Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan

The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (立憲民主党, Rikken-minshutō); CDP), sometimes abbreviated to Minshutō (民主党),[12] is a centre-left political party in Japan.[7] The party was founded in October 2017 as a split from the Democratic Party ahead of the 2017 general election. In September 2020 it assumed the role of a unified opposition party following its merger with the Democratic Party for the People and adherence of independent lawmakers.[13] The party is led by Yukio Edano.

For the historical party, see Constitutional Democratic Party (Japan).
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan
立憲民主党 or 立民党

Rikken-minshutō or Ritsumintō
LeaderYukio Edano
Deputy LeaderAkira Nagatsuma
Secretary-GeneralTetsurō Fukuyama
Councilors LeaderHiroyuki Nagahama
Founded2 October 2017 (2017-10-02)
15 September 2020 (2020-09-15) (in current form)
Merger ofDemocratic Party for the People (majority faction)
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan
Split fromDemocratic Party (2016)
Headquarters2-12-4 Fuji Building 3F, Hirakawa-chō,
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0093, Japan
NewspaperRikken-minshu[1]
IdeologyProgressivism[2]
Social liberalism[3]
Constitutionalism[4]
Political positionCentre-left[5][6][7]
Centre (faction)[8]
International affiliationCouncil of Asian Liberals and Democrats (observer)[9]
Colors  Blue[10]
SloganAnata no tame no seiji'[11]
("Politics for you")
Councillors
44 / 245
Representatives
109 / 465
Local (Prefectural and Local) assembly members
703 / 32,448
Website
cdp-japan.jp

History
CDP headquarters in Hirakawa-chō, Tokyo.
Party logo, 2017–2020

Formation and 2017 election

The party was formed from a centre-left split from the opposition Democratic Party (DP) in the run up to the 2017 general election.[14][7][15] 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.[16]

The new party was launched on 2 October 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.[17][18]

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,[19] a gesture which was not returned when the Party of Hope ran a candidate in Edano's incumbent district. The Japanese Communist Party, in turn, pulled their own candidate from running in Edano's district so as to not take away votes from him.[20] The party won a total of 55 seats,[7] becoming the leading opposition party and leading the pacifist bloc (including the JCP and Social Democratic Party) to become the largest opposition bloc.

2020 merger

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.[21]

On 10 September 2020, the new party elected Edano as leader and also voted to retain the CDP name.[22] Following the merger, the new CDP had a total of 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 formed their own party.[13]

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. SDP leader Mizuho Fukushima was opposed to the merger agreement and is expected to remain in the party. [23]

Ideology

The party opposes the proposed revision of Article 9 of Japan's postwar constitution.[7][24][25] The party supports the phasing out of nuclear energy in Japan,[26] and government investment in renewable energy.[27] The party does not support the legalization and maintenance of casinos.[28] The party also supports "building a society that supports each other and makes full use of individuality and creativity."[29][30] and this party expresses its support for grassroots democracy and diplomatic pacifism.[31]

The party supported a freeze in the increase of the consumption tax as of 2017,[32][33] and supports a temporary consumption tax cut as of 2020, along with higher taxes on corporations and wealthy individuals.[13]

Leadership
Position Name
Leader Yukio Edano
Deputy leader
Policy Affairs Research Council chief		 Akira Nagatsuma
Vice leader
Election Campaign Committee chief		 Shōichi Kondō
Vice leader
General Affairs Committee chief		 Takahiro Sasaki
Vice leader
Councillors caucus chief secretary		 Renhō Saitō
Secretary-General
Councillors caucus leader		 Tetsurō Fukuyama
Deputy Secretary-General Yukihiko Akutsu
Policy Affairs Research Council deputy chief Seiji Ōsaka
Chinami Nishimura
Policy Affairs Research Council first vice chief Yōichirō Aoyagi
Diet Affairs Committee chief Kiyomi Tsujimoto
Diet Affairs Committee deputy chief Kōichi Yamauchi
Diet Affairs Committee first vice chief Yoshio Tezuka
Councillors Affairs Committee chief Masayoshi Nataniya
Board of Governors chief Hiroshi Kawauchi
Joint House General Council chief Satoshi Arai
Parliamentary Association chief Katsuhiko Yokomitsu

Presidents
No. Name Term of office Image
Took Office Left Office
Split from: Democratic Party (2016) (centre-left)
Merger of: Democratic Party for the People (centre-right; majority faction)
1 Yukio Edano 2 October 2017 Present

Election results

House of Representatives election results
Election Leader Candidates Seats won Constituency votes Constituency vote percentage PR Block votes PR Block vote percentage Status
2017 Yukio Edano 78
55 / 465
 4,852,097 8.75% 11,084,890 19.88% Opposition

House of Councillors election results
Election Leader Seats Nationwide Prefecture Status
Total Won Votes % Votes %
2019 Yukio Edano
32 / 245
17 / 124
 7,951,430 15.79 7,917,720 15.81 Opposition

References
  1. 機関紙「立憲民主」のご案内 [Information of the newspaper "Rikken-minshu"]. cdp-japan.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  2. "Japan opposition parties' failing merger bid offers glimpse into divisions". The Japan Times. 17 January 2020.
  3. Kölling, Martin (22 October 2017). "Abe siegt und verbirgt seine Schwäche" [Abe wins and hides his weakness]. Handelsblatt (in German). …klar linksliberale „konstitutionelle demokratische Partei“…
  4. "Edano to form Constitutional Democratic Party". NHK World. NHK. 2 October 2017. Archived from the original on 25 October 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  5. Tom Lansford, ed. (19 March 2019). Political Handbook of the World 2018-2019. CQ Press. p. 813. ISBN 9781544327136.
  7. William D. Hoover, ed. (2018). Historical Dictionary of Postwar Japan. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 61. ISBN 978-1-5381-1156-7.
  8. 藤崎剛人 (2020-12-29). "【2021年の重要課題】日本の右派ポピュリストが進める改憲論議に乗ってはいけない コラム 現代ニホン主義の精神史的状況". ニューズウィーク日本版. Retrieved 2020-12-30.
  9. "Japan's Main Opposition Party Joins CALD as Observer". cald.org. July 3, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  10. 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 23 September 2019. 立憲民主党は青だ。 [Constitutional Democratic Party is blue.]
  11. cdp-japan.jp (in Japanese) https://cdp-japan.jp/. Retrieved 3 December 2020. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. 民主党 (Minshutō) was the original name of the Democratic Party. The CDP has reused that for their official abbreviated name. https://twitter.com/CDP2017/status/914780938814525441
  13. Kuronuma, Susumu (2020-09-11). "Japan's fractured opposition unites as party of 140-plus lawmakers". Nikkei Asian Review. Retrieved 2020-09-11.
  14. "New centre-left party launched in Japan ahead of vote". Channel News Asia. 2 October 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  15. "2017 Lower House Election / Edano announces launch of new party of liberals". The Yomiuri Shimbun. Archived from the original on 2017-10-02. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  16. Yoshida, Reiji (28 September 2017). "Democratic Party effectively disbands, throwing support behind Koike's party for Lower House poll" – via Japan Times Online.
  17. "Major opposition's liberal wing to form new group". Kyodo News. 2 October 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  18. "VOTE 2017: Edano plans to form new party as liberal force in election：The Asahi Shimbun".
  19. "Koike's party unveils 1st list of 192 candidates for upcoming election". Japan Today. 4 October 2017. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  20. "Yukio Edano: Japan's opposition leader to watch". Nikkei Asian Review. October 22, 2017. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  21. "Japan's largest opposition parties to merge in September". The Asahi Shimbun. 2020-08-20. Retrieved 2020-08-25.
  22. Johnston, Eric (2020-09-10). "Yukio Edano elected chief of new CDP, Japan's top opposition party". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  23. "Social Democratic Party to split; most Diet members to join CDPJ". The Japan Times. 25 February 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  24. Yoshida, Reiji (16 October 2017). "Edano taking center stage as CDP gains momentum" – via Japan Times Online.
  25. Sieg, Linda (17 October 2017). "Underdog centre-left party may outperform expectations in Japan snap poll". Reuters.
  26. "2017 Lower House Election / Parties debate whether, when to bring N-plants back online". The Yomiuri Shimbun. 17 October 2017. Archived from the original on 21 October 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  27. "It's not enough for political parties to merely tout economic catchwords". The Yomiuri Shimbun. 18 October 2017. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  28. Archived copy 立憲民主党 基本政策, 2017-12-28, archived from the original on 2018-02-15, retrieved 2018-01-14CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  29. 毎日新聞 (2017-10-07), 【ノーカット】党首討論会@日本記者クラブ, retrieved 2017-12-06
  30. "CDF Pamphlet" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-10-08. Retrieved 2017-10-28. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  31. 立憲民主党 政策パンフレット (PDF). 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 October 2017.
  32. "Edano's new party may outperform expectations in Sunday's election". Japan Today. 18 October 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  33. "2017 Lower House Election / Voters not impressed". The Economist. 19 October 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
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