Political Changes

Emperor Hirohito died in 1989, and his son, Akihito, began to reign. It soon began to appear that Akihito's era would be a time of unsettling political and economic change.

Troubles for Japan's long-term ruling political party, the LDP, began in the 1980's. A number of leading government figures were accused of raising campaign funds illegally. Some were tried and convicted of corruption. Voters began to turn against the LDP. In mid-1993, the party lost its majority in the Diet.

For nearly 10 months, a coalition of seven other parties governed. The coalition passed a number of major laws reforming the election system. But its members could not overcome their differences on other issues.

The LDP returned to power in mid-1994, ruling in alliance with the Social Democratic Party of Japan and the New Harbinger Party. In late 1994, most of the opponents of the governing coalition formed the New Frontier Party. By the mid-1990's, Japan's political parties had gathered into two large factions, one composed of the LDP and its allies, the other a coalition of opposition parties. Conflicts among and within the parties continued, however.