| Democratic Party | |
| Native Name: | Japanese: Nihon Minshutō |
| Founders: | Inukai Takeru Hitoshi Ashida |
| Predecessor: | Japan Progressive Party |
| Ideology: | Conservatism Revisionist capitalism Anti-bureaucratism[1] |
| Country: | Japan |
The, officially Japanese: 日本民主党 was a conservative political party in Japan.[1]
The party was founded in spring 1947 by merging the Progressive Party (Shinpo-tō) of Inukai Takeru with a faction of Liberal Party led by Hitoshi Ashida and obtained 124 seats in 1947 elections. The party had held seven seats in Tetsu Katayama's government in 1947-1948. For some months in 1948, party's leader Ashida was Prime minister.
In March 1948, part of DP members led by Kijūrō Shidehara joined the Liberal Party to form the Democratic Liberal Party. In 1949 elections, the DP got 69 seats. The party was finally merged with the National Cooperative Party to form the National Democratic Party in April 1950.
| Election | Leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/- | Position | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | Hitoshi Ashida | 6,960,270 | 25.44 | new | 3rd | |||
| 1949 | Takeru Inukai | 4,798,352 | 15.68 | 55 | 4th |
ja:粟屋憲太郎
. 1983 . Showa no Seito . Showa no Rekishi . ja . 6 . Tokyo . . 978-4093760065 .ja:宇野俊一
. 1991 . Nihon zenshi: Japan chronik . ja . Tokyo . . 4-06-203994-X .