View source for Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)

{{Short description|Japanese political party}}
{{Distinguish||Democratic Liberal Party (Japan)|Democratic Party (Japan, 2016)|Liberal Party (Japan, 1998)|Liberal Party (Japan, 2016)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox political party
| abbreviation     = LDP<br>Lib Dems<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Semans |first1=Himari |last2=Ninivaggi |first2=Gabriele |date=2024-11-07 |title=LDP lawmakers urge Ishiba to step down after budget passage next year |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/11/07/japan/politics/ldp-post-election-gathering/ |access-date=2025-01-09 |website=The Japan Times |language=en}}</ref><br>Jimintō
| logo             = [[File:自民党Logo.svg|frameless|upright=0.8|class=skin-invert]]
| logo_size        = 200
| colorcode        = {{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}
| leader1_title    = [[President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)|President]]
| leader1_name     = [[Shigeru Ishiba]]
| leader2_title    = [[Vice President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)|Vice President]]
| leader2_name     = [[Yoshihide Suga]]
| leader3_title    = [[Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party|Secretary-General]]
| leader3_name     = [[Hiroshi Moriyama]]
| founders         = {{ublist
 | [[Ichirō Hatoyama]]
 | [[Taketora Ogata]]
}}
| foundation       = {{start date and age|1955|11|15|df=y}}
| merger           = {{ublist
 | [[Liberal Party (Japan, 1950)|Liberal Party]]
 | [[Japan Democratic Party]]
}}
| ideology         = {{ublist|class = nowrap <!-- Consensus was reached on the talk page -->
 | [[Conservatism]] ([[Conservatism in Japan|Japanese]])
 | [[Japanese nationalism]]
}}
| position         = [[Right-wing politics|Right-wing]]
| headquarters     = 11–23, [[Nagatachō]] 1-chome, [[Chiyoda, Tokyo|Chiyoda]], Tokyo 100-8910, Japan
| student_wing     = LDP Students Division<ref>{{Cite web |title=自民党学生部 |url=https://www.tokyo-jimin.jp/students/ |access-date=2024-02-21 |website=www.tokyo-jimin.jp}}</ref>
| youth_wing       = {{ill|LDP Youth|ja|自由民主党青年局}}
| website          = {{ublist
 | '''Japanese'''
 | {{URL|https://www.jimin.jp/}}
 | '''English'''
 | {{Official URL}}
}}
| country          = Japan
| name             = Liberal Democratic Party<br />{{nobold|{{Nihongo2|自由民主党}}}}
| native_name      = {{lang|ja-Latn|Jiyū-Minshutō}}
| newspaper        = ''Jiyu Minshu''<ref>{{cite book |last1=Endo |first1=Masahisa |last2=Pekkanen |first2=Robert |editor-last=Pekkanen |editor-first=Robert |title=Critical Readings on the Liberal Democratic Party in Japan |year=2018 |chapter=The LDP: Return to Dominance? Or a Golden Age Built on Sand? |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=poN1DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1626 |volume=4 |page=1626 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]] |isbn=978-90-04-38055-4 |access-date=31 May 2023 |quote=The ''Jiyu Minshu'', the LDP's party paper, began to focus on rural development from June 2014.}}</ref>
| membership       = {{decrease}} 1,028,662 (2024 {{estimation}})
| anthem           = "We"{{Efn|"{{lang|ja|われら}}"<br />"Ware-ra"}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jimin.jp/aboutus/song_symbol/ |script-title=ja:党歌・シンボル|website=jimin.jp|access-date=3 September 2018}}</ref>
| slogan           = {{nowrap|''日本を守る。成長を力に。''}}<br>''Nihon o mamoru. Seichō o chikara ni.''<br>('Protect Japan. Turn growth into strength.')<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jimin.jp/index.html/ |website=jimin.jp |title=自民党 |access-date=7 October 2024}}</ref>
| colours          = {{ublist
 | {{Color box|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan, 2017)}}|border=darkgray}} Red (official){{Efn|Since 2017}}<ref>{{cite news |date=21 October 2017 |script-title=ja:日本に定着するか、政党のカラー |trans-title=Will the colors of political parties settle in Japan? |url=https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXMZO22461210Z11C17A0000000/ |language=ja |work=[[The Nikkei]] |publisher=[[Nikkei, Inc.]] |access-date=5 October 2021 }}</ref>
 | {{Color box|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}|border=darkgray}} Green (customary){{Efn|Official colour before 2017; still used on the English website}}
}}
| seats1_title     = [[House of Councillors (Japan)|Councillors]]
| seats1           = {{Composition bar|114|248|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| seats2_title     = [[House of Representatives (Japan)|Representatives]]
| seats2           = {{Composition bar|196|465|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| seats3_title     = [[Prefectures of Japan|Prefectures]]<ref name="local assemblies">Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, [http://www.soumu.go.jp/senkyo/senkyo_s/data/syozoku/ichiran.html party membership statistics for chief executives and assembly members in prefectures and municipalities]: [https://www.soumu.go.jp/main_content/000938138.pdf Prefectural and local assembly members and governors/mayors by political party as of 31 December 2023]</ref>
| seats3           = {{Composition bar|1301|2644|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| seats4_title     = [[Municipalities of Japan|Municipalities]]<ref name="local assemblies" />
| seats4           = {{Composition bar|2137|29135|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| flag             = [[File:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) Flag.svg|200px|border]]
| symbol           = {{plainlist|
*[[File:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) Emblem.svg|120px]]
'''Alternative symbol'''
*[[File:LDP alternative symbol.svg|120px]]
}}
| footnotes        = {{cnote|A|The Liberal Democratic Party is a [[big-tent]] conservative party ([[#Factions|see factions table below]]).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ellington |first=Lucien |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fox9YR80V7sC&q=japan+big+tent+Liberal+Democratic+Party&pg=PA81 |title=Japan |date=2009-07-14 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-1-59884-162-6 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="HookGilson20012"/> The LDP has also been described as [[Centre-right politics|centre-right]],<ref>{{bulleted list
|{{cite book|author=Ludger Helms|title=Parliamentary Opposition in Old and New Democracies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_UCPAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA97|date=18 October 2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-97031-6|page=97}}
|{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/asia/article/fumio-kishida-becomes-japan-s-new-prime-minister-k7mc8ktxc |title=Japan's new prime minister Fumio Kishida vows to be tough on China but 'courteous' at home |quote=Fumio Kishida, a moderate conservative with a stern view of China's growing military assertiveness, will be Japan's new prime minister, after easily winning the election to lead the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. |work=[[The Times]] |date=29 September 2021 |access-date=21 February 2023}}
|{{cite web |url= https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/overseas-business-risk-japan/overseas-business-risk-japan |title= Overseas Business Risk – Japan |date= 31 January 2018 |website= GOV.UK |access-date= 12 June 2019}} |{{cite book |author1=Roger Blanpain |author2=Michele Tiraboschi |title=The Global Labour Market:From Globalization to Flexicurity |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WjFwStO4ONwC&pg=PA268 |year=2008 |publisher=[[Kluwer Law International]] |isbn=978-90-411-2722-8 |page=268 }}
|{{cite book |author1=Jeffrey Henderson |author2=William Goodwin Aurelio Professor of Greek Language and Literature Jeffrey Henderson |title=East Asian Transformation:On the Political Economy of Dynamism, Governance and Crisis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wGnROS_ToTkC&pg=PA54 |date=11 February 2011 |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |isbn=978-1-136-84113-2 |page=54 }}
|{{cite book |author1=Peter Davies |author2=Derek Lynch |title=The Routledge Companion to Fascism and the Far Right |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1-iXGKN1AK4C&pg=PT236 |date=16 August 2005 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-60952-9 |page=236 }}|{{cite web|title= Japan is having an election next month. Here's why it matters. |url= https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/world/2017/9/28/16368162/japan-election-2017-surprise|quote= Abe's '''center-right Liberal Democratic Party''' (LDP)|publisher=[[Vox (website)|Vox]]|date= 28 September 2017|access-date=8 July 2020}}}}</ref> but the LDP has [[Far-right politics|far-right]]{{refn|Some sources also assessed that the LDP was founded with funds from ultranationalist, and some sources refer to the LDP as far-right ultranationalist:{{bulleted list
|{{cite book|editor=Matthew Pointon |title=Across Asia With A Lowlander |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IOVjDwAAQBAJ&dq=far-right+%22Liberal+Democratic+Party%22+Japan&pg=PA12 |quote= Ever since the culmination of the Second World War, the '''far right Liberal Democratic Party''' has firmly held the reins of power, with only a couple of minor interruptions. |date=2017 |page=12 |publisher=Lulu.com|isbn=9780244043544 }}
|{{cite web|url=https://www.eurasiareview.com/16072019-beautiful-harmony-political-project-behind-japans-new-era-name-analysis/|title=Beautiful Harmony: Political Project Behind Japan's New Era Name – Analysis|quote=The shifting dynamics around the new era name (gengō 元号) offers an opportunity to understand how the domestic politics of the '''LDP's project of ultranationalism''' is shaping a new Japan and a new form of nationalism.|date=16 July 2019|work=eurasia review}}
|{{cite book|editor=Margaret DiCanio PhD |title=Encyclopedia of Violence |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XeScOwFM0XwC&dq=ultranationalist+Liberal+Democratic+Party+Japan&pg=PT771 |quote= In 1955, with funds from the '''ultranationalists''', the conservatives merged the Liberal Party with the Democratic Party to form the '''Liberal Democratic Party''' (LPD), which effectively held the Japanese Communist Party in check. |date=2004 |publisher=iUniverse |isbn=9780595316526 }}}}}}<ref name="far-right">{{bulleted list
|{{cite book|editor=Mark R. Mullins  |title=The Routledge Handbook of Japanese Politics |quote= The first is provided by Yamatani Eriko, one of the darlings of Shinseiren and a person who represents the far right of the LDP. |date=2021 |page=94 |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |isbn=9780824890162 }}
|{{cite web|url=https://nyunews.com/2019/04/15/far-right-international-japan/|title=The Dangerous Impact of the Far-Right in Japan|quote=Another sign of the rise of the uyoku dantai's ideas is the growing power of the Nippon Kaigi. The organization is the largest far-right group in Japan and has heavy lobbying clout with the conservative LDP; 18 of the 20 members of Shinzo Abe's cabinet were once members of the group.|work=Washington Square News|date=15 April 2019}}
|{{cite web|url=https://thediplomat.com/2018/06/why-steve-bannon-admires-japan/|title=Why Steve Bannon Admires Japan|quote=In Japan, populist and extreme right-wing nationalism has found a home within the political establishment.|work=The Diplomat|date=22 June 2018}}
|{{cite web|url=https://repository.usfca.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1023&context=honors|title=Making Japan Great Again: Japan's Liberal Democratic Party as a Far Right Movement|author=Wesley Yee|work=The University of San Francisco|date=January 2018}}
|{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/13/japan-ruling-party-far-right-extremists-liberal-democratic|title=Japan's ruling party under fire over links to far-right extremists|work=The Guardian|date=13 October 2014}}
|{{cite web|title=For Abe, it will always be about the Constitution |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2016/07/31/issues/abe-will-always-constitution/ |quote= Of those three victories, the first election in December 2012 was a rout of the leftist Democratic Party of Japan and it thrust the more powerful Lower House of Parliament firmly into the hands of the long-incumbent Liberal Democratic Party under Abe. The second election in December 2014 further normalized Japan's lurch to the far right, giving the ruling coalition a supermajority of 2/3 of the seats in the Lower House. |date=4 July 2016 |access-date=8 July 2020 |publisher=[[The Japan Times]]}}
|{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/22/world/asia/japan-name-order.html?auth=login-google |title=Shinzo Abe? That's Not His Name, Says Japan's Foreign Minister |date=22 May 2019 |quote=Mr. Abe is strongly supported by the far right wing of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which hews to tradition and tends toward insularity. |work=The New York Times |access-date=19 February 2020}}
|{{cite book|editor=Leonel Lim, Michael W. Apple |title=The Strong State and Curriculum Reform: Assessing the politics and possibilities of educational change in Asia |quote= ... Far right LDP legislators led by Prime Minister (PM) Shinzo ̄ Abe demanded the withdrawal of the 1993 Ko ̄no Statement and attacked the ...|date=2016 |page=167 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=9781317579236 }}
|{{cite book|editor=Alisa Gaunder |title=Routledge Handbook of Japanese Politics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gdwEocAa3nYC&q=japan+LDP+far+right&pg=PA225 |date=2011 |page=225 |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|isbn=9781136818387 }}
|{{cite book|editor=Michael W. Apple |title=Global Crises, Social Justice, and Education |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c7KLAgAAQBAJ&dq=far-right+%22Liberal+Democratic+Party%22+Japan&pg=PA62 |quote= Far-right politicians within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which achieved the half-century conservative political reign from 1955 to 1993, were nostalgic for the prewar elitist and imperial education system. |date=2009 |page=62 |publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=9781135172787 }}
|{{cite book|editor=Sarah Hyde |title=The Transformation of the Japanese Left: From Old Socialists to New Democrats |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cLSMAgAAQBAJ&dq=far-right+%22Liberal+Democratic+Party%22+Japan&pg=PR15 |quote= Ever since the 1950s, and except for a brief period in the early 1990s, the central ruling force has been the Liberal Democratic Party, a broad church of interests and opinions ranging from the political centre to the extreme right. |date=2009 |page=XY |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=9781135219758 }}
|{{cite book|editor=Adam Gamble, Takesato Watanabe |title=A Public Betrayed: An Inside Look at Japanese Media Atrocities and Their Warnings to the West |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gKUUuK0ym_oC&dq=far-right+%22Liberal+Democratic+Party%22+Japan&pg=PA255 |quote= Since then, and right up until today , Japanese apologists, strongly supported by far-right publishers such as Bungeishunju Ltd. and Shinchosha Ltd., and including many top-ruling Liberal Democratic Party ( LDP ) officials ... |date=2004 |page=255 |publisher=[[Regnery Publishing]] |isbn=9780895260468 }}
|{{cite book|editor=Adam Gamble, Takesato Watanabe |title=A Public Betrayed: An Inside Look at Japanese Media Atrocities and Their Warnings to the West |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gKUUuK0ym_oC&dq=far-right+%22Liberal+Democratic+Party%22+Japan&pg=PA255 |quote=  Since then , and right up until today , Japanese apologists , strongly supported by far – right publishers such as Bungeishunju Ltd. and Shinchosha Ltd. , and including many top – ruling Liberal Democratic Party ( LDP ) officials ... |date=2004 |page=255 |publisher=[[Regnery Publishing]]|isbn=9780895260468 }}
|{{cite book|editor=Trevor Harrison |title=21st century Japan: a new sun rising l Politics in Postwar Japan |date=2007 |quote=... of the war and viewed the 1947 Constitution as illegitimate as it was written not by the Japanese people but forced upon the country by the U.S. Occupation Authority. Abe shares these beliefs, in common with many within the LDP's far right. |page=82 |publisher=Black Rose Books}}
|{{cite book |editor=David E. Kaplan |editor2=Alec Dubro |title=Yakuza: Japan's Criminal Underworld |date=2003 |page=60 |publisher=University of California Press}}
|{{cite book|editor=J. A. A. Stockwin |title=Dictionary of the Modern Politics of Japan |date=2003 |page=88 |publisher=[[Routledge]]}}
|{{cite book |title=Searchlight, Issues 307–318 |date=2001 |page=31 |publisher=Searchlight}}
|{{cite book |title=New Statesman Society |date=1995 |page=11 |publisher=Statesman & Nation Publishing Company}}
|{{cite book|editor=David M. O'Brien, Yasuo goshi |title=To Dream of Dreams: Religious Freedom and Constitutional Politics in Postwar Japan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DA-qp0vEk38C&pg=PA63 |date=1996 |page=63 |publisher=University of Hawaii Press|isbn=9780824811662 }}
|{{cite book |title=Asia Pacific Business Travel Guide |date=1994 |page=173 |publisher=Priory Publications ([[Cornell University]])}}
|{{cite book |title=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |date=1983 |quote=... 12 Seirankai: an extreme-right faction formed within the LDP in July 1973; after Kim Dae Jung was abducted from ... |page=14 |publisher=[[Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists|Atomic Scientists of Chicago]]}}}}</ref> and [[Ultraconservatism|ultraconservative]]<ref>{{bulleted list
|{{cite web|title= Japan is having an election next month. Here's why it matters. |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2014/11/22/lifestyle/can-women-really-shine-abe/|quote= When Abe appointed five female ministers in September, two of which were forced to step down over scandals, a number of political commentators viewed the move with some cynicism, suggesting that the prime minister didn't pay much attention to the qualifications of the candidates. Most of the women he chose were ultra-conservatives such as Eriko Yamatani, minister in charge of the North Korea abductee issue.|date=22 November 2014 |access-date=8 July 2020 |publisher=[[The Japan Times]]}}
|{{cite web|title=Japan, led by less apologetic generation, stays tough in South Korea feud |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-southkorea-japan-labourers-history-an/japan-led-by-less-apologetic-generation-stays-tough-in-south-korea-feud-idUSKCN1UY1BA |quote= Electoral system changes and three years in opposition helped ultra-conservative lawmakers and lobby groups strengthen their clout in the LDP. |date=8 August 2019 |access-date=8 July 2020 |publisher=[[Reuters]]}}}}</ref> factions, including members belonging to the [[Ultranationalism|ultranationalist]] [[Nippon Kaigi]].}}
}}

The {{Nihongo|'''Liberal Democratic Party'''|自由民主党|Jiyū-Minshutō}}, frequently abbreviated to '''LDP''' or {{Nihongo|'''Jimintō'''|自民党|}}, is a major [[conservative]]<ref name="conservative">The Liberal Democratic Party is widely described as conservative:

* {{cite book |author1=Roger Blanpain |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WjFwStO4ONwC&pg=PA268 |title=The Global Labour Market: From Globalization to Flexicurity |author2=Michele Tiraboschi |author3=Pablo Arellano Ortiz |publisher=Kluwer Law International |year=2008 |isbn=978-90-411-2722-8 |page=268}}
* {{cite book |author=Jeff Kingston |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XqMuAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA19 |title=Japan in Transformation, 1945-2010 |publisher=Routledge |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-317-86192-8 |page=19}}
* {{cite book |author=Bradley Richardson |title=Political Parties and Democracy |publisher=JHU Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-8018-6863-4 |editor1=Larry Diamond |page=145 |chapter=Japan's "1955 System" and Beyond |editor2=Richard Gunther |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zZ2XT76eqMAC&pg=PA145}}
* {{cite book |author=Paul W. Zagorski |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=79DtWcx1oWMC&pg=PT111 |title=Comparative Politics: Continuity and Breakdown in the Contemporary World |publisher=Routledge |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-135-96979-0 |page=111}}
* {{cite book |author=Ray Christensen |url=https://archive.org/details/endingldphegemon0000chri |title=Ending the LDP Hegemony: Party Cooperation in Japan. |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-8248-2295-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/endingldphegemon0000chri/page/232 232] |url-access=registration}}</ref> and [[Japanese nationalism|nationalist]]<ref name="nationalist">Sources describing the LDP as nationalist:

* {{cite web |date=22 July 2015 |title=The Resurgence of Japanese Nationalism |url=http://www.theglobalist.com/japan-shinzo-abe-nationalism-germany/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819201418/http://www.theglobalist.com/japan-shinzo-abe-nationalism-germany/ |archive-date=19 August 2016 |access-date=11 July 2016}}
* {{cite web |date=6 August 2015 |title=As Hiroshima's legacy fades, Japan's postwar pacifism is fraying |url=https://theconversation.com/as-hiroshimas-legacy-fades-japans-postwar-pacifism-is-fraying-45521 |access-date=21 February 2020 |publisher=[[The Conversation (website)|The Conversation UK]] |quote=Even though much of the Japanese public does not agree with the LDP's nationalist platform, the party won big electoral victories by promising to replace the DPJ's weakness with strong leadership – particularly on the economy, but also in foreign affairs.}}
* {{cite web |date=22 June 2018 |title=Why Steve Bannon Admires Japan |url=https://thediplomat.com/2018/06/why-steve-bannon-admires-japan/ |work=[[The Diplomat (magazine)|The Diplomat]] |quote=In Japan, populist and extreme right-wing nationalism has found a home within the political establishment.}}
* {{cite web |date=15 May 2019 |title=Shinzo Abe and the rise of Japanese nationalism |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/world/asia/2019/05/shinzo-abe-and-rise-japanese-nationalism |access-date=21 February 2020 |publisher=[[New Statesman]] |quote=As a new emperor takes the throne, prime minister Abe is consolidating his ultranationalist "beautiful Japan" project. But can he overcome a falling population and stagnating economy?}}
* {{cite news |date=1 November 2021 |title=Japan's ruling conservatives have been returned to power, but amid voter frustration, challenges lurk for Kishida |url=https://theconversation.com/japans-ruling-conservatives-have-been-returned-to-power-but-amid-voter-frustration-challenges-lurk-for-kishida-170561 |access-date=26 November 2021 |work=[[The Conversation (website)|The Conversation]] |quote=Japan's ruling conservative nationalist Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) will remain comfortably in power under its new prime minister Fumio Kishida, after the weekend's national election.}}
* A Weiss (31 May 2018). Towards a Beautiful Japan: Right-Wing Religious Nationalism in Japan's LDP.</ref> [[List of political parties in Japan|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 (Japan, 1950)|Liberal Party]] and the [[Japan Democratic Party]], and was initially led by [[Prime Minister of Japan|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 [[Japanese economic miracle|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 between 1993 and 1994, and governing under a non-LDP prime minister from 1994 to 1996. The LDP regained stability during the premiership of [[Junichiro Koizumi]] in the 2000s before achieving its worst-ever electoral result in the [[2009 Japanese general election|2009 election]]. The party regained control of the government in a landslide victory at the [[2012 Japanese general election|2012 election]] under [[Shinzo Abe]]. After the [[2024 Japanese general election|2024]] and [[2022 Japanese House of Councillors election|2022]] elections the LDP currently holds 191 seats in the [[House of Representatives (Japan)|House of Representatives]] and 119 seats in the [[House of Councillors (Japan)|House of Councillors]]; the party has governed in coalition with [[Komeito]] since 1999. Since the [[2017 Japanese general election|2017 general election]], the [[Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan|Constitutional Democratic Party]] (CDP) has been its primary opponent in national politics.

The LDP is often described as a [[big tent]] [[Conservatism in Japan|conservative]] party, including factions that range from moderate conservatism to [[Japanese nationalism|right-wing nationalism]].<ref>{{bulleted  list|{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/south-korea-japan-cold-war/ |title=In a Major Shift, South Korea Defies Its Alliance With Japan |date=27 August 2019 |magazine=[[The Nation]] |access-date=19 February 2020|last1=Shorrock |first1=Tim }}|{{cite web|url=https://mansfieldfdn.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Expert_Voices-FINAL.pdf |title=Expert Voices on Japan: Security, Economic, Social, and Foreign Policy Recommendations|author=Arthur Alexander |work=[[Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation]]|date=June 2018}}|{{cite book|editor=Joy Hendry |title=Understanding Japanese Society |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7ROCAgAAQBAJ&q=ight-wing+party%2C+the+Liberal+Democratic+Party |date=2003 |pages=219–220 |publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=9781134502561 }}}}</ref> Although lacking a cohesive political ideology, the party's platform has historically supported increased defense spending and, since the 21st century, maintaining close relations with its [[Indo-Pacific]] allies to counter the rise of China as a superpower.<ref>{{cite news |last=Park |first=Ju-min |date=12 October 2021 |title=Japan's ruling party unveils manifesto with focus on coronavirus, defence |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japan-pm-kishida-approval-rating-49-nhk-poll-2021-10-12/ |access-date=25 December 2022 |newspaper=Reuters}}</ref> The party's history and internal composition has been characterized by intense [[Factions in the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)|factionalism]] among its members since its emergence in 1955. [[Shigeru Ishiba]], Japan's incumbent prime minister, has served as [[President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)|party president]] since 27 September 2024.

==History==
{{More citations needed section|date=July 2019}}

===Beginnings===
[[File:LDP launching conventin.jpg|thumb|Launching convention, 15 November 1955]]
The LDP was formed in 1955<ref>{{Cite web |title=Liberal-Democratic Party of Japan {{!}} political party, Japan |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Liberal-Democratic-Party-of-Japan |access-date=2021-11-02 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref> as a merger between two of Japan's political parties, the {{nihongo|[[Liberal Party (Japan, 1950)|Liberal Party]]|自由党|Jiyutō|1950–1955, led by [[Taketora Ogata]]}} and the {{nihongo|[[Democratic Party (Japan, 1954)|Japan Democratic Party]]|日本民主党|Nihon Minshutō|1954–1955, led by [[Ichirō Hatoyama]]}}, both conservative parties, as a united front against the then popular {{Nihongo|[[Japan Socialist Party]]|日本社会党|Nipponshakaitō}}, now the {{Nihongo|[[Social Democratic Party (Japan)|Social Democratic Party]]|社会民主党|Shakaiminshutō}}. The party won the following elections, and Japan's first conservative government with a majority was formed by 1955. It would hold majority government until 1993.<ref name="JAPAN'S TOP PARTY LOSES MAJORITY IN 1993 GENERAL ELECTION">{{cite news |last1=Top Party |first1=Japan's |date=19 July 1993 |title=Japan's top party loses majority in 1993 general election |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1993/07/19/japans-top-party-loses-its-majority/f187c141-b277-4fa2-9f87-9d206c949ce8/ |access-date=4 May 2022 |newspaper=The Washington Post |publisher=TR. Reid}}</ref>

The LDP began with reforming [[Foreign relations of Japan|Japan's international relations]], ranging from entry into the United Nations, to establishing diplomatic ties with the [[Soviet Union]]. Its leaders in the 1950s also made the LDP the main government party, and in all the elections of the 1950s, the LDP won the majority vote, with the only other opposition coming from [[left-wing politics]], made up of the Japan Socialist Party and the [[Japanese Communist Party]].

From the 1950s to the early 1970s, the United States [[Central Intelligence Agency]] spent millions of dollars to aid the LDP against leftist parties such as the Socialists and [[Japanese Communist Party|the Communists]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Weiner |first=Tim |date=9 October 1994 |title=C.I.A. Spent Millions to Support Japanese Right in 50's and 60's |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE2DA113DF93AA35753C1A962958260 |access-date=29 December 2007 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=18 July 2006 |title=Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Vol. XXIX, Part 2, Japan |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/frus/johnsonlb/xxix2 |access-date=29 December 2007 |publisher=[[United States Department of State]]}}</ref> although this was not revealed until the mid-1990s when it was exposed by ''[[The New York Times]]''.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Johnson, Chalmers |year=1995 |title=The 1955 System and the American Connection: A Bibliographic Introduction |url=http://www.jpri.org/publications/workingpapers/wp11.html |url-status=dead |journal=JPRI Working Paper No. 11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725191810/http://www.jpri.org/publications/workingpapers/wp11.html |archive-date=25 July 2020 |access-date=3 March 2016}}</ref> Details remain classified, while available documents show connections to prime ministers [[Nobusuke Kishi]] and [[Eisaku Satō]] from the [[Satō–Kishi–Abe family]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Weiner |first=Tim |date=1994-10-09 |title=C.I.A. Spent Millions to Support Japanese Right in 50's and 60's |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/09/world/cia-spent-millions-to-support-japanese-right-in-50-s-and-60-s.html |access-date=2024-05-08 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-05-17 |title=岸信介とCIAの密接な関係 自民党にも金の流れ？ |url=https://dot.asahi.com/articles/-/7525 |access-date=2024-05-08 |website=AERA dot. (アエラドット) |language=ja}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2006-07-20 |title=U.S. admits CIA gave LDP money in 1950s, 1960s |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2006/07/20/national/u-s-admits-cia-gave-ldp-money-in-1950s-1960s/ |access-date=2024-05-08 |website=The Japan Times |language=English}}</ref>

===1960s to 1990s===
For the majority of the 1960s, the LDP (and Japan) were led by [[Eisaku Satō]], beginning with the hosting of the [[1964 Summer Olympics]] in Tokyo, and ending in 1972 with Japanese neutrality in the [[Vietnam War]] and with the beginning of the [[Japanese asset price bubble]]. By the end of the 1970s, the LDP went into its decline, where even though it held the reins of government many scandals plagued the party, while the opposition (now joined with the [[Kōmeitō (1962–1998)]]) gained momentum.

In 1976, in the wake of the [[Lockheed bribery scandals]], a handful of younger LDP [[National Diet|Diet]] members broke away and established their own party, the [[New Liberal Club]] (Shin Jiyu Kurabu). A decade later, however, it was reabsorbed by the LDP.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Clark |first1=Gregory |last2=Tribune |first2=International Herald |date=1993-08-04 |title=Opinion {{!}} A New Japan Gets a Less Than Saintly Coalition |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/04/opinion/IHT-a-new-japan-gets-a-less-than-saintly-coalition.html |access-date=2024-05-08 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

By the late 1970s, the Japan Socialist Party, the Japanese Communist Party, and the Komeito along with the international community used major pressure to have Japan switch diplomatic ties from [[Taiwan|Taiwan (Republic of China)]] to the [[China|People's Republic of China]].

In 1983, the LDP was a founding member of the [[International Democracy Union]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=International Democrat Union, minutes of founding meeting, 1983 |url=http://www.idu.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Minutes-London-1983.pdf}}</ref>

[[File:Jimin Honbu at Tokyo in 2018.jpg|thumb|Liberal Democratic Hall Bldg., Headquarters of the LDP in Tokyo]]
The LDP managed to consistently win elections for over three decades, and the LDP's decades in power allowed it to establish a highly stable process of policy formation. This process would not have been possible if other parties had secured parliamentary majorities. LDP strength was based on an enduring, although not unchallenged, coalition of big business, small business, agriculture, professional groups, and other interests. [[Civil service of Japan|Elite bureaucrats]] collaborated closely with the party and interest groups in drafting and implementing policy. In a sense, the party's success was a result not of its internal strength but of its weakness. It lacked a strong, nationwide organization or consistent ideology with which to attract voters. Its leaders were rarely decisive, charismatic, or popular. But it functioned efficiently as a locus for matching interest group money and votes with bureaucratic power and expertise. This arrangement resulted in corruption, but the party could claim credit for helping to create economic growth and a stable, middle-class Japan. {{citation needed|date=January 2022}}

Despite winning the [[1986 Japanese general election|1986 general election]] by a landslide, by the end of 1980s, the LDP started to suffer setbacks in elections due to unpopular policies on trade liberalisation and tax, as well as a scandal involving their leader [[Sōsuke Uno]] and the [[Recruit scandal]]. The party lost its majority in the House of Councillors for the first time in 34 years in the [[1989 Japanese House of Councillors election|1989 election]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Smith |first=Charles |date=10 August 1989 |title=Life after harakiri |magazine=Far Eastern Economic Review |pages=15–17}}</ref>

===Out of power===
The LDP managed to hold on to power in [[1990 Japanese general election]] despite some losses. In June 1993, 10 members of the party's [[liberal-conservative]] faction split to form the [[New Party Sakigake]].<ref name="Hoover2019">{{cite book |author=William D. Hoover |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jyx1DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA268 |title=Historical Dictionary of Postwar Japan, Second Edition |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2019 |isbn=9781538111567 |editor=William D. Hoover |page=268}}</ref> The end of the postwar miracle economy, the [[Japanese asset price bubble]] and other reasons such as the [[recruit scandal]] led to the LDP losing its majority in [[1993 Japanese general election]] held in July of that year.

Seven opposition parties – including several formed by LDP dissidents – formed the [[Hosokawa Cabinet|Hosokawa government]] headed by [[Japan New Party]] leader and LDP dissident [[Morihiro Hosokawa]], who became the Prime Minister preceded by [[Kiichi Miyazawa]]. However, the LDP was still far and away the largest party in the House of Representatives, with well over 200 seats; no other individual party crossed the 80-seat mark. [[Yohei Kono]] became the president of the LDP preceded by [[Kiichi Miyazawa]], he was the first non-prime minister LDP leader as the leader of the opposition.

In 1994, the Japan Socialist Party and New Party Sakigake left the ruling coalition, joining the LDP in the opposition. The remaining members of the coalition tried to stay in power as the minority [[Hata Cabinet]] under the leadership of [[Tsutomu Hata]], but this failed when the LDP and the Socialists, bitter rivals for 40 years, formed a majority coalition. The [[Murayama Cabinet]] was dominated by the LDP, but it allowed Socialist [[Tomiichi Murayama]] to occupy the Prime Minister's chair until 1996 when the LDP's [[Ryutaro Hashimoto]] took over.

===1996–2009===
In the [[1996 Japanese general election|1996 election]], the LDP made some gains but was still 12 seats short of a majority. However, no other party could possibly form a government, and Hashimoto formed a solidly LDP minority government. Through a series of floor-crossings, the LDP regained its majority within a year.

The party was practically unopposed until 1998 when the opposition [[Democratic Party (Japan, 1998)|Democratic Party of Japan]] was formed. This marked the beginning of the opposing parties' gains in momentum, especially in the 2003 and 2004 Parliamentary Elections, that would not slow for another 12 years.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

In the dramatically paced [[2003 Japanese general election|2003 House of Representatives elections]], the LDP won 237 seats, while the [[Democratic Party (Japan, 1998)|DPJ]] won 177 seats. In the 2004 [[House of Councillors]] elections, in the seats up for grabs, the LDP won 49 seats and the DPJ 50, though in all seats (including those uncontested) the LDP still had a total of 114. Because of this electoral loss, former Secretary-General [[Shinzo Abe]] turned in his resignation, but Party President Koizumi merely demoted him in rank, and he was replaced by [[Tsutomu Takebe]].{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

On 10 November 2003, the [[New Conservative Party (Japan)|New Conservative Party]] (''Hoshu Shintō'') was absorbed into the LDP, a move which was largely because of the New Conservative Party's poor showing in the 2003 general election. The LDP formed a coalition with the conservative [[Buddhist]] [[New Komeito]] (party founded by [[Soka Gakkai]]) from [[Keizō Obuchi|Obuchi]] Second shuffle Cabinet (1999–2000).{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

After a victory in the [[2005 Japanese general election]], the LDP held an absolute majority in the Japanese [[House of Representatives of Japan|House of Representatives]] and formed a coalition government with the [[New Komeito Party]]. Shinzo Abe succeeded then-Prime Minister [[Junichirō Koizumi]] as [[2006 Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) presidential election|the president of the party on 20 September 2006]]. The party suffered a major defeat in the election of 2007, however, and lost its majority in the [[House of Councillors|upper house]] for the first time in its history.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

The LDP remained the largest party in both houses of the [[National Diet|Diet]], until 29 July 2007, when the LDP [[2007 Japanese House of Councillors election|lost its majority in the upper house]].<ref>{{cite news |author=Norimitsu Onishi |author2=Yasuko Kamiizumi |author3=Makiko Inoue |date=29 July 2007 |title=Premier's Party Suffers Big Defeat in Japan |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/29/world/asia/29cnd-japan.html?ex=1343361600&en=7b98d2dcaceb08e5&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss |access-date=29 July 2007 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>

In a [[2007 Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) presidential election|party leadership election]] held on 23 September 2007, the LDP elected [[Yasuo Fukuda]] as its president. Fukuda defeated [[Tarō Asō]] for the post, receiving 330 votes against 197 votes for Aso.<ref>{{cite news |last=Martig |first=Naomi |date=23 September 2007 |title=Japan's Ruling Party Chooses New Leader |url=http://voanews.com/english/2007-09-23-voa5.cfm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080820033055/http://voanews.com/english/2007-09-23-voa5.cfm |archive-date=20 August 2008 |publisher=VOA News}}</ref><ref>[http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070923dy01.htm "Fukuda wins LDP race / Will follow in footsteps of father as prime minister"]{{dead link|date=November 2016|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}, ''The Daily Yomiuri'', 23 September 2007.</ref> However Fukuda resigned suddenly in September 2008, and Asō became Prime Minister after [[2008 Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) leadership election|winning the presidency of the LDP in a five-way election]].

In the [[2009 Japanese general election|2009 general election]], the LDP was roundly defeated, winning only 118 seats—easily the worst defeat of a sitting government in modern Japanese history, and also the first real transfer of political power in the post-war era. Accepting responsibility for this severe defeat, Aso announced his resignation as LDP president on election night. [[Sadakazu Tanigaki]] was [[2009 Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) presidential election|elected leader of the party on 28 September 2009]],<ref>Sadakazu Tanigaki Elected LDP President {{cite web |title=China Plus |url=http://english.cri.cn/6966/2009/09/28/1781s519095.htm# |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310033921/http://english.cri.cn/6966/2009/09/28/1781s519095.htm |archive-date=10 March 2016 |access-date=3 March 2016}} Retrieved 6 October 2009.</ref> after a three-way race, becoming only the second LDP leader who was not simultaneously prime minister.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

===2009–present===
The party's support continued to decline, with prime ministers changing rapidly, and in the [[2009 Japanese general election|2009 House of Representatives elections]] the LDP lost its majority, winning only 118 seats, marking the only time they would be out of the majority other than a brief period in 1993.<ref name="BBC">{{cite news |date=30 August 2009 |title='Major win' for Japan opposition |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8229368.stm |access-date=31 August 2009 |work=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=31 August 2009 |script-title=ja:衆院党派別得票数・率（比例代表） |url=http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=pol_date1&k=2009083101337 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140220083756/http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=pol_date1&k=2009083101337 |archive-date=20 February 2014 |publisher=Jiji |language=ja}}</ref> Since that time, numerous party members have left to join other parties or form new ones, including {{Nihongo|[[Your Party]]|みんなの党|Minna no Tō}},{{citation needed|date=July 2010}} the {{Nihongo|[[Sunrise Party of Japan]]|たちあがれ日本|Tachiagare Nippon}}<ref>{{cite news |last=Martin |first=Alex |date=11 April 2010 |title=LDP defectors launch new political party |url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2010/04/11/national/ldp-defectors-launch-new-political-party/#.V_x67CQ3BnI |access-date=11 October 2016 |newspaper=The Japan Times}}</ref> and the {{Nihongo|[[New Renaissance Party]]|新党改革|Shintō Kaikaku}}.{{citation needed|date=July 2010}} The party had some success in the [[2010 Japanese House of Councillors election|2010 House of Councilors election]], netting 13 additional seats and denying the [[Democratic Party (Japan, 1998)|DPJ]] a majority.<ref>{{cite web |title=House of Councillors The National Diet of Japan |url=http://www.sangiin.go.jp/eng/index.htm |access-date=12 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |script-title=ja:参議院インターネット審議中継 |url=http://www.webtv.sangiin.go.jp/webtv/index.php |access-date=12 July 2015}}</ref> Abe became the president again in September 2012 after a five-way race. The LDP returned to power with its ally [[New Komeito]] after winning a clear majority in the [[2012 Japanese general election|lower house general election on 16 December 2012]] after just over three years in opposition. Shinzo Abe became Prime Minister for the second time preceded by [[Yoshihiko Noda]] who was the leader of the DPJ.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Japan Times |url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20121217x1.html}}</ref><ref name="Japan Election Returns Power to Old Guard">{{cite news |last1=Returns |first1=Japan Election |date=16 December 2012 |title=Japan's election results in return of power to old guard |work=NY Times |publisher=Martin Fackler}}</ref>

In July 2015, the party pushed for [[2015 Japanese military legislation|expanded military powers to fight in foreign conflict]] through Shinzo Abe and the support of [[Komeito]].<ref name="reference to NY times">{{Cite web |last=Soble |first=Jonathan |date=16 July 2015 |title=Japan Moves to Allow Military Combat for First Time in 70 Years |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/17/world/asia/japans-lower-house-passes-bills-giving-military-freer-hand-to-fight.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160814103212/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/17/world/asia/japans-lower-house-passes-bills-giving-military-freer-hand-to-fight.html?_r=0 |archive-date=14 August 2016 |via=NYTimes.com}}</ref>

[[Yoshihide Suga]] took over from [[Shinzo Abe]] in September 2020 after [[2020 Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) presidential election|a three-way race]]. After Suga declined to run for re-election, successor [[Fumio Kishida]] led the party to a victory in the [[2021 Japanese general election|October 2021 Japanese general election]] after [[2021 Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) leadership election|a four-way race]], defying expectations.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Murakami |first1=Sakura |last2=Park |first2=Ju-min |last3=Takenaka |first3=Kiyoshi |date=1 November 2021 |title=Japan's Kishida defies expectations as ruling LDP easily keeps majority |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japan-votes-test-new-pm-kishida-political-stability-2021-10-30/ |access-date=2021-11-01 |work=Reuters |language=en}}</ref> Despite support dropping in 2022 after the [[assassination of Shinzo Abe]] over connections between various party members and the Unification Church, the party had a good showing in the [[2023 Japanese unified local elections]], winning over half of the 2260 prefectural assembly seats being contested and six governorship positions.<ref name="Guardian">{{cite web |date=2018-01-31 |title=Japan ruling party triumphs in local elections despite criticism over links to Moonies &#124; Japan |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/10/japan-ruling-party-triumphs-in-local-election-despite-criticism-over-links-to-moonies |access-date=2023-04-10 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>

From 18 to 19 January 2024, following a [[2023–2024 Japanese slush fund scandal|scandal involving failure to report and misuse of ¥600&nbsp;million in campaign funds]] by members of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan's conservative [[Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyūkai]] and [[Shisuikai]] factions in violation of Japanese campaign finance and election law, three factions (Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyūkai, Shisuikai, in addition to PM Kishida's [[Kōchikai]]) all announced their intention to dissolve entirely in hopes of restoring public trust.<ref>{{Cite web |title=岸田派、政治団体を解散へ |url=https://news.yahoo.co.jp/pickup/6488687 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240121132916/https://news.yahoo.co.jp/pickup/6488687 |archive-date=21 January 2024 |access-date=2024-01-18 |website=Yahoo!ニュース |language=ja}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=岸田派、政治団体を解散へ |url=https://news.yahoo.co.jp/pickup/6488687 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240121132916/https://news.yahoo.co.jp/pickup/6488687 |archive-date=21 January 2024 |access-date=2024-01-18 |language=ja |newspaper=Yahoo!ニュース}}</ref> Several LDP lawmakers were indicted, including incumbent lawmakers [[Yasutada Ōno]] and [[Yaichi Tanigawa]], who both resigned from the party following their indictments.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 18, 2024 |title=Prosecutors indict several LDP faction members over funds scandal |url=https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2024/01/f4d6ea5b7d8f-update1-prosecutors-indict-several-ldp-faction-members-over-funds-scandal.html |newspaper=Kyodo News}}</ref>

In the [[2024 Japanese general election]], the governing LDP and its coalition partner [[New Komeito Party|Komeito]] lost their parliamentary majority in the lower house for the first time since [[2009 Japanese general election|2009]], with the LDP suffering its second-worst result in its history, securing only 191 seats. The [[Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan|Constitutional Democratic Party]] (CDP), the main opposition party led by former Prime Minister [[Yoshihiko Noda]], achieved its best result in its history, increasing its seat count from 96 to 148. This was the first general election in Japan since the [[1955 Japanese general election|1955 election]] wherein no party secured at least 200 seats.
The election outcome is largely attributed to a major slush fund scandal that emerged in November. Millions of yen raised at LDP faction events were illegally funneled into secret accounts, violating political financing laws. This scandal implicated 82 lawmakers from both parliamentary houses, including factions associated with former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and then-Prime Minister [[Fumio Kishida]]. The scandal, combined with low approval ratings and economic stagnation, led to Kishida's resignation in August. His successor, Prime Minister [[Shigeru Ishiba]], called for a snap election in September to bolster support. However, the LDP's attempts to distance itself from the scandal backfired when reports surfaced that the party continued to provide funds to chapters headed by implicated members. In response to the election results, the prime minister has committed to implementing fundamental reforms regarding money in politics. The LDP's coalition partner, [[Komeito]], also performed poorly, with its leader Keiichi Ishii losing his seat and subsequently announcing his resignation. This electoral setback is particularly significant for the LDP, which has held power almost continuously since 1955, highlighting the impact of the corruption scandal on public trust in the party.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.occrp.org/en/news/japans-ldp-takes-electoral-blow-after-corruption-scandals|title=Japan's LDP Takes Electoral Blow after Corruption Scandals|first=Jonathan|last=Cole|date=28 October 2024|website=Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project}}</ref>

==Ideology and political stance==
{{Liberal Democratic Party of Japan sidebar|all}}
{{Conservatism in Japan|Parties}}

The LDP is usually associated with conservatism,<ref name="conservative" /> [[Japanese nationalism]]<ref name="nationalist" /> and being on the [[Right-wing politics|political right]] of the [[political spectrum]].<ref name="Right-wing">{{bulleted  list|{{cite book |editor=Florian Coulmas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gua3EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA88 |title=Japanese Propriety, Past and Present: Disciplined Liberalism |quote=... in Japan's post-war political discourse often supporting leftist and socialist positions opposed to the ruling right-wing Liberal Democratic Party, which has always been favoured by Washington. |page=88 |date=2023 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=9781000885835 }}|{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/japan-right-wing-liberal-democratic-party-dominates-parliamentary-election-2022-7 |title=Japan's right-wing Liberal Democratic Party dominates parliamentary election |date=10 July 2022 |magazine=[[Business Insider]] |access-date=15 November 2022}}|{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/south-korea-japan-cold-war/ |title=In a Major Shift, South Korea Defies Its Alliance With Japan |date=27 August 2019 |magazine=[[The Nation]] |access-date=19 February 2020|last1=Shorrock |first1=Tim }}|{{cite book|editor=Akito Okada |title=Japan's School Curriculum for The 2020s: Politics, Policy, and Pedagogy |quote= In the case of Japan, the ideological basis of the right-wing LDP had almost no element of liberal (as in libertarian) thought, such as reliance on anti-nationalist liberalism and individualism, or vigilance against a centrally planned economy and welfare system. |date=2022 |page=14 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=9789811920769 }}|{{cite book |editor1=Arve Hansen |editor2=Jo Inge Bekkevold |editor3=Kristen Nordhaug |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gkwFEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA318 |title=The Socialist Market Economy in Asia: Development in China, Vietnam and Laos |quote=Japan's economic miracle was largely formed under the leadership of the conservative right-wing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), ... |page=318 |date=2020 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=9789811562488 }}|{{cite book|editor1=Lam Peng Er |editor2= Purnendra Jain |title=Japan's Foreign Policy in the Twenty-First Century: Continuity and Change |quote= The rising tide of hawkish nationalism and historical revisionism spearheaded by the right-wing LDP Prime Minister Abe Shinzo in recent decades seems to confirm the doubt. |date=2020 |page=96 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=9781498587969 }}|{{cite web|url=https://mansfieldfdn.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Expert_Voices-FINAL.pdf |title=Expert Voices on Japan: Security, Economic, Social, and Foreign Policy Recommendations|author=Arthur Alexander |work=[[Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation]]|date=June 2018}}|{{cite book |editor=Katsuyuki Hidaka |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3JM4DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT241 |title=Japanese Media at the Beginning of the 21st Century |quote=Criticism of the unreservedly right-wing Liberal Democratic Party administration led by Abe Shinzō nevertheless remains strong. Together with advocating for changes to the constitution, the Abe administration has succeeded in passing ... |publisher=Routledge |date=2016 |isbn=9781134988778 }}|{{cite book|editor=S. Carpenter |title=Japan's Nuclear Crisis: The Routes to Responsibility |quote= Kodama quashed all things he regarded as remotely communist and consistently supported the right-wing LDP. |date=2011 |page=113 |publisher=Springer |isbn=9780230363717 }}|{{cite book |editor=J. A. A. Stockwin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BpziAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA177 |title=Dictionary of the Modern Politics of Japan |quote= ... and joined the Young Storm Society (Seirankai) of right-wing liberal democratic party (LDP) parliamentarians, ... |page=177 |date=2003 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781136894886 }}|{{cite book|editor=Joy Hendry |title=Understanding Japanese Society |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7ROCAgAAQBAJ&q=ight-wing+party%2C+the+Liberal+Democratic+Party |date=2003 |pages=219–220 |publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=9781134502561 }}|{{cite book |editor=Ronald P. Dore |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=73Tovj1Ydg0C&pg=PA193 |title=British Factory Japanese Factory: The Origins of National Diversity in Industrial Relations, With a New Afterword |quote=For nearly two decades the right-wing Liberal-Democratic Party has domi-nated Japanese politics with nearly two-thirds of Diet seats. |date=1990 |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |isbn=9780520024953 }}}}</ref> The LDP has been described as a variety of disparate ideologies such as [[conservative-liberal]],<ref name="Kobayashi1976">{{cite book |author=Tetsuya Kobayashi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XBSoBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA68 |title=Society, Schools, and Progress in Japan |publisher=Elsevier Science |year=1976 |isbn=978-1483136226 |page=68}}</ref><ref name="liberalism">{{cite book |title=Japan Almanac |date=1975 |publisher=[[Mainichi Shimbun|Mainichi Newspapers]] |page=43 |quote=In the House of Representatives, the Liberal-Democratic Party, guided by conservative liberalism, is the No.1 party holding a total of 279 seats or 56.8 per cent of the House quorum of 491.}}</ref> [[liberal-conservative]],<ref name="Noman2010">{{cite book |author=Omar Noman |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p7eLAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT123 |title=Responsible Development: Vulnerable Democracies, Hunger and Inequality |publisher=Routledge |year=2010 |isbn=9781135180751 |page=123}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Karan |first=Pradyumna P. |title=Japan in the 21st century: environment, economy, and society |year=2005 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wS5kcRvShg8C&pg=PT259 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |isbn=978-0813137773}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Exa7XoW-1n8C&pg=PA211 |title=Historical Dictionary of Postwar Japan |publisher=Scarecrow Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-8108-7539-5 |editor=William D. Hoover |page=211}}</ref> [[social-conservative]],<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=beLDAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA95 |title=The Politics of Structural Reforms: Social and Industrial Policy Change in Italy and Japan |publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-85793-292-1 |editor1-last=Magara |editor1-first=Hideko |page=95 |access-date=22 November 2020 |editor2-last=Sacchi |editor2-first=Stefano}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6m_eCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA104 |title=Japan decides 2014: the Japanese general election |publisher=Springer |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-349-56437-8 |editor1-last=Pekkanen |editor1-first=Robert J. |pages=104, 106 |doi=10.1057/9781137552006 |access-date=22 November 2020 |editor2-last=Scheiner |editor2-first=Ethan |editor3-last=Reed |editor3-first=Steven R.}}</ref> [[ultranationalist]],<ref>{{cite web |date=16 July 2019 |title=Beautiful Harmony: Political Project Behind Japan's New Era Name – Analysis |url=https://www.eurasiareview.com/16072019-beautiful-harmony-political-project-behind-japans-new-era-name-analysis/ |work=eurasia review |quote=The shifting dynamics around the new era name (gengō 元号) offers an opportunity to understand how the domestic politics of the LDP's project of ultranationalism is shaping a new Japan and a new form of nationalism.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=22 June 2018 |title=Why Steve Bannon Admires Japan |url=https://thediplomat.com/2018/06/why-steve-bannon-admires-japan/ |work=[[The Diplomat (magazine)|The Diplomat]] |quote=In Japan, populist and extreme right-wing nationalism has found a home within the political establishment.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Japanese Monarchy: Ambassador Joseph Grew and the Making of the "Symbol Emperor System," 1931–1991 |date=2016 |publisher=M.E. Sharpe |isbn=9781563241093 |editor=Masanori Nakamura |page=1992 |quote=On July 31, a group of ultranationalist LDP Diet men, alarmed by Nakasone's diplomacy of "submission to foreign pressure" on issues like textbook revision and the Yasukuni Shrine problem, formed the "Association of Those Concerned ...}}</ref> and [[Ultraconservatism|ultraconservative]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dxaFDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA62 |title=Why Japan Can't Reform: Inside the System |date=2008 |publisher=[[Springer Science+Business Media|Springer]] |isbn=9780230595064 |editor=S. Carpenter |page=62 |quote=Despite ideological differences with the other main conservative party, the Liberal Party whose president was Prime Minister Yoshida Shigeru, the determined Kishi was able to form the ultraconservative Liberal Democratic Party.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HLfcDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT877 |title=Flamethrower: Iwo Jima Medal of Honor Recipient and U.S. Marine Woody Williams and His Controversial Award, Japan's Holocaust and the Pacific War |date=2020 |publisher=Fidelis Historia |isbn=9781734534115 |editor=Bryan Mark Rigg |quote=This is especially the case with politicians in his current ruling party, The Liberal Democratic Party (which is really ultraconservative, not liberal).}}</ref> The party though has not espoused a well-defined, unified ideology or [[political philosophy]], due to its long-term government, and has been described as a "[[Big tent|catch-all]]" party.<ref name="HookGilson20012">{{cite book |author1=Glenn D. Hook |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MHhE6AlgkIoC&pg=PA58 |title=Japan's International Relations: Politics, Economics and Security |author2=Julie Gilson |author3=Christopher W. Hughes |author4=Hugo Dobson |publisher=Routledge |year=2001 |isbn=978-1-134-32806-2 |page=58}}</ref>

The LDP members hold a variety of positions that could be broadly defined as being to the right of main opposition parties. Many of its ministers, including former Prime Ministers [[Fumio Kishida]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mark |first=Craig |date=29 September 2021 |title=Who is Fumio Kishida, Japan's new prime minister? |url=https://theconversation.com/who-is-fumio-kishida-japans-new-prime-minister-168472 |access-date=26 July 2022 |website=[[The Conversation (website)|The Conversation]]}}</ref> [[Yoshihide Suga]]<ref name="2014 reshuffle">"[http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2994558 Abe's reshuffle promotes right-wingers]" (Korea Joongang Daily – 2014/09/05)</ref> and [[Shinzo Abe]], are/were affiliated with the parliamentary league of [[Nippon Kaigi]], a [[Far-right politics|far-right]]<ref name=":0">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cssDEAAAQBAJ&q=Japanese+nationalist+Nippon+Kaigi&pg=PA242 |title=An Introduction to Japanese Society |date=2020 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=9781108724746 |editor=Yoshio Sugimoto |page=242 |quote=Parts of the Japanese establishment have ties with a large far-right voluntary organization, Nippon Kaigi (Japan Conference), whose ranks include grassroots members across the nation as well as national and local politicians...}}</ref> [[Ultraconservatism|ultraconservative]]<ref>{{bulleted list|{{cite web |title=Japan emperor greets at celebration hosted by conservatives |url=https://apnews.com/article/b9e0627cfdef445d9da335238c3ad1b1 |quote=Abe's key ultra-conservative supporter, Nippon Kaigi, or Japan Conference, was among the organizers Saturday. |website=[[AP News]]|access-date=24 February 2023|date=9 November 2019}}|{{cite web |title=Ultra-nationalist school linked to Japanese PM accused of hate speech |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/15/ultra-nationalist-school-moritomo-gakuen-linked-to-japanese-pm-shinzo-abe-accused-of-hate-speech |quote=Abe and Kagoike, who has indicated he will resign as principal, both belong to an ultra-conservative lobby group whose members include more than a dozen cabinet ministers. |website=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=15 March 2017|date=8 July 2020}}|{{cite web |title=Tokyo's new governor defies more than glass ceiling |url=https://www.dw.com/en/tokyos-new-governor-defies-more-than-glass-ceiling/a-19443490 |quote=In 2008, she made an unsuccessful run at the LDP's chairmanship. Following her defeat, she worked to build an internal party network and became involved in a revisionist group of lawmakers that serves as the mouthpiece of the ultraconservative Nippon Kaigi ("Japan Conference") movement. |website=[[Deutsche Welle]]|access-date=2 August 2016|date=8 July 2020}}}}</ref> lobby group. In Japanese politics, the convention is to classify the Liberal Democratic Party and the [[Japanese Communist Party]] as occupying the conservative and progressive ends of the ideological spectrum respectively. However, this classification has faced challenges, especially among younger generations, since the 1990s.<ref name="progressive">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BDelDAAAQBAJ&dq=progressive+%22Japanese+Communist+Party%22&pg=PA29 |title=EGenerational Gap in Japanese Politics: A Longitudinal Study of Political Attitudes and Behaviour |date=2016 |publisher=[[Springer Science+Business Media|Springer]] |isbn=9781137503428 |editor=Willy Jou, Masahisa Endo |page=29 |quote=Conventional wisdom, still dominant in media and academic circles, holds that the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Japanese Communist Party (JCP) occupy the conservative and progressive ends of the ideological spectrum, ...}}</ref>

The LDP has also been compared{{by whom|date=September 2024}} to the [[corporatism|corporatist]]-inspired model of conservative parties, such as the [[Christian Democratic Union of Germany]], in its relative openness towards [[economic interventionism]], [[mixed market]] coordination and [[public expenditure]], when compared to neoliberal orthodoxy.<ref name="Palier2022">{{cite book |author=Bruno Palier |title=The World Politics of Social Investment: Volume II The Politics of Varying Social Investment Strategies |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2022 |isbn=978-0-197-60145-7 |editor1=Bruno Palier |page=416 |chapter=How Democracies Change Their Welfare States |editor2=Julian L. Garritzmann |editor3=Silja Häusermann |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XnxrEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA416}}</ref>

=== History ===
In the case of the LDP administration under the [[1955 System]] in Japan, their degree of economic control was stronger than that of Western conservative governments; it was also positioned closer to [[social democracy]].<ref name="Yuhikaku">{{cite book |last1=Kume |first1=Ikuo |author-link1=:ja:久米郁男 |title=Political Science: Scope and Theory, revised ed. |last2=Kawade |first2=Yoshie |author-link2=:ja:川出良枝 |last3=Kojo |first3=Yoshiko |author-link3=:ja:古城佳子 |last4=Tanaka |first4=Aiji |author-link4=:ja:田中愛治 |last5=Mabuchi |first5=Masaru |author-link5=:ja:真渕勝 |publisher=[[Yuhikaku Publishing]] |year=2011 |isbn=978-4-641-05377-9 |series=New Liberal Arts Selection |page=26 |language=ja |quote={{lang|ja|ただし、日本の55年体制下の自民党政権の場合は欧米の保守政権に比べるとかなり経済的統制の度合いが強く、社会民主主義により近い場所に位置した。}}}}</ref> Since the 1970s, the oil crisis has slowed economic growth and increased the resistance of urban citizens to policies that favor farmers.<ref name="Iio">{{cite book |last1=Iio |first1=Jun |author-link1=:ja:飯尾潤 |title=Gendai nihon no seiji |publisher=[[:ja:放送大学教育振興会|Hōsō daigaku kyōiku shinkōkai]] |year=2019 |isbn=978-4-595-31946-4 |series=Hōsō daigaku kyōzai |page=104 |language=ja}}</ref> To maintain its dominant position, the LDP sought to expand party supporters by incorporating social security policies and pollution measures advocated by opposition parties.<ref name="Iio" /> It was also historically closely positioned to [[corporate statism]].<ref name="McNamara 1996 pp. 379–397">{{cite journal |last=McNamara |first=Dennis |year=1996 |title=Corporatism and Cooperation among Japanese Labor |journal=Comparative Politics |volume=28 |issue=4 |pages=379–397 |doi=10.2307/422050 |issn=0010-4159 |jstor=422050}}</ref><ref name="Index Page for applet-magic.com">{{cite web |title=The Physical and Institutional Reconstruction of Japan After World War II |url=http://www.applet-magic.com/japanrecov.htm |access-date=2021-10-26 |website=Index Page for applet-magic.com}}</ref>

=== 2021 manifesto ===
During the 2021 general election, the party released the LDP policy manifesto, titled "Create a new era together with you", which included support for policies such as:<ref>{{cite web |date=12 October 2021 |title=Japan's ruling party unveils manifesto with focus on coronavirus, defence |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japan-pm-kishida-approval-rating-49-nhk-poll-2021-10-12/ |access-date=13 October 2021 |work=[[Reuters]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author=Jimintō |date=2021 |title=Reiwa 3 Policy BANK |url=https://jimin.jp-east-2.storage.api.nifcloud.com/pdf/pamphlet/20211011_bank.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220422135550/https://jimin.jp-east-2.storage.api.nifcloud.com/pdf/pamphlet/20211011_bank.pdf |archive-date=22 April 2022 |access-date=16 April 2022 |language=ja}}</ref><ref name="japantimes.co.jp">{{cite web |date=29 October 2021 |title=Pre-election briefing: Here's where the parties stand on the issues |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/10/29/national/politics-diplomacy/lower-house-election-issues/ |access-date=29 October 2021 |work=[[Japan Times]]}}</ref>
* [[Redistribution of income and wealth|Wealth redistribution]] to revive the [[Economy of Japan|Japanese economy]] and empowering the middle class
* Tax breaks for corporations willing to raise wages
* Advance administrative reforms to facilitate digitalization{{Of what?|date=February 2025}}
* High investment in science and technology and increased funds for university research
* Secure robust supply chains for critical materials, such as rare earths
* Continued development of nuclear fusion power generation, and expansion of renewable energy to achieve [[carbon neutral]]ity by 2050
* Reaching UN 2030 [[Sustainable Development Goals]] targets
* Offer subsidies for enterprises if they move into new industries
* [[Vaccine passports during the COVID-19 pandemic|Electronic COVID-19 vaccine passport]]s
* Expanding support for small and medium businesses hit by the COVID-19 pandemic 
* [[Constitutional reform in Japan|Constitutional amendments]], including the [[proposed Japanese constitutional referendum]] to formalize the current existence of the [[Japan Self-Defense Forces]] in [[Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution|Article 9 of the Constitution]] and creating an emergency response clause
* Raising Japan's defense budget from the current 1% to "two percent or more" of gross domestic product (GDP) and enhancing Japan's defense capabilities
* Advance understanding of [[LGBT rights in Japan|LGBT rights]], although the party is not in favor of [[Recognition of same-sex unions in Japan|same-sex marriage]],<ref name="SSM">{{cite web |last1=Lies |first1=Elaine |last2=Pomfret |first2=James |title=More LGBTQ rights could help Asia financial hubs draw global talent |url=https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/society-equity/more-lgbtq-rights-could-help-asia-financial-hubs-draw-global-talent-2023-08-31/ |access-date=31 August 2023 |website=Reuters}}</ref> with 50% of its election candidates being "undecided" and those opposed largely outnumbering those in favor<ref name="asahi.com">{{cite web |date=21 October 2021 |title=Survey: LDP support rises for LGBT bill, dual surnames |url=https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14465374/ |access-date=16 April 2022 |work=[[Asahi Shimbun|Asahi]]}}</ref>
* Acceptance of foreign workers and improving management to cover labor shortages
* Support [[Taiwan]]'s bid to join the [[Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership|CPTPP]] agreement and [[World Health Organization|WHO]] observer status
* Promoting further nuclear disarmament and nuclear nonproliferation

==Factions==
{{Main|Factions in the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}Since the genesis of the Liberal Democratic Party in 1955, history and internal composition has been characterized by intense [[Factions in the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)|factionalism]] among its members since its emergence in 1955.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tsukamoto |first1=Takashi |year=2012 |title=Neoliberalization of the developmental state: Tokyo's bottom-up politics and state rescaling in Japan |journal=International Journal of Urban and Regional Research |volume=36 |issue=1 |pages=71–89 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-2427.2011.01057.x}}</ref><ref name="Johnston">{{cite news |last=Johnston |first=Eric |date=17 November 2021 |title=The state of play for the LDP's factions after October's Lower House election |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/11/17/national/politics-diplomacy/faction-breakdown-2021-election/ |access-date=6 December 2021 |newspaper=Japan Times}}</ref> Despite the change of factions, their history can be traced back to their 1955 roots, a testament to the stability and institutionalized nature of Liberal Democratic Party factions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=B.Jo |url=http://bjoinitiative.tistory.com/ |access-date=2017-12-23 |website=B.Jo}}</ref> The party's history and internal composition have been characterized by intense [[Factions in the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)|factionalism]] ever since its emergence in 1955, with its parliamentary members currently split among six factions, each of which vies for influence in the party and the government.<ref name="Johnston" />

All major factions that have existed in the history of the party can be categorised into the following two groups: the Conservative Mainstream (保守本流), which originated from [[Shigeru Yoshida]]'s [[Liberal Party (Japan, 1950)|Liberal Party]],<ref>保阪正康. (2017). 一語一会 私が出会った 「昭和の怪物」 娘・麻生和子が見た吉田茂の戦後史 (4) 保守本流の 「護憲の思想」 とは何か. ''サンデー毎日'', ''96''(48), 52-55.</ref> and the Conservative Substream (保守傍流), which traces its roots to [[Ichirō Hatoyama]]'s [[Japan Democratic Party]].<ref>吉田龍太郎. (2014). 保守合同後の政党政治と外交政策論争─ 対米自主外交論の内在的抑制と芦田均─. ''法政論叢'', ''51''(1), 17.</ref>

The Conservative Mainstream has traditionally been associated with moderate, welfarist, and centrist policies and has included the [[Kōchikai]] (historical members include [[Hayato Ikeda]], [[Masayoshi Ōhira]], [[Kiichi Miyazawa]], [[Fumio Kishida]], and [[Yoshimasa Hayashi]]), the {{Interlanguage link|Thursday Club (faction)|ja|木曜クラブ}} ([[Kakuei Tanaka]]), and the [[Heisei Kenkyūkai]] (formerly Keiseikai, with historical members include [[Noboru Takeshita]], [[Keizō Obuchi]], [[Ryutaro Hashimoto|Ryutarō Hashimoto]], and [[Toshimitsu Motegi]]). The only extant faction, [[Shikōkai]], is part of this group.<ref name=":1">福永文夫. (2005). 派閥構造から見た宏池会: 組織・人的構成・リクルートメント. ''獨協法学'', (67), 横-75.</ref>

The Conservative Substream, on the other hand, has typically included hard-line and nationalistic factions such as the [[Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyūkai]] ([[Takeo Fukuda]], [[Shintaro Abe|Shintarō Abe]], [[Junichiro Koizumi|Junichirō Koizumi]], and [[Shinzo Abe|Shinzō Abe]]) and the [[Shisuikai]] (formerly Seisaku Kagaku Kenkyūjo, associated with [[Yasuhiro Nakasone]], [[Bunmei Ibuki]], [[Shizuka Kamei]], and [[Toshihiro Nikai]]). A notable exception within this group was the [[Banchō Seisaku Kenkyūjo]] (founded by [[Takeo Miki]] and [[Kenzō Matsumura]]), which was known for its leftist and progressive policies.<ref name=":1" /><ref>依田博. (1985). 自民党派閥と内閣形成岸内閣から中曽根内閣まで. ''公共選択の研究'', ''1985''(6), 71-86.</ref>

In the aftermath of the slush fund scandal involving members of the Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyūkai and the Shisuikai, then-party president and prime minister Fumio Kishida decided to dissolve all factions in January 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-01-17 |title=派閥解散表明から1年、自民党内の力学どう変わった |url=https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOUA146IB0U5A110C2000000/ |access-date=2025-02-04 |website=日本経済新聞 |language=ja}}</ref> All factions, except for Shikōkai, led by former prime minister Tarō Asō, complied with this directive, making it the only extant faction.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=日本放送協会 |title=1からわかる政治資金事件 立件は自民党安倍派・二階派・岸田派 野党は「裏金議員」と追及 政治倫理審査会 政倫審は？ |url=https://www.nhk.or.jp/politics/articles/feature/104266.html |access-date=2025-02-04 |website=NHK政治マガジン |language=ja}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
!Name
!Ideology
!Leader
!Members
|-
|{{ublist
 | [[Shikōkai]]
 | 志公会
}}
|{{ublist
 | [[Conservatism in Japan|Conservatism]]
 | [[Big tent]]
}}
|[[Tarō Asō]]<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2021-11-25 |title=Former LDP heavyweights join hands to keep Kishida in check |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/11/25/national/politics-diplomacy/ldp-backbench-members/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220909202125/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/11/25/national/politics-diplomacy/ldp-backbench-members/ |archive-date=9 September 2022 |access-date=2022-09-09 |website=The Japan Times |language=en-US}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;" |56
|}

==Structure==
At the apex of the LDP's formal organization is the {{Nihongo|[[President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)|president]]|総裁|sōsai}}, who can serve three<ref>{{cite news |last=seokhwai@st |date=5 March 2017 |title=New rules give Japan's Shinzo Abe chance to lead until 2021 |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/new-rules-give-japans-abe-chance-to-lead-until-2021 |website=The Straits Times}}</ref> three-year terms. (The presidential term was increased from two years to three years in 2002 and from two to three terms in 2017). When the party has a parliamentary majority, the party president is the [[Prime Minister of Japan|prime minister]]. The choice of party president is formally that of a party convention composed of [[National Diet|Diet]] members and local LDP figures, but in most cases, they merely approved the joint decision of the most powerful party leaders. To make the system more democratic, Prime Minister [[Takeo Fukuda]] introduced a "primary" system in 1978, which opened the balloting to some 1.5&nbsp;million LDP members. The process was so costly and acrimonious, however, that it was subsequently abandoned in favor of the old "[[smoke-filled room]]" method—so-called in allusion to the notion of closed discussions held in small rooms filled with [[Tobacco smoking|tobacco smoke]].

After the party president, the most important LDP officials are the [[Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party|Secretary-General]] (''kanjicho''), the chairmen of the LDP Executive Council (''somukaicho''), and of the {{Nihongo|Policy Affairs Research Council or "PARC"|政務調査会|seimu chōsakai}}.

===Leadership===
{{main|President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}

As of 12 November 2024:<ref>{{cite web |date=12 November 2024 |title=執行部 |url=https://www.jimin.jp/member/officer/ |access-date=14 November 2024 |website=Jimin.jp |publisher=The Liberal Democratic Party of Japan |language=Japanese |quote=}}</ref>
{|class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! scope="col"|Position
! scope="col"|Name
! scope="col"|House
! scope="col"|Faction
|-
!|[[President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)|President]]
|[[Shigeru Ishiba]]
|Representatives
|None
|-
!|Senior Advisor
|[[Taro Aso]]
|Representatives
|[[Shikōkai]]
|-
!|[[Vice President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)|Vice President]]
|[[Yoshihide Suga]]
|Representatives
|None
|-
!|[[Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party|Secretary-General]]
|[[Hiroshi Moriyama]]
|Representatives
|None
|-
!|Chairperson, General Council
|[[Shunichi Suzuki (politician)|Shunichi Suzuki]]
|Representatives
|[[Shikōkai]]
|-
!|Chairperson, Policy Affairs Research Council
|[[Itsunori Onodera]]
|Representatives
|None
|-
!|Chairperson, Election Strategy Committee
|[[Seiji Kihara]]
|Representatives
|None
|-
!|Chairperson, Party Organization and Movement Headquarters
|[[Yuko Obuchi]]
|Representatives
|None
|-
!|Chairperson, Public Relations Headquarters
|[[Takuya Hirai]]
|Representatives
|None
|-
!|Chairperson, Diet Affairs Committee
|[[Tetsushi Sakamoto]]
|Representatives
|None
|-
!|Executive Deputy Secretary-General
|[[Tatsuo Fukuda]]
|Representatives
|None
|-
!|Chairperson, General Assembly of Party Members of the House of Councillors
|[[Keizo Takemi]]
|Councillors
|None
|-
!|Secretary-General for the LDP in the House of Councillors
|[[Masaji Matsuyama]]
|Councillors
|None
|}

==Membership==
The LDP had over 5.5&nbsp;million party members in 1991.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Umeda |first=Michio |date=March 2019 |title=The Liberal Democratic Party: Its adaptability and predominance in Japanese politics for 60 years |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2057891118783270 |journal=Asian Journal of Comparative Politics |language=en |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=8–22 |doi=10.1177/2057891118783270 |issn=2057-8911|url-access=subscription }}</ref> By December 2017, membership had dropped to approximately one million members.<ref name="jimin1">{{Cite web |date=2020-03-02 |title=自民党員7年ぶり減少 108万人、19年末時点 |url=https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXMZO56295950S0A300C2PP8000/ |access-date=2024-02-21 |website=日本経済新聞 |language=ja}}</ref> In 2023, the LDP had 1,091,075 members, a decrease of 33,688 from the year before.<ref>{{Cite news |date=12 March 2024 |title=自民党員が３万人減り１０９万人に 不記載事件で「不信招いた」 |trans-title=Number of LDP members falls by 30,000 to 1.09 million as non-disclosure scandal "causes distrust" |url=https://www.sankei.com/article/20240312-DIAPB6XIV5PSTJIHUNYHYEEVVM/ |access-date=28 October 2024 |work=[[Sankei Shimbun]]}}</ref>

==Performance in national elections until 1993==
{{See also|Elections in Japan}}
{{More citations needed section|date=November 2020}}

Election statistics show that, while the LDP had been able to secure a majority in the twelve House of Representatives elections from May 1958 to February 1990, with only three exceptions (December 1976, October 1979, and December 1983), its share of the popular vote had declined from a high of 57.8% in May 1958 to a low of 41.8% in December 1976, when voters expressed their disgust with the party's involvement in the [[Lockheed bribery scandals#Japan|Lockheed scandal]].{{citation needed|date=November 2020}} The LDP vote rose again between 1979 and 1990. Although the LDP won an unprecedented 300 seats in the July 1986 balloting, its share of the popular vote remained just under 50%. The figure was 46.2% in February 1990. Following the three occasions when the LDP found itself a handful of seats shy of a majority, it was obliged to form alliances with conservative independents and the breakaway New Liberal Club. In a cabinet appointment after the October 1983 balloting, a non-LDP minister, a member of the New Liberal Club, was appointed for the first time. On 18 July 1993, in lower house elections, the LDP fell so far short of a majority that it was unable to form a government.

In the upper house, the July 1989 election represented the first time that the LDP was forced into a minority position. In previous elections, it had either secured a majority on its own or recruited non-LDP conservatives to make up the difference of a few seats.

The political crisis of 1988–89 was testimony to both the party's strength and its weakness. In the wake of a succession of issues—the pushing of a highly unpopular [[Consumption tax|consumer tax]] through the Diet in late 1988, the [[Recruit scandal|Recruit insider trading scandal]], which tainted virtually all top LDP leaders and forced the resignation of Prime Minister [[Noboru Takeshita]] in April (a successor did not appear until June), the resignation in July of his successor, [[Sōsuke Uno]], because of a sex scandal, and the poor showing in the upper house election—the media provided the Japanese with a detailed and embarrassing dissection of the political system. By March 1989, popular support for the Takeshita cabinet as expressed in public opinion polls had fallen to 9%. Uno's scandal, covered in magazine interviews of a "kiss and tell" [[geisha]], aroused the fury of female voters.

Uno's successor, the eloquent if obscure [[Toshiki Kaifu]], was successful in repairing the party's battered image. By January 1990, talk of the waning of conservative power and a possible socialist government had given way to the realization that, like the Lockheed affair of the mid-1970s, the Recruit scandal did not signal a significant change in who ruled Japan. The February 1990 general election gave the LDP, including affiliated independents, a comfortable, if not spectacular, majority: 275 of 512 total representatives.

In October 1991, Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu failed to attain passage of a political reform bill and was rejected by the LDP, despite his popularity with the electorate. He was replaced as prime minister by [[Kiichi Miyazawa]], a long-time LDP stalwart. Defections from the LDP began in the spring of 1992, when [[Morihiro Hosokawa]] left the LDP to form the [[Japan New Party]]. Later, in the summer of 1993, when the Miyazawa government also failed to pass political reform legislation, thirty-nine LDP members joined the opposition in a no-confidence vote. In the ensuing lower house election, more than fifty LDP members formed the [[Shinseitō]] and the [[New Party Sakigake|Sakigake]] parties, denying the LDP the majority needed to form a government.

==Election results==
===Legislative results===
====House of Representatives====
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
|+ [[House of Representatives (Japan)|House of Representatives]]
|-
! rowspan=2 | Election
! rowspan=2 | Leader
! rowspan=2 | No. of<br/>candidates
! colspan=3 | Seats
! rowspan=2 | Position
! colspan=2 | Constituency votes
! colspan=2 | PR Block votes
! rowspan=2 | Status
|-
! No.
! ±
! Share
! No.
! Share
! No.
! Share
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[1958 Japanese general election|1958]]
| [[Nobusuke Kishi]]
| 413
| {{Composition bar|289|467|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| bgcolor="lightgrey"|
| 61.8%
| 1st
| 22,976,846	
| 57.80%
| colspan=2 bgcolor="lightgrey"| 
| {{yes2|Government}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[1960 Japanese general election|1960]]
| rowspan="2" | [[Hayato Ikeda]]
| 399
| {{Composition bar|296|467|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{increase}} 11
| 64.2%
| {{steady}} 1st
| 22,740,272
| 57.56%
| colspan=2 bgcolor="lightgrey"|
| {{yes2|Government}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[1963 Japanese general election|1963]]
| 359
| {{Composition bar|283|467|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 17
| 60.5%
| {{steady}} 1st
| 22,423,915
| 54.67%
| colspan=2 bgcolor="lightgrey"|
| {{yes2|Government}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[1967 Japanese general election|1967]]
| rowspan="2" | [[Eisaku Satō]]
| 342
| {{Composition bar|277|486|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 6
| 56.9%
| {{steady}} 1st
| 22,447,838
| 48.80%
| colspan=2 bgcolor="lightgrey"|
| {{yes2|Government}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[1969 Japanese general election|1969]]
| 328
| {{Composition bar|288|486|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{increase}} 11
| 59.2%
| {{steady}} 1st
| 22,381,570
| 47.63%
| colspan=2 bgcolor="lightgrey"|
| {{yes2|Government}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[1972 Japanese general election|1972]]
| [[Tanaka Kakuei|Kakuei Tanaka]]
|339
| {{Composition bar|271|491|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 17
| 55.1%
| {{steady}} 1st
| 24,563,199
| 46.85%
| colspan=2 bgcolor="lightgrey"|
| {{yes2|Government}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[1976 Japanese general election|1976]]
| [[Takeo Miki]]
| 320
| {{Composition bar|249|511|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 22
| 48.7%
| {{steady}} 1st
| 23,653,626
| 41.78%
| colspan=2 bgcolor="lightgrey"|
| {{yes2|Government}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[1979 Japanese general election|1979]]
| rowspan="2" | [[Masayoshi Ōhira]]
| 322
| {{Composition bar|248|511|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 1
| 48.5%
| {{steady}} 1st
| 24,084,131
| 44.59%
| colspan=2 bgcolor="lightgrey"|
| {{yes2|Government}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[1980 Japanese general election|1980]]
| 310
| {{Composition bar|284|511|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{increase}} 36
| 55.5%
| {{steady}} 1st
| 28,262,442
| 47.88% 
| colspan=2 bgcolor="lightgrey"|
| {{yes2|Government}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[1983 Japanese general election|1983]]
| rowspan="2" | [[Yasuhiro Nakasone]]
| 339
| {{Composition bar|250|511|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 34
| 48.9%
| {{steady}} 1st
| 25,982,785
| 45.76%
| colspan=2 bgcolor="lightgrey"|
| {{yes2|LDP-[[New Liberal Club|NLC]] coalition}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[1986 Japanese general election|1986]]
| 322
| {{Composition bar|300|512|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{increase}} 50
| 58.5%
| {{steady}} 1st
| 29,875,501
| 49.42%
| colspan=2 bgcolor="lightgrey"|
| {{yes2|Government}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[1990 Japanese general election|1990]]
| [[Toshiki Kaifu]]
| 338
| {{Composition bar|275|512|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 25
| 53.7%
| {{steady}} 1st
| 30,315,417
| 46.14%
| colspan=2 bgcolor="lightgrey"|
| {{yes2|Government}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! rowspan=2| [[1993 Japanese general election|1993]]
| rowspan=2| [[Kiichi Miyazawa]]
| rowspan=2| 285
| rowspan=2| {{Composition bar|223|511|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| rowspan=2| {{decrease}} 52
| rowspan=2| 43.6%
| rowspan=2| {{steady}} 1st
| rowspan=2| 22,999,646
| rowspan=2| 36.62%
| colspan=2 rowspan=2 bgcolor="lightgrey"|
| {{no2|Opposition<br />(until 1994)}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
| {{yes2|LDP-[[Japanese Socialist Party|JSP]]-[[New Party Sakigake|NPS]] coalition<br />(since 1994)}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[1996 Japanese general election|1996]]
| [[Ryutaro Hashimoto]]
| 355
| {{Composition bar|239|500|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{increase}} 16
| 47.8%
| {{steady}} 1st
| 21,836,096
| 38.63%
| 18,205,955
| 32.76%
| {{yes2|LDP-[[Social Democratic Party (Japan)|SDP]]-[[New Party Sakigake|NPS]] coalition}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[2000 Japanese general election|2000]]
| [[Yoshirō Mori]]
| 337
| {{Composition bar|233|480|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 6
| 48.5%
| {{steady}} 1st
| 24,945,806
| 40.97%
| 16,943,425
| 28.31%
| {{yes2|LDP-[[Komeito]]-[[New Conservative Party (Japan)|NCP]] coalition}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[2003 Japanese general election|2003]]
| rowspan="2" | [[Junichiro Koizumi]]
| 336
| {{Composition bar|237|480|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{increase}} 4
| 49.3%
| {{steady}} 1st
| 26,089,326
| 43.85%
| 20,660,185
| 34.96%
| {{yes2|LDP-Komeito coalition}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[2005 Japanese general election|2005]]
| 346
| {{Composition bar|296|480|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{increase}} 59
| 61.6%
| {{steady}} 1st
| 32,518,389
| 47.80%
| 25,887,798
| 38.20%
| {{yes2|LDP-Komeito coalition}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[2009 Japanese general election|2009]]
| [[Tarō Asō]]
| 326
| {{Composition bar|119|480|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 177
| 24.7%
| {{decrease}} 2nd
| 27,301,982
| 38.68%
| 18,810,217
| 26.73%
| {{no2|Opposition}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[2012 Japanese general election|2012]]
| rowspan="3" |[[Shinzo Abe]]
| 337
| {{Composition bar|294|480|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{increase}} 175
| 61.2%
| {{increase}} 1st
| 25,643,309
| 43.01%
| 16,624,457
| 27.79%
| {{yes2|LDP-Komeito coalition}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[2014 Japanese general election|2014]]
| 352
| {{Composition bar|291|475|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 3
| 61.2%
| {{steady}} 1st
| 25,461,427
| 48.10%
| 17,658,916
| 33.11%
| {{yes2|LDP-Komeito coalition}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[2017 Japanese general election|2017]]
| 332
| {{Composition bar|284|465|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 7
| 61.0%
| {{steady}} 1st
| 26,719,032	
| 48.21%
| 18,555,717
| 33.28%
| {{yes2|LDP-Komeito coalition}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[2021 Japanese general election|2021]]
| [[Fumio Kishida]]
| 338
| {{Composition bar|259|465|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 25
| 55.7%
| {{steady}} 1st
| 27,626,235
| 48.08%
| 19,914,883
| 34.66%
| {{yes2|LDP-Komeito coalition}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[2024 Japanese general election|2024]]
| [[Shigeru Ishiba]]
| 342
| {{Composition bar|191|465|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 68 
| 41.1%
| {{steady}} 1st
| 20,867,762
| 38.46%
|14,582,690
| 26.73%
| {{partial|LDP-Komeito minority coalition}}
|}

====House of Councillors====
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|+ [[House of Councillors]]
|-
! rowspan=2 | Election
! rowspan=2 | Leader
! colspan=2 | Seats
! colspan=2 | Nationwide{{Efn|From 1947 to 1980, 50 members were elected through a nationwide constituency, known as the "national block" ([[Plurality-at-large voting]]). It was replaced in 1983 by a [[Japanese House of Councillors national proportional representation block|proportional representation block]] with closed lists. In 2001, the PR block was reduced to 48 members with [[open list#Most open|most open lists]].}}
! colspan=2 | Prefecture
! rowspan=2 | Status
|-
! Total{{Efn|The Upper house is split in two classes, one elected every three years.}}
! Contested
! Number
! %
! Number
! %
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[1956 Japanese House of Councillors election|1956]]
| [[Ichirō Hatoyama]]
| {{Composition bar|122|250|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{Composition bar|61|125|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| 11,356,874
| 39.7%
| 14,353,960
| 48.4%
| {{partial|Governing minority}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[1959 Japanese House of Councillors election|1959]]
| [[Nobusuke Kishi]]
| {{Composition bar|132|250|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{Composition bar|71|125|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| 12,120,598
| 41.2%
| 15,667,022
| 52.0%
| {{yes2|Governing majority}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[1962 Japanese House of Councillors election|1962]]
| [[Hayato Ikeda]]
| {{Composition bar|142|250|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{Composition bar|69|125|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| 16,581,637
| 46.4%
| 17,112,986
| 47.1%
| {{yes2|Governing majority}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[1965 Japanese House of Councillors election|1965]]
| rowspan="3" | [[Eisaku Satō]]
| {{Composition bar|140|251|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{Composition bar|71|125|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| 17,583,490
| 47.2%
| 16,651,284
| 44.2%
| {{yes2|Governing majority}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[1968 Japanese House of Councillors election|1968]]
| {{Composition bar|137|250|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{Composition bar|69|125|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| 20,120,089
| 46.7%
| 19,405,546
| 44.9%
| {{yes2|Governing majority}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[1971 Japanese House of Councillors election|1971]]
| {{Composition bar|131|249|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{Composition bar|62|125|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| 17,759,395
| 44.5%
| 17,727,263
| 44.0%
| {{yes2|Governing majority}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[1974 Japanese House of Councillors election|1974]]
| [[Kakuei Tanaka]]
| {{Composition bar|126|250|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{Composition bar|62|125|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| 23,332,773
| 44.3%
| 21,132,372
| 39.5%
| {{yes2|Governing majority}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[1977 Japanese House of Councillors election|1977]]
| [[Takeo Fukuda]]
| {{Composition bar|125|249|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{Composition bar|63|125|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| 18,160,061
| 35.8%
| 20,440,157
| 39.5%
| {{partial|Governing minority}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[1980 Japanese House of Councillors election|1980]]
| [[Masayoshi Ōhira]]
| {{Composition bar|135|250|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{Composition bar|69|125|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| 23,778,190
| 43.3%
| 24,533,083
| 42.5%
| {{yes2|Governing majority}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[1983 Japanese House of Councillors election|1983]]
| rowspan="2" |[[Yasuhiro Nakasone]]
| {{Composition bar|137|252|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{Composition bar|68|126|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| 16,441,437
| 35.3%
| 19,975,034
| 43.2%
| {{yes2|Governing majority}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[1986 Japanese House of Councillors election|1986]]
| {{Composition bar|143|252|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{Composition bar|72|126|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| 22,132,573
| 38.58%
| 26,111,258
| 45.07%
| {{yes2|Governing majority}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[1989 Japanese House of Councillors election|1989]]
| [[Sōsuke Uno]]
| {{Composition bar|109|252|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{Composition bar|36|126|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| 15,343,455
| 27.32%
| 17,466,406
| 30.70%
| {{partial|Governing minority}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! rowspan="3"| [[1992 Japanese House of Councillors election|1992]]
| rowspan="3"| [[Kiichi Miyazawa]]
| rowspan="3"| {{Composition bar|106|252|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| rowspan="3"| {{Composition bar|68|126|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| rowspan="3"| 14,961,199
| rowspan="3"| 33.29%
| rowspan="3"| 20,528,293
| rowspan="3"| 45.23%
| {{partial|Governing minority<br />(until 1993)}}
|-
| {{no2|Minority<br />(1993–1994)}}
|-
| {{yes2|LDP-[[Japanese Socialist Party|JSP]]-[[New Party Sakigake|NPS]] governing majority<br />(since 1994)}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[1995 Japanese House of Councillors election|1995]]
| [[Yōhei Kōno]]
| {{Composition bar|111|252|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{Composition bar|46|126|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| 10,557,547
| 25.40%
| 11,096,972
| 27.29%
| {{yes2|LDP-JSP-NPS governing majority}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! rowspan="2"| [[1998 Japanese House of Councillors election|1998]]
| rowspan="2"| [[Ryutaro Hashimoto]]
| rowspan="2"| {{Composition bar|102|252|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| rowspan="2"| {{Composition bar|44|126|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| rowspan="2"| 14,128,719
| rowspan="2"| 25.17%
| rowspan="2"| 17,033,851
| rowspan="2"| 30.45%
| {{yes2|LDP–([[Liberal Party (Japan, 1998)|Lib.]]–[[Komeito]]) governing majority<br />(until 2000)}}
|-
| {{yes2|LDP–Komeito–[[New Conservative Party (Japan)|NCP]] governing majority<br />(since 2000)}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! rowspan="2"| [[2001 Japanese House of Councillors election|2001]]
| rowspan="3" |[[Junichiro Koizumi]]
| rowspan="2"| {{Composition bar|111|247|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| rowspan="2"| {{Composition bar|64|121|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| rowspan="2"| 21,114,727
| rowspan="2"| 38.57%
| rowspan="2"| 22,299,825
| rowspan="2"| 41.04%
| {{yes2|LDP–Komeito–NCP governing majority<br />(until 2003)}}
|-
| {{yes2|LDP–Komeito governing majority<br />(since 2003)}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[2004 Japanese House of Councillors election|2004]]
| {{Composition bar|115|242|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{Composition bar|49|121|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| 16,797,686
| 30.03%
| 19,687,954
| 35.08%
| {{yes2|LDP–Komeito governing majority}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! rowspan="2"| [[2007 Japanese House of Councillors election|2007]]
| rowspan="2"| [[Shinzo Abe]]
| rowspan="2"| {{Composition bar|83|242|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| rowspan="2"| {{Composition bar|37|121|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| rowspan="2"| 16,544,696
| rowspan="2"| 28.1%
| rowspan="2"| 18,606,193
| rowspan="2"| 31.35%
| {{partial|LDP–Komeito governing minority<br />(until 2009)}}
|-
| {{no2|Minority<br />(since 2009)}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! rowspan="2"| [[2010 Japanese House of Councillors election|2010]]
| rowspan="2"| [[Sadakazu Tanigaki]]
| rowspan="2"| {{Composition bar|84|242|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| rowspan="2"| {{Composition bar|51|121|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| rowspan="2"| 14,071,671
| rowspan="2"| 24.07%
| rowspan="2"| 19,496,083
| rowspan="2"| 33.38%
| {{no2|Minority<br />(until 2012)}}
|-
| {{partial|LDP–Komeito governing minority<br />(since 2012)}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[2013 Japanese House of Councillors election|2013]]
| rowspan="3" |[[Shinzo Abe]]
| {{Composition bar|115|242|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{Composition bar|65|121|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| 18,460,404
| 34.7%
| 22,681,192
| 42.7%
| {{yes2|LDP–Komeito governing majority}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[2016 Japanese House of Councillors election|2016]]
| {{Composition bar|121|242|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{Composition bar|56|121|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| 20,114,833
| 35.9%
| 22,590,793
| 39.9%
| {{yes2|LDP–Komeito governing majority}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[2019 Japanese House of Councillors election|2019]]
| {{Composition bar|113|245|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{Composition bar|57|124|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
|17,712,373
|35.37%
|20,030,330
|39.77%
| {{yes2|LDP–Komeito governing majority}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! [[2022 Japanese House of Councillors election|2022]]
| [[Fumio Kishida]]
| {{Composition bar|119|248|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| {{Composition bar|63|125|{{party color|Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}}}
| 18,256,245
| 34.43%
| 20,603,298
| 38.74%
| {{yes2|LDP–Komeito governing majority}}
|}

==Logos==
<gallery>
Liberal Democratic Party of Japan logo.svg|Liberal Democratic Party's logo (before 2017)
Liberal Democratic Party of Japan (Red).svg|Liberal Democratic Party's red variant logo (since 2017)
</gallery>

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group=n}}
{{notelist}}

==References==
*{{Country study}}
*[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/jptoc.html Japan Country Studies – Library of Congress]
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |last=Helms |first=Ludger |title=Parliamentary Opposition in Old and New Democracies |publisher=Routledge Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-31797-031-6}}
* {{cite book |last=Henderson |first=Jeffrey |title=East Asian Transformation: On the Political Economy of Dynamism, Governance and Crisis |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-13684-113-2}}
* Köllner, Patrick. "The Liberal Democratic Party at 50: Sources of Dominance and Changes in the Koizumi Era", ''Social Science Japan Journal'' (Oct 2006) 9#2 pp 243–257.
* Krauss, Ellis S., and Robert J. Pekkanen. "The Rise and Fall of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party", ''Journal of Asian Studies'' (2010) 69#1 pp 5–15, focuses on the 2009 election.
* Krauss, Ellis S., and Robert J. Pekkanen, eds. ''The Rise and Fall of Japan's LDP: Political Party Organizations as Historical Institutions'' (Cornell University Press; 2010) 344 pages; essays by scholars
* Scheiner, Ethan. ''Democracy without Competition in Japan: Opposition Failure in a One-Party Dominant State'' (Cambridge University Press, 2006)

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Liberal Democratic Party of Japan}}
*[http://www.jimin.jp/english/ The official website of the LDP (Liberal Democratic Party)] {{in lang|en}}

{{portal|Japan|Conservatism
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{{Liberal Democratic Party of Japan}}
{{Japan political parties}}
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