The was a Japanese liberal

Liberalism

Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...

 party (not to be confused with the conservative Liberal Democratic Party

Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)

The , frequently abbreviated to LDP or , is a centre-right political party in Japan. It is one of the most consistently successful political parties in the democratic world. The LDP ruled almost continuously for nearly 54 years from its founding in 1955 until its defeat in the 2009 election...

) formed in 1998 by Ichirō Ozawa

Ichiro Ozawa

is a Japanese politician. Formerly a chief secretary of the Liberal Democratic Party , he later defected from the LDP. He was the president of Japan's main opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan , from 2006 until May 2009, when he resigned over a fund scandal, and secretary general of the...

 and Hirohisa Fujii

Hirohisa Fujii

is a Japanese politician who is a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet and Secretary General of the Democratic Party of Japan . A native of Tokyo, graduate of the University of Tokyo and former official of the Ministry of Finance, he was elected to the House of Councilors for the...

. It is now defunct, having joined the Democratic Party of Japan

Democratic Party of Japan

The is a political party in Japan founded in 1998 by the merger of several opposition parties. Its socially liberal platform is generally considered center-left in the Japanese political spectrum...

 in 2003.

The Liberal Party was formed from remnants of the New Frontier Party

New Frontier Party

The was a Japanese political party that existed during the mid-1990s. As a merger of several small parties, the party was ideologically diverse, with its membership ranging from moderate socialists to neoliberals and conservatives...

 after it dissolved in 1998. The party did do quite well for a new party, joining the opposition led by the Democratic Party of Japan

Democratic Party of Japan

The is a political party in Japan founded in 1998 by the merger of several opposition parties. Its socially liberal platform is generally considered center-left in the Japanese political spectrum...

 and also including the New Clean Government Party (New Kōmeitō), the Social Democratic Party

Social Democratic Party (Japan)

The Social Democratic Party The Social Democratic Party The Social Democratic Party (社会民主党 Shakai Minshu-tō, often abbreviated to 社民党 Shamin-tō; also known as the Social Democratic Party of Japan (abbreviated to SDPJ or SDP in English) is a political party that advocates for the establishment of a...

 and Japanese Communist Party

Japanese Communist Party

The Japanese Communist Party is a left-wing political party in Japan.The JCP advocates the establishment of a society based on socialism, democracy and peace, and opposition to militarism...

, and thus helped contest elections against the ruling Liberal Democrats

Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)

The , frequently abbreviated to LDP or , is a centre-right political party in Japan. It is one of the most consistently successful political parties in the democratic world. The LDP ruled almost continuously for nearly 54 years from its founding in 1955 until its defeat in the 2009 election...

 (LDP).

In January 1999, it formed a coalition with the ruling LDP under Keizō Obuchi

Keizo Obuchi

was a Japanese politician who served in the House of Representatives for twelve terms, and ultimately as the 84th Prime Minister of Japan from July 30, 1998 to April 5, 2000. His political career ended when he suffered a serious and ultimately fatal stroke....

. Takeshi Noda

Takeshi Noda

is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party , a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet . A native of Kumamoto, Kumamoto and graduate of the University of Tokyo he joined the Ministry of Finance in 1964. In 1972 when his father-in-law Takeo Noda died, he left the ministry to...

 as Minister for Home Affairs became its only member in the realigned Obuchi cabinet, later replaced by Toshihiro Nikai

Toshihiro Nikai

is a Japanese politician. He was the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry. A member of the Liberal Democratic Party , Nikai is currently serving in his eighth term in the Lower House representing Wakayama's Third District....

 as Minister of Transportation. Later that year, the New Kōmeitō joined the coalition as well, and party president Ichirō Ozawa decided to lead the Liberals back into the opposition as he saw his party's position endangered. But some members of the coalition wanted to stay in the government and eventually formed the breakaway Conservative Party.

In October 2003, because of the upcoming election, the Liberal Party finally merged with the more moderate social-democratic and liberal Democratic Party of Japan

Democratic Party of Japan

The is a political party in Japan founded in 1998 by the merger of several opposition parties. Its socially liberal platform is generally considered center-left in the Japanese political spectrum...

 and all its members joined the new party, making an influential grouping within the party. The Democrat Party did tremendously well, and Hirohisa Fujii became the Secretary General of the Democrat Party, while Ichiro Ozawa led the Liberal Party Group within the DPJ.

See also

• Liberalism
  Liberalism
  Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
  
  
• Contributions to liberal theory
  Contributions to liberal theory
  Individual contributors to classical liberalism and political liberalism are associated with philosophers of the Enlightenment. Liberalism as a specifically named ideology begins in the late 18th century as a movement towards self-government and away from aristocracy...
  
  
• Liberalism worldwide
  Liberalism worldwide
  This article gives information on liberalism in diverse countries around the world. It is an overview of parties that adhere more or less to the ideas of political liberalism and is therefore a list of liberal parties around the world....
  
  
• List of liberal parties
• Liberal democracy
  Liberal democracy
  Liberal democracy, also known as constitutional democracy, is a common form of representative democracy. According to the principles of liberal democracy, elections should be free and fair, and the political process should be competitive...
  
  
• Liberalism in Japan
  Liberalism in Japan
  This article gives an overview of liberalism in Japan. It is limited to liberal parties with substantial support, proved by having had representation in parliament. The sign ⇒ means a reference to another party in that scheme...
  
  
• Democratic Party of Japan
  Democratic Party of Japan
  The is a political party in Japan founded in 1998 by the merger of several opposition parties. Its socially liberal platform is generally considered center-left in the Japanese political spectrum...