'Liberal Party' ('自由党' ''JiyÅ«tÅ'') is the name of five different
political parties in different time periods in
Japan.
They are:
★
Liberal Party of Japan (1881), founded by
Itagaki Taisuke in October
1881. The party stood for popular rights and espoused the philosophy of
Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The main objective of the party in the beginning was the establishment of a constitution. The party was an offspring of the ''
Aikokusha''.
★ Liberal Party, founded in
1890, which became the
Liberal Constitution Party later that year
★ Liberal Party, formed from the LCP in
1891, merged with the
ShinpotÅ into the
KenseitÅ in
1898
★ Liberal Party, founded by
IchirÅ Hatoyama in
1945. In
1946,
Yoshida Shigeru formed the first Liberal cabinet after Hatoyama purged. From
1948 to
1950, the Liberal Party merged with a part of the
Japan Democratic Party to form the
Democratic Liberal Party. Then, in
1955, it merged with the Democratic Party again to form the
Liberal Democratic Party.
★
Liberal Party (1998), founded in
1998 from the remnants of the
Shinshinto. It merged with the
Democratic Party of Japan in
2003.