Democratic Party (DP)

(2016-2018)

The Democratic Party (DP) was founded in 2016 from its predecessor Democratic Party of Japan (民主党, DPJ) and the Japan Innovation Party (維新の党), as a new opposition party to compete with the Liberal Democratic Party. The DP's Japanese title literally translates to "Democratic Progressive Party," while its official English title is simply "Democratic Party."

The DP's policies were largely derived from the policies of the DPJ, prioritizing diversity, world peace, democracy, and prosperity, and opposing the "Abenomics" policies of Prime Minister Abe Shinzō. According to their platform, their stance on the constitution was very thoughtfully conceived. Although they opposed changing Article 9, they appeared open to elaborate constitutional conceptions to secure new human rights, such as “environmental rights” and “rights of access,” as well as governmental reform to expand local autonomy.

The DP faced repeated electoral defeats and internal disagreements. In October 2017, a group led by Yukio Edano left the DP and created a new party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (立憲民主党). In May 2018, the remaining DP joined with some members of the Party of Hope (希望の党) to form a new party, the Democratic Party for the People (国民民主党).