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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.

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.

First New Conservative Party

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New Conservative Party
LeaderTakeshi Noda
FounderChikage Oogi
FoundedApril 3, 2000
DissolvedDecember 23, 2002
Split fromLiberal Party
Succeeded byNew Conservative Party (2002)
IdeologyConservatism
Website
http://www.hoshutoh.com/

In 2000, Liberal Party leader Ichiro Ozawa decided to take his party out of its coalition with the ruling conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and go into opposition. However, some of his party members wanted to remain in the government, and thus defected to form the New Conservative Party.[1]

Takeshi Noda had been favored to be founding president, but he opted to become the secretary-general. Toshiki Kaifu also declined the position, so Chikage Oogi, a former Takarazuka actress, was selected as party president.[1][2][3]

The New Conservative Party became part of a three-party ruling coalition with the LDP and New Komeito. This incarnation of the party was dissolved on December 23, 2002.[4]

Leaders

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No. Name Image Term of office
Took office Left office
Preceding party: Liberal Party
1 Chikage Oogi April 3 2000 September 2001
2 Takeshi Noda September 2001 December 2002
Successor party: New Conservative Party (2002)

Second New Conservative Party

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New Conservative Party
LeaderHiroshi Kumagai [ja]
FoundedDecember 25, 2002
DissolvedNovember 10, 2003
Merger ofNew Conservative Party (2000)
Democratic Party of Japan (defectors)
Merged intoLiberal Democratic Party
IdeologyConservatism
Reformism
Political positionRight-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.[4][5] The new party took over the role of its predecessor in the LDP-led ruling coalition.[5]

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

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No. Name Image Term of office
Took office Left office
Preceding party: New Conservative Party (2000)
1 Hiroshi Kumagai December 25 2002 November 10 2003
Successor party: Liberal Democratic Party

Electoral results

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House of Representatives

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House of Representatives
Election Leader # of seats won # of Constituency votes % of Constituency vote # of PR Block votes % of PR Block vote
2000 Chikage Oogi
7 / 480
1,230,464 2.02% 247,334 0.41%
2003 Hiroshi Kumagai
4 / 480
791,588 1.33 - -

House of Councillors

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House of Councillors
Election Leader No. of seats total No. of seats won No. of National votes % of National vote Majority/minority
2001 Chikage Oogi
4 / 247
1 / 121
1,275,002 2.33 Minority

References

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  1. ^ a b "Noda faction names party Conservative". The Japan Times. 4 April 2000. Archived from the original on 10 April 2016.
  2. ^ The Japan Times Ogi's New Conservatives aim to lay Japan's 'moral ground' Retrieved on August 7, 2012
  3. ^ The Japan Times COALITION HYPED, DECRIED Party chiefs launch campaigns June 14, 2000 Retrieved on August 7, 2012
  4. ^ a b The Japan Times Kumagai to form 'new party' with NCP and DPJ defectors December 25 2002 Retrieved on August 7, 2012
  5. ^ a b "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

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