition split turns election into 3-way fight".
  13. ^ "Edano's new opposition party gathers momentum on Twitter".
  14. ^ "Koike's party unveils 1st list of 192 candidates for upcoming election". Japan Today. 4 October 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-10-05. Retrieved 2022-07-30.
  15. ^ "New opposition party lacking in numbers after 2 parties merge：The Asahi Shimbun". www.asahi.com. Archived from the original on 2018-05-07.
  16. ^ "2 parties merge again vowing to scrap key part of Japan's controversial security legislation - Xinhua | English.news.cn". Archived from the original on May 7, 2018.