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The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) was created in 1998, when reform-minded politicians from a number of opposition parties came together with the aim of establishing a genuine opposition force capable of taking power from the long-dominant Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Former Prime Ministers Tsutomu Hata, Yukio Hatoyama and Naoto Kan were amongst those instrumental in establishing the new party. Since then the DPJ has grown in size at successive elections, and the party was further strengthened by a merger with the Liberal Party, led by Ichiro Ozawa, in 2003. It is now the ruling party in Japan, with a total of 302 seats in the House of Representatives (including the Speaker of the House) and 105 in the House of Councillors.
In contrast to the LDP, which has depended almost entirely on the bureaucracy for policy-making, the DPJ is a party dominated by young professionals, including bureaucrats, lawyers, doctors, aid workers, bankers, and journalists, who are able to draw on a wide variety of experience in formulating policy proposals. As a result, DPJ politicians have introduced a large number of independent members' bills. The party places a strong emphasis on the speedy implementation of across-the-board reform and the creation of a fairer and more inclusive social environment in Japan. The DPJ was instrumental in introducing the manifesto (party platform) to Japanese politics, marking the initiation of genuine policy debate.
Following a strong showing in the 2003 general election and the 2004 House of Councillors election, the DPJ suffered a setback in the 2005 general election. The party regrouped to win a large number of seats in the 2007 House of Councillors election, becoming the dominant force in the Upper House. The DPJ won a landslide victory in the 2009 general election, bringing about the first change of government in Japan under a two-party system since WWII. Now under the leadership of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, the DPJ is focusing on such issues as recovery and reconstruction following the Great East Japan Earthquake, revitalizing the national economy in the midst of the global economic crisis, and investing in Japan's future by carrying out comprehensive reform of the social security and taxation systems.
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