The was a political party in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

History

The party was established on 16 November 1945 by a group of 273 MPs, of whom 89 had been

Rikken Minseitō was one of the main political parties in pre-war Empire of Japan. It was commonly known as the ''Minseitō''. History The ''Minseitō'' was founded on 1 June 1927, by a merger of the '' Kenseikai'' and the ''Seiyu Hontō'' political parties. ...

members and 46 from

Rikken Seiyūkai The was one of the main political party, political parties in the pre-war Empire of Japan. It was also known simply as the ''Seiyūkai''. Founded on September 15, 1900, by Itō Hirobumi,David S. Spencer, "Some Thoughts on the Political Devel ...

; many had been elected with the backing of the

Imperial Rule Assistance Association The , or Imperial Aid Association, was the Empire of Japan's ruling political organization during much of the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. It was created by Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe on 12 October 1940, to promote the goals ...

in the 1942 general elections.Haruhiro Fukui (1985) ''Political parties of Asia and the Pacific'', Greenwood Press, pp522–524 Machida Chūji was appointed party president after the post was turned down by

Keizo Shibusawa Viscount was a Japanese businessman, central banker, philanthropist and folklorist. He was the 16th governor of the Bank of Japan (BOJ). Early life Shibusawa was born in Tokyo. He was the grandson of Shibusawa Eiichi.Tamaki, Norio. (1995). ...

. Due to it high proportion of members involved in wartime politics, it was the most affected party in the post-war purge, with 238 MPs and all but one its central committee members barred from politics. In the 1946 general elections the party won 110 seats, becoming the second-largest party in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

. It was given four ministerial positions in the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

government led by

Shigeru Yoshida was a Japanese diplomat and politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1946 to 1947 and again from 1948 to 1954, serving through most of the country's occupation after World War II. Yoshida played a major role in determining the cour ...

, including

Kijūrō Shidehara Baron was a Japanese diplomat and politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1945 to 1946. He was a leading proponent of pacifism in Japan before and after World War II. Born to a wealthy Osaka family, Shidehara studied law at Tok ...

, who was selected as the party's new leader following the elections. Talks later in the year with the Cooperative Democratic Party about a merger failed, as did efforts in February 1947 to negotiate a merger with the Liberal Party, although a few Liberal MPs led by

Hitoshi Ashida was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan in 1948. He was a prominent figure in the immediate postwar political landscape, but was forced to resign his leadership responsibilities after a corruption scandal (Shōwa Denkō J ...

subsequently joined the JPP, together with a group from the

National Cooperative Party The was a centrist political party in Japan. History The party was established on 8 March 1947 as a merger of the Cooperative Democratic Party and the National Party following seven months of talks.Haruhiro Fukui (1985) ''Political parties of ...

. At the end of March the decision was taken to dissolved the JPP and form the Democratic Party.

Election results

House of Representatives

References

{{Japanese political parties Defunct political parties in Japan Political parties established in 1945 1945 establishments in Japan Political parties disestablished in 1947 1947 disestablishments in Japan