Something for everyone: Why Japan's Liberal Democratic Party is so successful

TOKYO: Japan's LDP is one of the democratic world's most successful parties, a one-size-fits-all electoral machine in power for all but four of the last 69 years.

AFP looks at the history of the Liberal Democratic Party, the reasons for its success and why under Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba trouble may be looming in snap elections on Sunday.

What were its beginnings?

The LDP began in 1955 as a merger between two conservative parties and governed constantly until 1993, overseeing a huge expansion of the economy and living standards.

During the Cold War, the United States - which still has 54,000 troops in Japan - channelled millions of dollars to the party as a bulwark against communism.

During this time the smaller Japan Socialist Party served largely as an inspector on the government's actions rather than aiming to win power itself.

In the process, the LDP attracted all kinds of special interests, including farming and business lobbies as well as religious groups - resulting in multiple cases of corruption.

What does the LDP believe in?

Beneath the surface lurks fierce rivalry among factions, resulting in regular changes of leader - 27 since 1955 - which act as a substitute for changes in government.

All its leaders have been men, and fewer than 10 percent of its current MPs are women. In 2021 women were invited to attend key party meetings but they weren't allowed to speak.

The party has generally leaned toward big government spending, market-friendly economic policies, socially conservative values and a robust alliance with the United States.

But it is a large tent, grouping big-government advocates, political doves focused on economic growth and nationalists pushing traditional family values.

"Rather than basing their actions on a certain ideology, the party acts as voters tell it," Yu Uchiyama, political scientist at the University of Tokyo, told AFP.

LDP factions "have the wisdom not to split (the party) even if they have differences", Uchiyama said.

When did it lose power?

In 1993, the LDP was kicked out of power for the first time, after the dramatic bursting of Japan's 1980s asset bubble and a corruption scandal.

But the fragile coalition government of small groups including several LDP defectors didn't even last a year and the party was back in power in 1994.

In 2009, the LDP again lost power in a landslide, replaced for a chaotic three years by the centre-left Democratic Party of Japan.

The DPJ's policy failures and its clumsy response to the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster allowed the LDP under Shinzo Abe to return to power in late 2012.

Why is the LDP popular?

The LDP remains associated with the post-war economic miracle, especially among older voters in rural areas, said Tomoaki Iwai of Nihon University.

Japan's electoral system also favours the well-funded and well-organised LDP with a national network of supporters and special interests.

"It's kind of a chicken-and-egg question; whether industry groups are with the LDP because they are in power, or whether the LDP was able to bring them in and that's why they have power," said Rintaro Nishimura at consultancy The Asia Group Japan.

The system has prevented smaller parties from staying in government for an extended period of time.

"But whether that's healthy democracy... Perhaps the time has come for Japan to fully examine itself," said Uchiyama of the University of Tokyo.

What is happening now?

The LDP has been back in power since 2012 in coalition with Komeito, a moderate party backed by Buddhist group Soka Gakkai.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba won the leadership last month after voter discontent over inflation and a new scandal sank his predecessor Fumio Kishida.

Kishida, in power for three years, replaced Yoshihide Suga, who in turn succeeded Shinzo Abe, known for his nationalist views and "Abenomics".

Ishiba announced snap elections but polls suggest the LDP, and possibly the LDP and Komeito together, could fall short of a majority.

But even if this results in the LDP losing power - unlikely given the divided opposition - it will be back soon, said Uchiyama.

"It is very hard to predict. But time and time again, voters punish the LDP and eventually return to the party," he said.