Kōmeitō (1962–1998)

Kōmeitō

公明党
Kōmeitō 公明党
Founder	Daisaku Ikeda
Founded	May 11, 1964
Dissolved	November 7, 1998
Preceded by	Clean Government League
Succeeded by	Komeito
Ideology	Buddhist democracy; Anti-communism;
Political position	Centre-left to centre-right
Religion	Buddhism (Soka Gakkai)
Colours	Orange (official); Yellow (customary);
	Politics of Japan; Political parties; Elections;

The Kōmeitō (Japanese: 公明党), also known as the Kōmei Party and Clean Government Party (CGP), was a political party in Japan, initiated by Daisaku Ikeda, and described by various authors as the "political arm" of Soka Gakkai.^[9]

Kōmeitō was considered a centre^[10] to centre-left political party of the progressive camp until the 1990s.^[11] However, since the 1990s, Kōmeitō has become politically closer to the right-wing LDP and has become a centre to centre-right conservative party.

History

The party was established in January 1962 as the Kōmei Seiji Renmei (Clean Government League) by the Sōka Gakkai, an organization that promoted Nichiren Buddhism. Running as independents, three members of the Sōka Gakkai had been elected to the House of Councillors in the 1956 elections, with the 1959 elections seeing nine members elected. It also had several members elected to local assemblies.

In 1957, a group of Young Men's Division members campaigning for a Gakkai candidate in an Osaka House of Councillors by-election were arrested for distributing money, cigarettes, and caramels at supporters' residences, in violation of elections law, and on July 3 of that year, at the beginning of an event memorialized as the "Osaka Incident," Daisaku Ikeda was arrested in Osaka. He was taken into custody in his capacity as Sōka Gakkai's Youth Division Chief of Staff for overseeing activities that constituted violations of elections law. He spent two weeks in jail and appeared in court forty-eight times before he was cleared of all charges in January 1962.^[12]

Amongst its policies, the new party supported the 1947 constitution and opposed nuclear weapons. Headed by Harashima Kōji. In the July 1962 elections the new party won nine seats in the House of Councillors.^[13]

On 17 November 1964 the party was renamed Kōmeitō.^[13] In 1968, fourteen of its members were convicted of forging absentee ballots in Shinjuku, and eight were sentenced to prison for electoral fraud. In the 1960s it was widely criticized for violating the separation of church and state, and in February 1970 all three major Japanese newspapers printed editorials demanding that the party reorganize. It eventually broke apart based on promises to segregate from Soka Gakkai.^[14]^[15]^[16]

In 1969, the Kōmeitō became the third political party in Japan.^{[clarification needed]}

In the 1980s Akahata discovered that many Soka Gakkai members were rewarding acquaintances with presents in return for Komeito votes, and that Okinawa residents had changed their addresses to elect Komeito politicians.^[17] It was also revealed that while the party was technically separate from the Soka Gakkai, monetary donations made that were tax exempt were being funneled into funding for the Kōmeitō party as revealed by an expelled Kōmeitō member of the Tokyo municipal assembly.^[18]

It was usually supportive of the Japan Socialist Party, and opposed the LDP (Liberal Democratic Party), the major ruling party at that time.

Kōmeitō did quite well, and in 1993, when the LDP was for the first time declared an opposition party, the Kōmeitō became one of the ruling parties, headed by the liberal Japan New Party, but which also included the Democratic Socialist Party, Japan Renewal Party, the New Party Sakigake, and the Japan Socialist Party. In 1994, the latter two parties left the coalition, and in July they took over the rule, making another coalition with the LDP. The Kōmeitō was again thrown into opposition.

On December 5, 1994, The Kōmeitō split into two parties. The Lower House chairs and some of Upper House chairs formed Kōmeitō New Party, and five days later, they joined into the New Frontier Party. The others, i.e. local assembly members and the rest of the Upper House chairs, formed Kōmei and independent friend of the New Frontier Party.

In 1998, however, the New Frontier Party dissolved, and former Kōmeitō members formed New Peace Party and Reform Club. They merged with Kōmei in the same year and then became known as the NKP (New Kōmeitō Party). The NKP adopted a more conservative agenda than the former Kōmeitō and in 1999 they supported the ruling party, the LDP.^[19]

Leaders

No.	Name (Birth–death)	Constituency / title	Term of office		Prime Minister (term)		Status
No.	Name (Birth–death)	Constituency / title	Took office	Left office	Prime Minister (term)		Status
1	Kōji Harashima (1909–1964)	Cllr for national district	17 November 1964	9 December 1964		Satō (1964–72)	Opposition
2	Takehisa Tsuji (1918–2012)	Cllr for national district	9 December 1964	13 February 1967
3	Yoshikatsu Takeiri (1926–2023)	Rep for Tokyo 10th	13 February 1967	5 December 1986
						Tanaka K. (1972–74)
						Miki (1974–76)
						Fukuda T. (1976–78)
						Ōhira (1978–80)
						Ito M. (1980) (acting)
						Suzuki Z. (1980–82)
						Nakasone (1982–87)
4	Junya Yano (b. 1932)	Rep for Ōsaka 4th	5 December 1986	21 May 1989		Nakasone (1982–87)
4	Junya Yano (b. 1932)	Rep for Ōsaka 4th	5 December 1986	21 May 1989		Takeshita (1987–89)
5	Kōshirō Ishida (1930–2006)	Rep for Aichi 6th	21 May 1989	5 December 1994		Takeshita (1987–89)
						Uno (1989)
						Kaifu (1989–91)
						Miyazawa (1991–93)
						Hosokawa (1993–94)	Governing coalition
						Hata (1994)	Governing coalition
						Murayama (1994–96)	Opposition

Election results

House of Representatives

House of Representatives
Election	Leader	No. of candidates	Seats			Position	Constituency votes		PR Block votes		Status
Election	Leader	No. of candidates	No.	±	Share	Position	No.	Share	No.	Share	Status
1967	Takehisa Tsuji	32	25 / 486		5.1%	4th	2,472,371	5.4%			Opposition
1969	Yoshikatsu Takeiri	76	47 / 486	22	9.6%	3rd	5,124,666	10.9%			Opposition
1972		59	29 / 491	18	5.9%	4th	4,436,755	8.5%			Opposition
1976		84	55 / 511	26	10.7%	3rd	6,177,300	10.9%			Opposition
1979		64	57 / 511	2	11.1%	3rd	5,282,682	9.78%			Opposition
1980		64	33 / 511	24	6.4%	3rd	5,329,942	9.03%			Opposition
1983		59	58 / 511	25	11.3%	3rd	5,745,751	10.12%			Opposition
1986		61	56 / 512	2	10.9%	3rd	5,701,277	9.43%			Opposition
1990	Kōshirō Ishida	58	45 / 512	11	8.7%	3rd	5,242,675	7.98%			Opposition
1993		54	51 / 511	6	9.9%	4th	5,114,351	8.14%			Governing coalition (until 1994)

House of Councillors

House of Councillors
Election	Leader	Seats		Nationwide (PR votes since 1983)		Prefecture		Status
Election	Leader	Total^[a]	Contested	Number	%	Number	%	Status
1965	Yoshikatsu Takeiri	20 / 251	11 / 125	5,097,682	13.7%	1,910,975	5.1%	Minority
1968		24 / 250	7 / 125	6,656, 771	15.5%	2,632,528	6.1%	Minority
1971		22 / 249	10 / 125	5,626,293	14.1%	1,391,855	3.5%	Minority
1974		24 / 250	14 / 125	6,360,419	12.1%	6,732,937	12.6%	Minority
1977		25 / 249	14 / 125	7,174,459	14.2%	3,206,719	6.1%	Minority
1980		26 / 250	12 / 125	6,669,387	11.9%	2,817,379	4.9%	Minority
1983		27 / 252	14 / 126	7,314,465	15.7%	3,615,995	7.8%	Minority
1986		24 / 252	10 / 126	7,438,501	12.97%	2,549,037	4.40%	Minority
1989	Kōshirō Ishida	21 / 252	11 / 126	6,097,971	10.86%	2,900,947	5.10%	Minority
1992		24 / 252	14 / 126	6,415,503	14.27%	3,550,060	7.82%	Minority (until 1993)
								Governing minority (1993–1994)
								Minority (1994)

Notes

^ The Upper house is split in two classes, one elected every three years.

References

^ ^a ^b Li, Jooinn (1970). "Komeito: Sokagakkai-Ism in Japanese Politics". Asian Survey. 10 (6): 501–518. doi:10.2307/2642883. JSTOR 2642883.
^ Hashimoto, Hideo; McPherson, William (1976). "Rise and Decline of Sokagakkai Japan and the United States". Review of Religious Research. 17 (72): 82–92. doi:10.2307/3510626. JSTOR 3510626.
^ Falkenheim, Peggy L. (1979). "Eurocommunism in Asia: The Communist Party of Japan and the Soviet Union". Pacific Affairs. 52 (1): 64–77. doi:10.2307/2757766. JSTOR 2757766.
^ Stockwin, J. A. A. (1971). "The Japanese opposition: Political irrelevance or wave of the future?". Australian Outlook. 25 (2): 181–197. doi:10.1080/10357717108444408.
^ Hook, Glenn D.; Gilson, Julie; Hughes, Christopher W.; Dobson, Hugo (2013-01-11). Japan's International Relations: Politics, Economics and Security. Routledge. p. 162. ISBN 978-1-134-32805-5.
^ Hrebenar, Ronald J. (2019-08-15). Japan's New Party System. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-72108-3.
^ Andrew Gebert. "Soka Gakkai". Oxford Bibliographies. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
^ Palmer, A. (2012-12-06). Buddhist Politics: Japan's Clean Government Party. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 60. ISBN 978-94-010-2996-4.
^ ^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]
^ Albrecht Rothacher, ed. (2016). The Japanese Power Elite. Springer. p. 121. ISBN 9781349229932.
^ ^a ^b Japan Echo - Volume 16. Japan Echo Incorporated. 1989. p. 52.
^ "World Religions & Spirituality | Sōka Gakkai". Archived from the original on 2014-05-12. Retrieved 2015-02-19.
^ ^a ^b Haruhiro Fukui (1985) Political parties of Asia and the Pacific, Greenwood Press, pp459–460
^ Ikuo Kabashima, Gill Steel Changing Politics in Japan 2012 Page 38 "Fragmented Opposition: Other Parties Other smaller parties include Komeito (the party officially became known as New Komeito in 1998), a party that Soka Gakkai formed in 1964 from its precursor, the Komei Political League."
^ John McCormick Comparative Politics in Transition 2011- Page 179 "Clean Government Party (CGP) (Komeito) New Komeito is the political wing of Soka Gakkai, Japan's largest lay Buddhist ..."
^ Jeffrey Haynes Routledge Handbook of Religion and Politics Page 17 "Talking to young Japanese people one normally gets very little sense of enthusiasm about Buddhism, and few people seem to take seriously the notion that the New Komeito Party is a Buddhist political party. The Komeito or 'Clean Government Party' ..."
^ Yōichi, Kira (1986). Sōka Gakkai nanatsu no daizai : jitsuroku (Shohan. ed.). Tōkyō: Shin Nihon Shuppansha. ISBN 4406013881.
^ Sanger, David E.; Times, Special To the New York (1989-07-20). "Japan Finds Latest Scandal in a Dump". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
^ Hiroshi Aruga, "Sōka Gakkai and Japanese politics", in Global citizens, the Sōka Gakkai Buddhist Movement in the world

[20] The Upper house is split in two classes, one elected every three years.

[Asian_Survey-1] Li, Jooinn (1970). "Komeito: Sokagakkai-Ism in Japanese Politics". Asian Survey. 10 (6): 501–518. doi:10.2307/2642883. JSTOR 2642883.

[2] Hashimoto, Hideo; McPherson, William (1976). "Rise and Decline of Sokagakkai Japan and the United States". Review of Religious Research. 17 (72): 82–92. doi:10.2307/3510626. JSTOR 3510626.

[3] Falkenheim, Peggy L. (1979). "Eurocommunism in Asia: The Communist Party of Japan and the Soviet Union". Pacific Affairs. 52 (1): 64–77. doi:10.2307/2757766. JSTOR 2757766.

[4] Stockwin, J. A. A. (1971). "The Japanese opposition: Political irrelevance or wave of the future?". Australian Outlook. 25 (2): 181–197. doi:10.1080/10357717108444408.

[5] Hook, Glenn D.; Gilson, Julie; Hughes, Christopher W.; Dobson, Hugo (2013-01-11). Japan's International Relations: Politics, Economics and Security. Routledge. p. 162. ISBN 978-1-134-32805-5.

[6] Hrebenar, Ronald J. (2019-08-15). Japan's New Party System. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-72108-3.

[7] Andrew Gebert. "Soka Gakkai". Oxford Bibliographies. Retrieved 11 July 2020.

[8] Palmer, A. (2012-12-06). Buddhist Politics: Japan's Clean Government Party. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 60. ISBN 978-94-010-2996-4.

[9] [5]^[6]^[7]^[8]

[JapanCentre-10] Albrecht Rothacher, ed. (2016). The Japanese Power Elite. Springer. p. 121. ISBN 9781349229932.

[progressive-11] Japan Echo - Volume 16. Japan Echo Incorporated. 1989. p. 52.

[12] "World Religions & Spirituality | Sōka Gakkai". Archived from the original on 2014-05-12. Retrieved 2015-02-19.

[HF-13] Haruhiro Fukui (1985) Political parties of Asia and the Pacific, Greenwood Press, pp459–460

[14] Ikuo Kabashima, Gill Steel Changing Politics in Japan 2012 Page 38 "Fragmented Opposition: Other Parties Other smaller parties include Komeito (the party officially became known as New Komeito in 1998), a party that Soka Gakkai formed in 1964 from its precursor, the Komei Political League."

[15] John McCormick Comparative Politics in Transition 2011- Page 179 "Clean Government Party (CGP) (Komeito) New Komeito is the political wing of Soka Gakkai, Japan's largest lay Buddhist ..."

[16] Jeffrey Haynes Routledge Handbook of Religion and Politics Page 17 "Talking to young Japanese people one normally gets very little sense of enthusiasm about Buddhism, and few people seem to take seriously the notion that the New Komeito Party is a Buddhist political party. The Komeito or 'Clean Government Party' ..."

[17] Yōichi, Kira (1986). Sōka Gakkai nanatsu no daizai : jitsuroku (Shohan. ed.). Tōkyō: Shin Nihon Shuppansha. ISBN 4406013881.

[18] Sanger, David E.; Times, Special To the New York (1989-07-20). "Japan Finds Latest Scandal in a Dump". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-08-19.

[19] Hiroshi Aruga, "Sōka Gakkai and Japanese politics", in Global citizens, the Sōka Gakkai Buddhist Movement in the world

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