Liberal Party 自由党 | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Itagaki Taisuke |
| Founded | August 1890 |
| Dissolved | June 1898 |
| Succeeded by | Kenseitō |
| Ideology | Liberalism[1] Minarchism[2] |
TheLiberal Party (Japanese:自由党,Jiyūtō) was a political party inJapan.
The party was established in August 1890 by 130 members of theHouse of Representatives who had beenelected in July, and was initially named theRikken Jiyūtō (立憲自由党, "Constitutional Liberal Party").[3] It was a merger of theAikoku Kōtō,Daidō Club andDaidō Kyōwakai, together with several local parties.[4] Initially led byItagaki Taisuke, who had founded theoriginal Liberal Party in 1881, it was renamed the "Liberal Party" in March 1891.[3] It lost several Representatives in May 1891 whenŌi Kentarō's Kantō faction broke away to form theEastern Liberal Party. Despite being the largest party, it was not involved in the government, and in 1891 joined forces withRikken Kaishintō to oppose attempts to increase land taxation.[3]
In the1892 elections it was reduced to 94 seats, and lost a further 14 Representatives in December 1893 when a breakaway caused by the impeachment of party leaderHoshi Tōro for corruption led to the formation of theDōshi Club.[5][3] Although it won 120 seats in theMarch 1894 elections overall gaining 36 seats, theearly elections were held in September that year, saw the party reduced to 107 seats. In April 1896 it joinedItō Hirobumi's government and Liberal leaderItagaki Taisuke was appointed Minister of Home Affairs.
After losing another two seats in theMarch 1898 elections, the party merged withShimpotō in June 1898 to form theKenseitō.[3]
| Election | Leader | Seats | +/- | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1890 | Itagaki Taisuke | 130 / 300 | new | Governing coalition |
| 1892 | 94 / 300 |  36 | Governing coalition | |
| March 1894 | 120 / 300 |  26 | Governing coalition | |
| September 1894 | 107 / 300 | 13 | Opposition | |
| March 1898 | 105 / 300 | 2 | Governing coalition |
