Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)
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The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP; Japanese: 自由民主党, romanized: Jiyū-Minshutō), also known as Jimintō (自民党), is a major conservative and nationalist political party in Japan. Since its foundation in 1955, the LDP has been in power almost continuously—a period called the 1955 System—except from 1993 to 1996, and again from 2009 to 2012. The LDP was formed in 1955 as a merger of two conservative parties, the Liberal Party and the Japan Democratic Party, and was initially led by prime minister Ichirō Hatoyama. The LDP supported Japan's alliance with the United States and fostered close links between Japanese business and government, playing a major role in the country's economic miracle from the 1960s to early 1970s and subsequent stability under prime ministers including Hayato Ikeda, Eisaku Satō, Kakuei Tanaka, Takeo Fukuda, and Yasuhiro Nakasone. Scandals and economic difficulties led to the LDP losing power in 1993 and 1994, and governing under a non-LDP prime minister from 1994 before regaining power in 1996. In 1999, the LDP entered into a coalition with Komeito. The LDP regained stability during the premiership of Junichiro Koizumi in the 2000s before achieving its worst-ever electoral result in the 2009 election, where the Democratic Party of Japan gained a majority. The party regained control of the government in a landslide victory at the 2012 election under Shinzo Abe, though it lost seats in the subsequent elections. Since the 2017 general election, the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) has been its primary opponent in national politics. After the 2024 and 2025 elections the LDP currently holds 191 seats in the House of Representatives and 101 seats in the House of Councillors. In 2025, the LDP's coalition with Komeito broke down, leading it to enter into a coalition with the Japan Innovation Party. The LDP is often described as a big tent conservative party, including factions that range from moderately conservative to far-right and ultraconservative. Although lacking a cohesive political ideology, the party's platform has historically supported increased defense spending, revising the Article 9 of the Constitution, maintaining close ties with the United States and, since the 21st century, pursuing close relations with its Indo-Pacific allies to counter the rise of China as a superpower. The party's history and internal composition has been characterized by intense factionalism among its members since its emergence in 1955. Sanae Takaichi has served as party president since 4 October 2025.