New Conservative Party (Japan)

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The New Conservative Party (NCP) was the name of two now-defunct political parties in Japan with a common lineage.

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The first incarnation of the party (保守党, Hoshutō, lit.'Conservative Party') was founded on April 3, 2000 by 20 lower house and 6 upper house defectors from the Liberal Party. This party was dissolved briefly and then re-established (as 保守新党, Hoshu Shintō, lit.'New Conservative Party') on December 25, 2002 in order to accommodate defectors from the Democratic Party of Japan.

The party eventually merged with the Liberal Democratic Party after the 2003 election.

2021 Japanese general election, composition.svg
PartyProportionalConstituencyTotal
seats
+/–
Votes%SeatsVotes%Seats
Liberal Democratic Party 15,163,45825.445522,831,32738.25128183–76
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan 15,897,23426.675622,215,62137.22115171+75
Nippon Ishin no Kai 9,692,73216.26325,902,7939.892557+16
Komeito 5,372,3839.0115702,9311.18621-11
Japanese Communist Party 4,775,4378.01132,452,6304.11215+5
Reiwa Shinsengumi 2,728,3264.585298,0800.5005+2
Democratic Party for the People 2,056,7233.450946,8121.5944-7
Sanseitō 1,796,7883.010500,5420.8400New
Social Democratic Party 1,152,5881.930563,1930.9422+1
Conservative Party of Japan 546,9700.920151,0910.2500New
NHK Party 343,6610.58089,4490.1500New
Shiji Seitō Nashi 66,1420.11000
New Party to Strengthen Corona Countermeasures by Change of Government6,6200.0100New
Kunimori Conservative Party29,3060.0500New
Love Earth Party5,3500.0100New
Nippon Spirits Party4,5520.01000
Reform Future Party3,6980.01000
Renewal Party2,7500.00000
Party for a Successful Japan1,6300.00000
Independents2,990,7045.0177–5
Total59,599,062100.0017659,692,459100.002894650
Valid votes59,599,06297.8259,692,45997.74
Invalid/blank votes1,325,3662.181,383,2272.26
Total votes60,924,428100.0061,075,686100.00
Registered voters/turnout104,727,10358.17104,727,10358.32
Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications

Second New Conservative Party

New Conservative Party
Leader Hiroshi Kumagai  [ ja ]
FoundedDecember 25, 2002
DissolvedNovember 10, 2003
Merger ofNew Conservative Party (2000)
Democratic Party of Japan (defectors)
Merged into Liberal Democratic Party
Ideology Conservatism
Reformism
Political position Right-wing
Website
http://www.hoshushintoh.com/

Japan's Public Offices Election Law prohibits lawmakers that were elected to proportional representation seats from switching to a party that they had competed against in the last election without first resigning their seat, so the original incarnation of the New Conservative Party was unable to accept defectors from the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) into its ranks.

The dissolution and re-establishment of the party on December 25, 2002 created a new legal entity, unconstrained by this rule. This allowed Hiroshi Kumagai  [ ja ] and four other disgruntled DPJ members (Takao Satō  [ ja ], Yoichiro Esaki, Zenjiro Kaneko and Eriko Yamatani) to form the new party together with nine members from its previous incarnation, with Kumagai becoming the party leader. [1] [2] The new party took over the role of its predecessor in the LDP-led ruling coalition. [2]

The party was a conservative reformist party and was very right-wing. After the November 2003 general election, the New Conservative Party was left with only four members in the House of Representatives, down from nine prior to the election. Among the losers in the election was the party president, Hiroshi Kumagai.

On November 10, 2003, then-Prime Minister Koizumi proposed that the NCP merge with the LDP. The secretary-general of the NCP, Toshihiro Nikai, confirmed the merger, stating "We humbly received the proposal and, after discussion within the party, we agreed to accept the proposal to deliver the policies we promised to voters."

Leaders

No.NameImageTerm of office
Took officeLeft office
Preceding party: New Conservative Party (2000)
1Hiroshi Kumagai Portrait gray.png December 25 2002November 10 2003
Successor party: Liberal Democratic Party

Electoral results

House of Representatives

House of Representatives
ElectionLeader# of seats won# of Constituency votes % of Constituency vote# of PR Block votes % of PR Block vote
2000 Chikage Oogi
7 / 480
1,230,4642.02%247,3340.41%
2003 Hiroshi Kumagai
4 / 480
791,5881.33--

House of Councillors

House of Councillors
ElectionLeaderNo. of seats totalNo. of seats wonNo. of National votes% of National voteMajority/minority
2001 Chikage Oogi
4 / 247
1 / 121
1,275,0022.33Minority

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References

  1. The Japan Times Kumagai to form 'new party' with NCP and DPJ defectors December 25 2002 Retrieved on August 7, 2012
  2. 1 2 "保守新党14人で結成大会 江崎洋一郎氏も参加へ". 47news.jp. 25 December 2002. Archived from the original on 17 May 2013.

See also