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Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan

This article is about the 21st century political party. For the historical party that existed from 1927 to 1940, see Constitutional Democratic Party (Japan).

Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan
立憲民主党
Rikken-minshutō
AbbreviationCDP
CDPJ
PresidentYoshihiko Noda
Executive Deputy PresidentAkira Nagatsuma
Kiyomi Tsujimoto
Hiroshi Ogushi
Secretary-GeneralJunya Ogawa
Chairman of the Policy BureauKazuhiko Shigetoku
FounderYukio Edano
Founded3 October 2017; 7 years ago (2017-10-03)
15 September 2020; 4 years ago (2020-09-15)[a]
Split fromDemocratic Party (2016)[a]
Preceded byConstitutional Democratic Party of Japan[a]
Headquarters2-12-4 Fuji Building 3F, Hirakawa-chō,
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0093, Japan
NewspaperRikken-minshu[4]
Youth wingRikkenYouth[5]
Membership (August 2024)114,839[6]
Ideology
Political positionCentre to centre-left
International affiliationCouncil of Asian Liberals and Democrats (observer)
Colors  Blue[7]
Slogan政権交代こそ、最大の政治改革。
Seiken koutai koso, saidaino seijikaikaku.[8]
('A change of government is the biggest political reform.')
Councillors
39 / 248
Representatives
148 / 465
Prefectural assembly members
232 / 2,644
Municipal assembly members[9]
712 / 29,135
Election symbol
Website

The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (立憲民主党, Rikken-minshutō, CDP[10] or CDPJ[11]) is a liberal[12] political party in Japan. It is the primary centre-left party in Japan,[13][14] and as of 2024 is the second largest party in the National Diet behind the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).[15]

It was founded in October 2017 as a split from the Democratic Party ahead of the 2017 general election.[13] In late 2020, the party was re-founded following a merger with majorities of the Democratic Party For the People and the Social Democratic Party as well as some independent lawmakers.

The party's platform supports raising the minimum wage, expanded welfare policies, the legalization of same-sex marriage, increased gender equality,[16] renewable energy policies, decentralization, a multilateral foreign policy, the revision of the U.S.–Japan Status of Forces Agreement, tax reform and electoral reform.[17] The party strongly opposes efforts to amend the Japanese Constitution to reinterpret Article 9 or codify the status of the Japan Self-Defense Forces and also opposes nuclear power.

History

Formation and 2017 election

Alternative CDPJ logo

The party was formed in the run up to the 2017 general election from a split of the centre-left wing of the opposition Democratic Party (DP).[18][19][20][21] Prior to the election on 28 September 2017, the DP House of Representatives caucus dissolved in order for party members to stand as candidates for Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike's Party of Hope or as independents in the upcoming election.[22]

The new party was launched on 2 October 2017 by DP deputy leader Yukio Edano at a press conference in Tokyo for liberals and left-leaning members of the DP who do not wish to, or were rejected for, contesting the election as candidates for the Party of Hope.[23][24]

On 3 October 2017, it was announced that the new party would not contest seats where former Democrats were running as Party of Hope candidates,[25] a gesture which was not returned when the Party of Hope ran a candidate in Edano's incumbent district. The Japanese Communist Party (JCP), in turn, pulled their own candidate from running in Edano's district so as to not take away votes from him.[26] The party won a total of 55 seats,[20] becoming the leading opposition party and leading the pacifist bloc (including the JCP and Social Democratic Party) to become the largest opposition bloc.

In July 2020, the CDP became an observer affiliate of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats.[27]

2020 merger and refoundation

On 19 August 2020, the CDP announced that it would merge with the majority of the Democratic Party For the People (DPP) as well as some independent Diet members in September of that year.[28]

On 10 September 2020, the new party elected Edano as leader and voted to retain the CDP name.[29] Following the merger, the new CDP had 149 members and held 107 seats in the House of Representatives, compared to 156 members and 96 seats held by the Democratic Party in 2016. The independents who joined the CDP in this merger included former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda. Several conservative DPP members, including DPP president Yuichiro Tamaki, did not join the CDP and instead continued to lead a rump DPP independent of the CDP.[30][15]

On 14 November 2020, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) voted to agree to a merger arrangement with the CDP, allowing SDP members to leave the party and join the CDP.[31] SDP leader Mizuho Fukushima was opposed to the merger agreement and as a result remained in the Social Democratic Party.[31]

The CDP contested the 2021 general election in an electoral pact co-operating with the JCP, Reiwa Shinsengumi and continuing DPP and SDP parties in fielding single opposition candidates in single-seat constituencies.[32] Edano resigned as party leader following the election on 2 November 2021, due to poorer than expected electoral results, in which the CDP fell from 110 to 96 seats.[33][34]

Kenta Izumi was elected as the leader of the CDP in the 2021 Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leadership election on 30 November 2021. Formerly a member of the DPP, he said that the two parties are regarded by the public as "close" and "thought to be like brothers" and "expressed support for a tie-up" between the two.[39]

On 23 September 2024, former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda was elected party president on the party leadership election, with Junya Ogawa chosen as party general secretary.[40]

In the 2024 general election held on 27 October 2024, the CDP greatly increased their seat count in the House of Representatives to 148, depriving the ruling Liberal Democratic Party of their majority.[41][42]

Ideology and platform

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The CDP has been described as liberal[43][12] and social-liberal,[44] and in favour of constitutionalism.[45] The party has also been described as centre-left,[20][19][46] progressive,[47][48] and left-wing populist.[49] Following its enlargement in 2020, the party has variously been described as liberal,[30] centrist,[50] or centre-left.[13][14] Within the CDP, as with its predecessor the Democratic Party of Japan, there are conservative politicians,[b] as well as politicians from social-democratic backgrounds.[51][52][53]

At launch in 2017, the CDP opposed the proposed revision of Article 9 of Japan's postwar constitution.[20][54][55] The party supports the phasing out of nuclear energy in Japan,[56] and government investment in renewable energy.[57] The party does not support the legalization and maintenance of casinos.[58] The party supports "building a society that supports each other and makes full use of individuality and creativity."[59][60] In their 2017 political programme, the party expressed support for grassroots democracy and diplomatic pacifism.[61]

In 2019, the party pledged to support LGBT rights and the legalization of same-sex marriage in Japan,[62] and in March 2023, promoted a parliamentary bill for Japan to legally recognise such couplings.[63]

The party supported a freeze in the increase of the consumption tax as of 2017,[64][65] and supports a temporary consumption tax cut as of 2020, along with higher taxes on corporations and wealthy individuals.[15] In the run-up to the 2021 general election, party leader Edano stated his party's support for redistribution of wealth.[66] The 2021 election platform offered support for progressive taxation, a pledge for additional welfare payments for citizens on low incomes, and raising the capital gains tax rate to 25% by 2023.[67]

The CDP's 2024 platform supported raising the minimum wage, the abolition of tuition fees, free school meals, gender equality legislation and reform of laws regulating use of surnames following marriage in Japan.[68][69] The party also abandoned its previous policies of freezing or lowering the consumption tax rate.[70]

Leadership

As of 24 September 2024.[71][72]

Position Name
Leader Yoshihiko Noda
Deputy Leader Akira Nagatsuma
Kiyomi Tsujimoto
Hiroshi Ogushi
Secretary-General Junya Ogawa
Chairman of the Standing Committee Makiko Kikuta
Chairman of the Policy Bureau Kazuhiko Shigetoku
Chairman of the House of Councillors Caucus Shunichi Mizuoka
Election Campaign Committee Chief Hiroshi Ogushi
Diet Affairs Committee Chief Hirofumi Ryu

List of the Leaders

No. Leader
(birth–death) 		Constituency Took office Left office Election results Prime Minister (term)
Split from: Democratic Party (2016) (centre-left)
1 Yukio Edano
(b. 1964) 		Rep for Saitama 5th 3 October 2017 14 September 2020
2017
Unopposed
 Abe S. 2012–20
Merger of: Democratic Party For the People (centre-right; majority faction) ＆ Some Independents Group
1 Yukio Edano
(b. 1964) 		Rep for Saitama 5th 15 September 2020 12 November 2021
2020[c]
Yukio Edano – 107
Kenta Izumi – 42
 Abe S. 2012–20
Suga 2020–21
Kishida 2021–24
2 Kenta Izumi
(b. 1974) 		Rep for Kyoto 3rd 30 November 2021 23 September 2024
2021 1st Round
Kenta Izumi – 189
Seiji Osaka – 148
Junya Ogawa – 133
Chinami Nishimura – 102
2021 2nd Round
Kenta Izumi – 205
Seiji Osaka – 128
3 Yoshihiko Noda
(b. 1957) 		Rep for Chiba 4th 23 September 2024 Incumbent
2024 1st Round
Yoshihiko Noda – 267
Yukio Edano – 206
Kenta Izumi – 143
Harumi Yoshida – 122
2024 2nd Round
Yoshihiko Noda – 232
Yukio Edano – 180
 Ishiba 2024-present

Election results

House of Representatives

House of Representatives
Election Leader No. of
candidates 		Seats Position Constituency votes PR Block votes Status
No. ± Share No. Share No. Share
2017 Yukio Edano 78
55 / 465
 11.8% 2nd 4,852,097 8.75% 11,084,890 19.88% Opposition
Merger of: Democratic Party For the People (centre-right; majority faction) ＆ Some Independents Group (2020)
2021 Yukio Edano 240
96 / 465
 20.6% 2nd 17,215,621 29.96% 11,492,095 20.00% Opposition
2024 Yoshihiko Noda 237
148 / 465
 Increase 52 31.8% Steady 2nd 15,740,860 29.01% 11,564,217 21.20% TBD

House of Councillors

House of Councillors
Election Leader No. of
candidates 		Seats Position Constituency votes Party list votes Status
Won ± Share Not up Total[d] No. Share No. Share
2019 Yukio Edano 42
17 / 124
 13.7% 15
32 / 245
 2nd 7,951,430 15.79% 7,917,720 15.81% Opposition
Merger of: Democratic Party For the People (centre-right; majority faction) ＆ Some Independents Group (2020)
2022 Kenta Izumi 51
17 / 125
 13.6% 22
39 / 248
 2nd 8,154,330 15.33% 6,771,914 12.77% Opposition

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c The "old CDP" was founded on 3 October 2017[1] as a split from the Democratic Party and dissolved on 14 September 2020,[2] while the current party was founded on 15 September 2020[3] as a merger of the old CDP, the majority of the Democratic Party For the People and some independent lawmakers.
  2. ^ Most conservative factions within the CDP are moderate conservatives, but some CDP members belong to ultra-conservative Nippon Kaigi (ex: Hirofumi Ryu and Shū Watanabe).
  3. ^ Held after the merger with the Democratic Party For the People.
  4. ^ The Upper house is split in two classes, one elected every three years.

References

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  2. ^ "政治資金規正法及び政党助成法に基づく政党の解散の届出" (PDF). Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (in Japanese). 14 September 2020.
  3. ^ "政治資金規正法に基づく政治団体の届出" (PDF). Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (in Japanese). 15 September 2020.
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    • "Partisan Biases in U.S.-Japan Relations". Tokyo Review. 26 February 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021. For both the LDP and center-left Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (roughly the successors of the Democratic Party of Japan which governed from 2009-2012), the emphasis is much more on pragmatism than values.

    Amory Gethin (16 November 2021). "Political Cleavages and the Representation of Social Inequalities in Japan, 1953-2017". In Amory Gethin; Clara Martinez-Toledano; Thomas Piketty (eds.). Political Cleavages and Social Inequalities: A Study of Fifty Democracies, 1948-2020. Harvard University Press. p. 358. ISBN 978-0-67-424842-7.

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  16. ^ "中絶に「配偶者同意」が必要なのは11か国・地域のみ".
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  33. ^ "Coronavirus pandemic updates: Nov. 6, 2021". Kyodo News+.
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  35. ^ "Izumi Elected Japan Opposition CDP's New Leader". Nippon.com. 30 November 2021. Archived from the original on 1 December 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
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  39. ^ [35][36][12][37][38]
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