Political Parties in Japan

The major political parties in Japan are the Liberal Democratic party, the New Frontier Party, the Social Democratic Party, the Komei, the New Party Sakigake and the Japan Communist Party. Among them, the Liberal Democratic Party and the New Frontier Party are conservative, the Komei and the Sakigake Party are middle-of-the-road, and the Social Democratic and the Japan Communist Party are liberal. And there are other, smaller parties as well.

The Liberal Democratic Party used to be the most powerful. Since 1955 when it was formed, it dominated the legislature, which they call the Diet. But in the early '90s, with the issue of domestic political corruption and the end of the Cold War, certain political reforms took place. The Liberal Democratic Party, while still powerful, hasn't been able to resume its former role. The New Frontier Party is the dominant reformist party. Because no one party is strong enough to form a government, a series of coalition governments has been the recent trend.

The political reforms aren't finished yet. But so far, they are working. For example, they now have new election systems to make the voting fairer and new election laws to restrict political contributions.