“The Factions of the LDP: Saviour Turned Destroyer” Jan Aleksander Enoksen JAP4691 - Master's Thesis in Modern Japan 60 Credits Spring 2015 Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages (IKOS), University of Oslo Summary During the period of the so called "1955-system", which covers to bulk of the period analysed in this paper, and to some extent also after 1993, the LDP has been described as "a coalition of factions", factions which in turn have been described as "the root of all evil within the party". This thesis paper will explain how, and when this root was planted, and what made it grow. This thesis presents a study of why factions developed within the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) of Japan; how these factions gained immense power over the central institutions of the LDP; and how the power gained by these factions both hindered the development of the LDP's central organization and a sound ideological foundation for the LDP, while also making the LDP's rule contingent on certain conditions This thesis explains why the first presidential election in the LDP, conducted in 1956, set the LDP of on a path where the initial factions that had existed in the pre- merger conservative parties gradually gained increasingly stronger control over all of the important institutions of the LDP. The focus of this thesis is on the Miki-premiership which lasted from 1974 to 1976, and the period when the LDP suffered an internal split and loss of Diet majority in 1993. The immediate post- war years, and the years between 1954 and 1956 are also been studied as the origins of both the Japanese electoral system and the LDP lay in these periods. The period between 1974 and 1976, and the period between 1989 and 1993 share many similarities: the Japanese economy suffered problems, the LDP was marred by scandals related to corruption and money politics, and there were incessant demands for electoral reform. Against this backdrop Kōno Y ōhei lead a group of disgruntled LDP MPs out of the party in 1976 and formed the New Liberal Club in an attempt to split the LDP. He failed, and the LDP remained in power. In 1993, Ōzawa Ichiro defected together with a large number of LDP MPs and formed the Japan Renewal Party. The defections soon triggered a general election and the LDP lost its Diet majority, finding itself out of government for the first time since its creation. Why did the 1993-defectors succeed where Kōno had failed? What were the intraparty and interparty developments, between the mid-1970 and 1993? This thesis answers these questions by showing that the split of the LDP was a direct result of the institutional make-up caused by decades of factionalism. The system spawned by LDP factionalism had been dependent on certain conditions for its endurance. Economic growth was essential as it was used for vote-seeking, and as it ensured the electorate's loyalty to the LDP, a divided opposition ensured that no viable alternative to the LDP emerged, and the Cold War meant that Japan was able to quickly join the capitalist free market system after the war, while it also made foreign policy almost irrelevant politically. As these conditions changed or disappeared the LDP factions proved unable to adapt, refusing to adopt political reform and ultimately losing power in 1993. I Foreword This thesis is the end result of what started as a vague desire to study the reverse course and the impact it had on the burgeoning Japanese democracy. Initially the plan was to write about the Japanese labour unions, but after researching the immediate post-war years, my interest for the Liberal Democratic Party was piqued, and after further research into the LDP I became very interested in the LDP factions, and decided to make them the focal point of my research. The end result of that research is the thesis which you are holding in your hands right now. The work on this thesis has been very fascinating, in particular the research into previous academic works published on the subject. In addition to a new insight into the LDP factions, and the intraparty organization of the LDP, I have also gained new insight into post- war Japanese history, and Japan's economic history. Working on the thesis has also given me many valuable lessons about what to do, and perhaps more importantly, what not to do when fixing to write an academic text of this length, and although the process has at times been frustrating and slow-going, the experience has overall been a delight; proving to be most educational, and providing ample opportunity to learn new things through trial and error. I would like to thank all those who have exhibited a genuine interest in the LDP factions when I have delivered long soliloquies about their fascinating organization and immense importance, as well as those who have feigned an interest and listened patiently until the stream of words ceased to flow forth. I would also like to thank my academic advisor, Dick Stegewerns, who nudged me in the right direction when I was slightly off course, and who also provided the impetus for my interest in this subject with an off-the-cuff remark regarding the relationship between the LDP and the opposition parties, delivered at one of the seminars presided over by him. Finally I would like to thank my mother, who has supported me through in all my various endeavours over the years, and whose support has been indispensable for bringing me to where I am today. Academic Advisor: Dick Stegewerns II TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction _____________________________________________________ 1 Thesis Structure ........................................................................................... 3 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................... 4 Historical Institutionalism ............................................................... 4 Historical Institutionalism vs. Rational Choice .............................. 5 Core Concepts ................................................................................. 7 Factionalism .................................................................................... 10 Chapter One: The Humble Origins of a Political Machine _______________ 12 Japan Between 1945 and 1956 .................................................................... 12 SCAP and the Reverse Course ........................................................ 12 The Political impact of the Reverse Course .................................... 17 The LDP Institutions .................................................................................. 22 Policy Affairs Research Council ..................................................... 22 Factions ........................................................................................... 24 Kōenkai ............................................................................................ 28 1945-47 and 1955 as Critical Junctures ...................................................... 33 Chapter Two: Organization and Consolidation ________________________ 34 LDP Leaders 1956-1976: From Ishibashi to Miki ...................................... 34 The Opposition Between 1956 and 1976 .................................................... 41 The Establishment of the New Liberal Club ............................................... 42 The LDP Institutions ................................................................................... 44 Political Affairs Research Council .................................................. 44 Factions ........................................................................................... 49 Kōenkai ............................................................................................ 56 The Miki Premiership as a Critical Juncture ............................................... 59 III Chapter Three: The Political Machine Stalls __________________________ 61 LDP Leaders 1976-1993: From Fukuda to Miyazawa ................................ 61 The Opposition Between 1976 and 1993 .................................................... 72 The Defection of Ozawa Ichir ō and the LDP Split...................................... 75 The LDP Institutions ................................................................................... 78 Policy Affairs Research Council ..................................................... 78 Kōenkai ............................................................................................ 85 Factions ........................................................................................... 88 The End of the Cold War and the Bubble Economy as a Critical Juncture 94 Conclusion ______________________________________________________ 96 Sources and Bibliography __________________________________________ 100 IV INTRODUCTION This thesis will look at factionalism of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) of Japan between 1955 and 1993. I will analyse why this factionalism came into being in the first place; how the factions gained immense power over central institutions of the LDP; and how the power gained by these factions both hindered the development of the LDP's central organization and a sound ideological foundation for the party. This thesis will explain why the first presidential election within the LDP where the leader was elected based on factional consensus, conducted in 1956 (Leiserson 1968, p. 770), set the LDP off on a path where the initial factions that had existed in the pre-merger conservative parties gradually gained increasingly stronger control