Liberal-Democratic Party (LDP), Major Japanese political party, which held power continuously from its formation in 1955 until 1993 and again from 1994 to 2009. It was created through the amalgamation and transformation of various factions of the prewar Rikken Seiyūkai and Minseitō parties. The conservative LDP appeared threatened in the 1970s but survived; the end of the 1980s boom years (the “bubble economy”), financial crises, and political scandals finally caused the party to lose its majority in the Diet in 1993. It came back to power in a coalition government in 1994 and retained power for the next 15 years; LDP prime ministers included Obuchi Keizō and Koizumi Junichiro. In the 2009 parliamentary elections, the LDP lost badly to the Democratic Party of Japan and relinquished control of the government. The LDP returned to power in late 2012 after a landslide electoral victory.
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