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New Komeito Party >公明党 Kōmeitō |
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| President | Natsuo Yamaguchi |
| Secretary general | Kazuo Kitagawa |
| Founded | 1998 |
| Headquarters | 17 Minamimoto-machi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0012 |
| Ideology | Buddhist-influenced centrism, conservatism, social conservatism |
| International affiliation | None |
| Councillors |  |
| Representatives |  |
| Website | |
| http://www.komei.or.jp/ | |
| Politics of
Japan Political parties Elections |
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The New Komeito (公明党 Kōmeitō), New Komeito Party, or NKP is a centre-right political party in Japan founded by members of the Buddhist organization Sōka Gakkai. (New Komeito's view on politics and religion). (The three Japanese characters in the party's name have the approximate meanings of "public/government" (公), "light" (明), and "political party" (党). "Kōmei" (公明) is usually taken to mean "justice or fairness." The concept "New" is actually not a part of the Japanese name "Komeito," but is used in English to distinguish the party from its predecessor.) The present New Komeito was formed as a result of a merger between the Komeito and the New Peace Party on November 7, 1998.
The Party's declared mission is to pioneer "people-centered politics, a politics based on a humanitarianism that treats human life with the utmost respect and care" (New Komeito, 2002). Domestically, the party proposals include reduction of the central government and bureaucracy, increased transparency in public affairs, and increased local (prefectural) autonomy with the private sector playing an increased role. With regard to foreign policy, the Party wishes to eliminate nuclear arms and armed conflict in general. In so doing, the party hopes to bring about the "dawn of a new civilization of mankind" (Ibid).
The New Komeito Party had a predecessor with a similar (though more to the left) ideology, but the current conservative, more moderate, party was formed in 1998, as noted, between a merger of the Clean Government Party and the New Peace Party. It supported the ruling Liberal Democrats and did well in the 2000 and 2001 parliamentary elections.
In the 2003 and 2004 Diet elections, the New Komeito Party did well, thanks to an extremely committed and well-organised huge voter base coming from Soka Gakkai. As the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's junior coalition partner, it is becoming a major political force in modern Japan.
The party was in a majority coalition government with the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) but suffered defeat in the 2009 general election, losing around a third of its seats.
The party shares its support base with the LDP, made up of white collar bureaucrats and rural populations, but also gains support from religious leaders.
However, on July 27, 2005, New Komeito's secretary general said that his party would consider forming a coalition government with the Democratic Party of Japan if, in a snap election, the DPJ took a majority in the House of Representatives. On August 8, 2005, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi dissolved the Lower House and called for a general election due to the rejection of efforts to privatize Japan Post, but the opportunity for a New Komeito-Democratic coalition did not arise as the Liberal Democratic Party won an immense majority in the general election.
Komeito lost three of its seats up for election in the 2007 upper house parliamentary election and is now part of the minority coalition in that chamber.
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