Constitutional Democratic Party Of Japan

The is a liberal political party in Japan. It is the primary centre-left party in Japan, and as of 2024 is the second largest party in the National Diet behind the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

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

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

History

Formation and 2017 election

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

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

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

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

2020 merger and refoundation

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ideology and platform

The CDP has been described as liberal and social-liberal, and in favour of constitutionalism. The party has also been described as centre-left, progressive, and left-wing populist. Following its enlargement in 2020, the party has variously been described as liberal, centre-right, centrist, or centre-left.
Within the CDP, as with its predecessor the Democratic Party of Japan, there are conservative politicians, as well as politicians from social-democratic backgrounds.

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

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

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

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

Policies

The following policies are set forth under the title "Enrich your life with a change of government: Seven promises of the Constitutional Democratic Party." For the following policies, please refer to the "2024 Government Policies List and Policy Collection 2024" on the Constitutional Democratic Party's official website. For details on government policies, including detailed policy items, please refer to the PDF version. Also see Basic Policies and Constitutional Democratic Party Policy Collection 2024.

Political Reform

* Make political funds completely transparent and do not tolerate slush funds or tax evasion
* Prohibit corporate and group donations, abolish policy activity expenses, and revise the Political Funds Control Law again to put an end to money-driven corrupt politics
* Limit the hereditary succession of political funds for Diet members, diversify the pool of politicians, and reflect public opinion in politics
* Make the use of tax money completely transparent and efficient
* Prevent scandals involving "politics and money" Investigate the truth and thoroughly pursue the responsibility of those involved
* Proceed with clarifying and disclosing the use of the old correspondence expenses ( research, public relations, and accommodation expenses)
* Introduce a quota system to achieve parity (an equal number of men and women in parliament)
* Introduce internet voting and lower the age of eligibility to run
* Reexamine the civil service system, including the Cabinet Personnel Bureau, to ensure there is no favoritism
* Thoroughly reduce wasteful spending of tax money, such as arbitrary use of reserve funds

Price and economic measures

*Set the minimum wage at 1,500 yen or more and raise the bottom line of workers' wages by passing on appropriate prices, etc.
*Support wage increases through thorough "investment in people" such as reskilling and recurrent education
*Implement fundamental reforms to contract and temporary workers so that those who wish can work as regular employees
*Focus on investing in green, life, local, and digital (GLLD), which will be the pillars of growth
*Encourage cutting-edge industries such as semiconductors and generative artificial intelligence to locate domestically, and encourage companies to
* Boldly support the digitalization and greening of the world.
* Strengthen support for Japan's world-class arts, traditional culture, and content industries.
* Aim to achieve carbon neutrality and 100% renewable energy as soon as possible to fulfill our responsibility to the future of the climate crisis.
* Limit temporary workers to jobs that truly demonstrate the worker's expertise, and contract workers to temporary employment, etc.
* Eliminate unreasonable discrimination such as the wage gap between men and women by realizing equal pay for equal work.

Foreign Affairs and Security

* We will be committed to an exclusively defensive defense policy, pursue stable foreign and security policies based on the Japan-US alliance, and resolutely protect our people and our homeland.
* We will enact the Basic Law on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), strengthen our efforts to address global issues such as climate change, poverty, and global health, and strongly pursue human rights diplomacy.
* We will carefully examine the sharply increased military expenditures and defense budget, and will not increase taxes on defense.
* We will promote dialogue and diplomacy, security cooperation and exchanges with countries that share basic values, and advance solidarity.
* We will integrate military power in new domains (cyberspace, outer space, etc.). Strengthen defense capabilities and improve fighting capabilities
*Improve the treatment of SDF personnel and work to secure personnel
*Establish effective economic security policies, such as strengthening the supply chain, ensuring superiority in cutting-edge technology, and strengthening infrastructure security
*Respect the will of the people of Okinawa, halt construction on the Henoko relocation site, where issues such as soft ground have been identified, and ask the United States of America to renegotiate the status of bases in Okinawa and the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement
*There is no time to waste in resolving the issue of Japanese abductions by North Korea, and make every effort to rescue all abductees

Social Security

*Current paper health insurance cards will continue to be used until certain conditions, such as the elimination of public anxiety, are met
*Improve the working conditions of those working in childcare, nursing care, and disability welfare, etc., one after another
*Establish a system to pay a fixed amount on top of the pensions of low-income elderly people
*Establish a "Japanese version of the family doctor system" to realize a welfare state with "100 years of health"
*Improve the quality and quantity of nursing care services to eliminate people leaving their jobs to care for their loved ones
*Promptly review the reduction in basic remuneration for home care
*Introduce an "employment support benefit system" to fill the " 1.3 million yen barrier" with benefits, etc.
*Further expand coverage so that more part-time workers can join the Employees' Pension Insurance

Childcare and education

*Make school lunches free for public elementary and junior high schools
*Make tuition fees free for national and public universities, and implement an equivalent reduction in the burden for private universities and vocational schools
*Provide child allowances of 15,000 yen per month and 180,000 yen per year for all children up to age 18
*Improve the working conditions of elementary and junior high school teachers, correct long working hours, and promote smaller classes
*Promote free preschool education and childcare, including for children aged 0 to 2
*Abolish income restrictions on high school tuition fees, making them completely free
*Support those who want to study by expanding public vocational training for re-learning and establishing a vacation system.
*Support repayment of loan-type scholarships by deducting the repayment amount from income, expanding the repayment exemption system, and exempting interest.
*Radically expand Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research and University Operating Expenses to promote the development of research personnel based on stable employment.
*Enhance the budget for basic research so that it can be carried out widely and continuously, not just in areas where short-term results are expected.

Regional revitalization

*Introduce a mechanism to encourage public interest investment ("impact investment") by companies and investors toward a sustainable society
*Increase the autonomy of local governments by restoring lump-sum grants, etc., and create vibrant regions
*In order to ensure food security, upgrade the Farmers' Individual Income Compensation System and establish a new direct payment system focusing on farmland
*Utilize digital technology, etc. to revitalize regions with medical care, nursing care, transportation, infrastructure, agriculture, tourism, and energy resources
*In response to the extreme decline in the farming population, Support the regeneration and revitalization of local communities, including mountainous areas, by creating a system that makes it easier for city workers to switch to agriculture and creating a strong flow of people from cities to rural areas.
* To accelerate the return to rural areas, implement migration measures that are tailored to the younger generation, working generation, and elderly.
* Promote pre-disaster prevention measures such as earthquake resistance, river improvement, forest conservation, and maintenance and renewal of aging infrastructure, and an inclusive disaster prevention system that leaves no one behind.
* Accelerate the recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake and Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident, focusing on the regeneration of livelihoods and communities, and working closely with victims and affected areas.

Coexistence Society

*Realize a selective separate surnames for married couples system at an early date
*Steadily promote gender equality, which allows people to fully demonstrate their individuality and abilities regardless of gender
*Realize a legal system that allows same-sex marriage
*Work to create systems and infrastructure that take into account the needs of people with disabilities so that they can live independently in their communities with peace of mind, regardless of the type and degree of disability, age, or gender
*Aim to eliminate all discrimination, such as gender, buraku, ethnicity, disability, and nationality
*Realize a multicultural coexistence society in which citizens and foreign residents respect and support each other
*Prohibit all harassment, including sexual harassment, power harassment, maternity harassment, and patahara
*Aim to create a society in which no one is driven to suicide. In particular, strengthen suicide prevention measures for children.

Other

Here are excerpts from the "Major Policy Items" of the PDF version of the Government Policy 2024 that mainly relate to important policies.

Finance and Taxation

*Aim for fiscal soundness in the medium to long term by reforming both expenditures and revenues, such as securing financial resources through tax reform to correct disparities, allocating budgets in response to changes in administrative needs, appropriate execution, and increasing tax revenues through strengthening growth potential.
*The Bank of Japan's price stability target will be changed from "2%" to "above 0%", and the government and the Bank of Japan will set a joint goal of "increasing real wages".
*Regarding income tax, in order to revive a "thick middle class", the progressive tax rate will be strengthened, taking into full consideration concerns such as a decline in motivation to work and the outflow of human resources overseas. In light of the rise in nominal wages, necessary measures will be taken, such as raising minimum taxable income.
*For financial income tax, we will keep the separate taxation system for the time being and introduce an excess progressive tax rate, and in the medium to long term we will introduce a comprehensive tax system.
*For corporate tax, we will reform the tax system so that corporations are required to pay a proportionate share according to their profits. We will make the corporate tax rate reduction (15%) for small and medium-sized enterprises the standard.
*To address the regressive nature of consumption tax, instead of the reduced tax rate system, we will introduce a tax credit with benefit (consumption tax refund system) that will tax credit with benefit a portion of the consumption tax paid by low- and middle-income earners, and provide a payment for the amount that cannot be deducted.
*The invoice system will be abolished immediately.
*With regard to trigger clauses for fuel tax, etc., we will temporarily lift the freeze for the necessary period, taking into consideration the financial resources for reconstruction, so that they can be reliably activated when crude oil prices rise. The national government will compensate for the loss of local tax revenues (local gasoline tax, diesel collection tax) that will result from the activation of the law.

Foreign Affairs and Security

On 20 December 2022, the Constitutional Democratic Party released a document titled "Directions for Foreign Affairs and Security Strategy," which outlines the party's systematic foreign and security policies. Please also refer to this document.

*Regarding the current Security Legislation, based on constitutionalism and the pacifism of the Constitution, necessary measures will be taken, such as abolishing unconstitutional parts, and a peaceful and realistic national security based on exclusively defensive defense will be established building diplomatic and security policies
*We will adhere to the three non-nuclear principles. As the only country to have suffered atomic bombings during war, we will work toward the abolition of nuclear weapons through such means as observer participation in the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
*NATO-style nuclear sharing is not realistic, either in terms of capabilities or in light of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and will not be accepted. We will deepen Japan-U.S. Extended Deterrence Consultations.
*There is no doubt, historically or under international law, that the Senkaku Islands are an inherent part of our country's territory, and Japan currently has effective control over them. There are no territorial issues surrounding the islands that need to be resolved, and we will continue to maintain and manage them peacefully and stably. We will resolutely respond to any attempts to change the status quo by force.
*As for the Northern Territories, which are our country's inherent territory, we will continue to seek negotiations with Russia based on the various agreements between Japan and Russia to date and the principles of law and justice, in order to resolve the issue of the attribution of the four islands and conclude a peace treaty.
*As for the issue of Takeshima, which is our country's inherent territory, we will persistently seek a peaceful resolution in accordance with international law.
*The peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait is closely related to the peace and stability of our country, and it is of utmost importance that the cross-strait issue be resolved peacefully. To that end, we will advance diplomatic efforts, security cooperation in peacetime, constant surveillance of the areas surrounding our country, information gathering, and high-level information exchange.

Social Security

*Create a new rent subsidy system to ensure peace of mind in housing
*Review the upper limit of social insurance contributions and ask the wealthy to pay their fair share

Work Style

*Enact the Basic Labor Law (tentative name) and make "direct employment without fixed term" the basic principle of employment
*Aim to enact the "Basic Law for Supporting the Ice Age Generation"

Energy

*Strongly promote climate crisis countermeasures, aiming for 50% of electricity generation from renewable energy by 2030 and 100% by 2050, and aim to achieve carbon neutral without relying on fossil fuels or nuclear power generation as soon as possible by 2050
*No new construction of nuclear power plants will be permitted. Establish a system to carry out decommissioning work under national control.
*Develop an effective evacuation plan, and do not allow the restart of nuclear power plants without local consent

Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

*Shift from the "neoliberal agricultural policy" led by the Prime Minister's Office that the LDP administration has implemented, and promote regional policies rooted in the unique characteristics of the agriculture, forestry and fisheries industries and the history of our country's rural agricultural, mountain and fishing communities in conjunction with business stabilization measures

Constitution and Imperial Succession

On 19 November 2020, the Constitutional Democratic Party also compiled a stance paper on constitutional reform titled "Guidelines for constitutional debate," which can also be found here.
*We will advance "constitutional debate" based on the basic principles of the current constitution and constitutionalism. We will actively engage in discussions that will limit state power and contribute to expanding the rights of the people.
*We will deepen the discussion on restrictions on the dissolution of the House of Representatives by the Cabinet, specifying the deadline for convening an extraordinary Diet session, strengthening each House's right to investigate national affairs, the government's obligation to disclose information, and strengthening local autonomy.
*The LDP proposal to leave the current Article 9 of the Constitution intact and specify the Self-Defense Forces will come into play, as the basic principle of legal interpretation that later laws take precedence over earlier laws will come into play, and Article 9, paragraph 2, which stipulates that military forces will not be possessed and the right to wage war will lose its legal binding force, and it could become possible to exercise even the full-scale right of collective self-defense, which will nullify pacifism and we oppose it.
*In order to ensure the fairness and impartiality of the national referendum and to create an environment in which the public can make decisions based on accurate information, we will regulate advertising broadcasts, paid internet advertising, campaign funds, donations from foreigners, etc., and will also regulate the national investment. Amend the National Referendum Law to include measures to ensure the proper use of the Internet for voting.
*In the event of an emergency that occurs when the House of Representatives is dissolved or the term of office expires and there are no members of the House of Representatives, Article 54, Clause 2 of the Constitution of Japan provides that an emergency session of the House of Councillors can substitute for the functions of the Diet. In addition, individual laws have been established to deal with emergencies, such as the Basic Disaster Countermeasures Act, so there is no need to include new emergency clauses in the Constitution, including the extension of the term of office of members of parliament.
*To ensure stable succession to the Imperial Throne and the creation of a female Imperial family, hold discussions to carefully, rather than hastily, reach a consensus among the people based on the "summary of issues" of the Constitutional Democratic Party's "Committee on Stable Imperial Succession."

Leadership

As of 24 September 2024.

List of the Leaders

Election results

House of Representatives

House of Councillors

See also

*Liberalism in Japan
* List of liberal parties
* Japan Socialist Party, the main opposition party in the " 1955 System" against the LDP until the 1990s.
** Right Socialist Party of Japan
** Japan New Party
*Democratic Party of Japan
* List of major liberal parties considered centre-left

Notes

References

External links

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{{Authority control

2017 establishments in Japan
Anti-nuclear organizations
Centre-left parties in Asia
Centrist parties in Japan
LGBTQ political advocacy groups in Japan
Liberal parties in Japan
Political parties established in 2017
Political parties in Japan
Social liberal parties