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Leader of the Opposition (Japan)

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Leader of the Opposition
since 23 September 2024
Term lengthWhile leader of the largest political party in the House of Representatives that is not in government
Inaugural holderShigeru Yoshida
Formation1947

The leader of the Opposition (Japan) is the leader of the main opposition party who is not in power, not to the official position established by law. As a result of the 2024 Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan presidential election, Japanese ex-PM Yoshihiko Noda became the leader of the Opposition.[1][2]

Overview

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Under the 1955 System, the chairman of the Japan Socialist Party (JSP) served as the leader of the Opposition.[3] In particular, Takako Doi showed leadership as the first female opposition leader, and in the 1989 Japanese House of Councillors election, the JSP won a victory over the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the popular vote. This movement is called the Madonna Whirlwind because many female candidates won.[4][5]

After the collapse of the 1955 System, the leaders of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) and the DPJ succeeding parties have been the leaders of the Opposition.

In 2000, as part of political reform, the question time was introduced to the Diet of Japan, and the opposition leader's role as the Leader of the Opposition has increased.[6] In particular, at question Time in 2012, opposition leader Shinzo Abe, the President of the LDP, drew attention by making Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda promise to dissolve the House of Representatives. [7][8]

In the 2014 Japanese general election, Banri Kaieda failed to win seats in both the constituency and proportional representation block. The failure of the incumbent opposition leader was the first in 65 years since Tetsu Katayama's defeat in the 1949 Japanese general election and the first since the transition to a parallel voting system in 1994.[9][10]

List of Leaders of the Opposition (1947-present)

[edit]
  • Rep = Member of the House of Representatives
  • Cou = Member of the House of Councillors
Portrait Name
Electoral District
Party Term of Office General
Elections
Ref Government
Took office Left office Duration Party Cabinet Prime Minister
Shigeru Yoshida
Rep for
Kōchi
at-large

(1878-1967)
Liberal 24 May 1947 15 October 1948 1 year, 145 days Socialist Katayama Tetsu Katayama
Democratic Liberal Democratic Ashida Hitoshi Ashida
Tetsu Katayama
Rep for Kanagawa 3rd
(1887-1978)
Socialist 15 October 1948 23 January 1949 93 days 1949 Democratic Liberal Yoshida II Shigeru Yoshida
Takeru Inukai
Rep for
Okayama
2nd

(1896-1960)
Democratic 23 January 1949 10 February 1950 1 year, 19 days Yoshida III
Vacant
10 February 1950 - 28 April 1950
Liberal
Gizo Tomabechi
Rep for
Aomori
1st

(1880-1959)
National Democratic 28 April 1950 8 February 1952 1 year, 287 days
Vacant
8 February 1952 - 13 June 1952
Mamoru Shigemitsu
Rep for
Ōita
2nd

(1887-1957)
Kaishintō 13 June 1952 24 November 1954 2 years, 165 days 1952
1953 Yoshida IV
Yoshida V
Ichirō Hatoyama
Rep for
Tokyo
1st

(1883-1959)
Japan Democratic 24 November 1954 10 December 1954 17 days
Taketora Ogata
Rep for
Fukuoka
1st

(1888-1956)
Liberal 10 December 1954 13 October 1955 308 days 1955 Japan Democratic Hatoyama I Ichirō Hatoyama
Hatoyama II
Mosaburō Suzuki
Rep for
Tokyo
3rd

(1893-1970)
Socialist 13 October 1955 23 March 1960 4 years, 163 days
Liberal Democratic Hatoyama III
Liberal Democratic Ishibashi Tanzan Ishibashi
1958 Liberal Democratic Kishi I Nobusuke Kishi
Kishi II
Inejirō Asanuma
Rep for
Tokyo
1st

(1898-1960)
Socialist 23 March 1960 12 October 1960 204 days
Liberal Democratic Ikeda I Hayato Ikeda
Saburō Eda
(Acting)
Cou for
Okayama
at-large

(1907-1977)
Socialist 12 October 1960 6 March 1961 146 days 1960
Ikeda II
Jōtarō Kawakami
Rep for
Hyōgo
1st

(1889-1965)
Socialist 6 March 1961 6 May 1965 4 years, 62 days 1963
Ikeda III
Liberal Democratic Satō I Eisaku Satō
Kōzō Sasaki
Rep for
Miyagi
1st

(1900-1985)
Socialist 6 May 1965 19 August 1967 2 years, 106 days 1967
Satō II
Seiichi Katsumata
Rep for
Shizuoka
2nd

(1908-1989)
Socialist 19 August 1967 4 October 1968 1 year, 47 days
Vacant
4 October 1968 - 30 November 1968
Tomomi Narita
Rep for
Kagawa
1st

(1912-1979)
Socialist 30 November 1968 13 December 1977 9 years, 14 days 1969
Satō III
1972 Liberal Democratic Tanaka I Kakuei Tanaka
Tanaka II
1976 Liberal Democratic Miki Takeo Miki
Liberal Democratic Fukuda Takeo Fukuda
Ichio Asukata
Mayor of
Yokohama


Rep for
Tokyo
1st

(1915-1990)
Socialist 13 December 1977 7 September 1983 5 years, 269 days
1979 Liberal Democratic Ōhira I Masayoshi Ōhira
1980 Ōhira II
Liberal Democratic Masayoshi Ito
Acting
Liberal Democratic Suzuki Zenkō Suzuki
Liberal Democratic Nakasone I Yasuhiro Nakasone
Masashi Ishibashi
Rep for
Nagasaki
2nd

(1924-2019)
Socialist 7 September 1983 8 September 1986 3 years, 2 days 1983
1986 Nakasone II
Nakasone III
Takako Doi
Rep for
Hyōgo
2nd

(1928-2014)
Socialist 8 September 1986 31 July 1991 4 years, 327 days
Liberal Democratic Uno Sōsuke Uno
1990 Liberal Democratic Kaifu I Toshiki Kaifu
Kaifu II
Makoto Tanabe
Rep for
Gunma
1st

(1922-2015)
Socialist 31 July 1991 19 January 1993 1 year, 173 days
Liberal Democratic Miyazawa Kiichi Miyazawa
Sadao Yamahana
Rep for
Tokyo
11th

(1936-1999)
Socialist 19 January 1993 9 August 1993 203 days 1993
Yōhei Kōno
Rep for
Kanagawa
5th

(born 1937)
Liberal Democratic 9 August 1993 30 June 1994 326 days Japan New Hosokawa Morihiro Hosokawa
Japan Renewal Hata Tsutomu Hata
Tsutomu Hata
Rep for
Nagano
2nd

(1935-2017)
Japan Renewal 30 June 1994 10 December 1994 164 days Socialist Murayama Tomiichi Murayama
Toshiki Kaifu
Rep for
Aichi
3rd

(1931-2022)
New Frontier 10 December 1994 28 December 1995 1 year, 19 days
Ichirō Ozawa
Rep for
Iwate
2nd


Rep for
Iwate
4th

(born 1942)
New Frontier 28 December 1995 31 December 1997 2 years, 4 days
1996 Liberal Democratic Hashimoto I Ryutaro Hashimoto
Hashimoto II
Naoto Kan
Rep for
Tokyo
18th

(born 1946)
Democratic 31 December 1997 25 September 1999 1 year, 269 days
Democratic
Liberal Democratic Obuchi Keizō Obuchi
Yukio Hatoyama
Rep for
Hokkaido
9th

(born 1947)
Democratic 25 September 1999 10 December 2002 3 years, 77 days
2000 Liberal Democratic Mori I Yoshirō Mori
Mori II
Liberal Democratic Koizumi I Junichiro Koizumi
Naoto Kan
Rep for
Tokyo
18th

(born 1946)
Democratic 10 December 2002 18 May 2004 1 year, 161 days 2003
Koizumi II
Katsuya Okada
Rep for
Mie
3rd

(born 1953)
Democratic 18 May 2004 17 September 2005 1 year, 123 days 2005
Seiji Maehara
Rep for
Kyoto
2nd

(born 1962)
Democratic 17 September 2005 7 April 2006 203 days
Koizumi III
Ichirō Ozawa
Rep for
Iwate
4th

(born 1942)
Democratic 7 April 2006 16 May 2009 3 years, 40 days
Liberal Democratic Abe I Shinzo Abe
Liberal Democratic Fukuda Yasuo Fukuda
Liberal Democratic Asō Tarō Asō
Yukio Hatoyama
Rep for
Hokkaido
9th

(born 1947)
Democratic 16 May 2009 16 September 2009 124 days 2009
Masatoshi Wakabayashi
(Acting)
Cou for

Nagano
at-large

(1934-2023)
Liberal Democratic 16 September 2009 28 September 2009 13 days Democratic Hatoyama Yukio Hatoyama
Sadakazu Tanigaki
Rep for
Kyoto
5th

(born 1945)
Liberal Democratic 28 September 2009 26 September 2012 2 years, 365 days
Democratic Kan Naoto Kan
Democratic Noda Yoshihiko Noda
Shinzo Abe
Rep for
Yamaguchi
4th

(1954-2022)
Liberal Democratic 26 September 2012 26 December 2012 92 days 2012
Banri Kaieda
Rep for
Tokyo
PR block

(born 1949)
Democratic 26 December 2012 15 December 2014 1 year, 355 days 2014 Liberal Democratic Abe II Shinzo Abe
Vacant
15 December 2014 - 18 January 2015
Abe III
Katsuya Okada
Rep for
Mie
3rd

(born 1953)
Democratic 18 January 2015 15 September 2016 1 year, 242 days
Democratic
Renhō
Cou for
Tokyo
at-large

(born 1967)
Democratic 18 September 2016 1 September 2017 352 days
Seiji Maehara
Rep for
Kyoto
2nd

(born 1962)
Democratic 1 September 2017 22 October 2017 52 days 2017
Yukio Edano
Rep for
Saitama
5th

(born 1964)
Former
Constitutional Democratic
22 October 2017 30 November 2021 4 years, 40 days Abe IV
Constitutional Democratic
Liberal Democratic Suga Yoshihide Suga
2021 Liberal Democratic Kishida I Fumio Kishida
Kishida II
Kenta Izumi
Rep for
Kyoto
3rd

(born 1974)
Constitutional Democratic 30 November 2021 23 September 2024 2 years, 299 days
Kishida II
(Reshuffle I)
Kishida II
(Reshuffle II)
Yoshihiko Noda
Rep for
Chiba
4th


Rep for
Chiba
14th

(born 1957)
Constitutional Democratic 23 September 2024 Incumbent 58 days
2024 Liberal Democratic Ishiba I Shigeru Ishiba
Ishiba II

References

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  1. ^ "Japan's main opposition CDP picks Noda Yoshihiko as leader". NHK (in Japanese). 2024-09-23. Retrieved 2024-10-06.
  2. ^ "Japan ex-PM Yoshihiko Noda elected main opposition leader". The Nikkei (in Japanese). 2024-09-23. Retrieved 2024-10-06.
  3. ^ "戦後政治と政党" [postwar politics and political parties] (PDF). NHK (in Japanese). 2024-10-06. Retrieved 2024-10-06.
  4. ^ "1989年 マドンナ旋風" [1989: The Madonna Whirlwind]. The Nikkei (in Japanese). 2019-07-21. Retrieved 2024-10-06.
  5. ^ "マドンナ旋風 自民沈む 「山が動いた」…89年" [Madonna whirlwind, LDP sinking "Mountain moved"…89]. Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese). 2022-06-10. Retrieved 2024-10-06.
  6. ^ "党首討論とは" [What is the question time?]. NHK (in Japanese). 2024-10-06. Retrieved 2024-10-06.
  7. ^ "第181回国会 国家基本政策委員会合同審査会" [181st Joint Review Committee of the National Basic Policy Committee of the Diet] (in Japanese). House of Representatives of Japan. 2012-11-14. Retrieved 2024-10-06.
  8. ^ "【アーカイブ】野田氏VS安倍氏、解散表明に至る党首討論のやりとり" [[Archive] Mr. Noda vs. Mr. Abe, exchange of party leader discussions leading up to announcement of dissolution]. The Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). 2022-01-01. Retrieved 2024-10-06.
  9. ^ "民主・海江田氏が落選 代表辞任へ" [Kaieda lost his seat. He will resign the Leader of the DPJ.]. Sankei Shimbun (in Japanese). 2014-12-15. Retrieved 2024-10-06.
  10. ^ "民主・海江田代表「つらかったこと限りない」 辞任表明" ["There was no end to the pain.", Kaieda said. He resigned the Leader of the DPJ.]. The Nikkei (in Japanese). 2014-12-15. Retrieved 2024-10-06.