ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the long history of Japan’s parliamentary political sector development, a process that began toward the end of the nineteenth century. An important turning point in Japan’s postwar political history occurred in 1955 when both the conservative and progressive factions consolidated to form essentially a two-party system—the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Japanese Socialist Party (JSP). This 1955 System remained strong into the early 1990s, with the LDP rotating prime ministers throughout this period. How the party managed its long string of political successes, and how it had to adjust to regain political superiority after relinquishing power to rival political parties, is the focus of this chapter.
