Sunrise Party of Japan

(2010-2012)

The Sunrise Party of Japan was formed in 2010 after Takeo Hiranuma, a conservative politician, left the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Other founders of the party include Kaoru Yosano and Shintarō Ishihara. Soon after the founding of the party, LDP member Kyōko Nakayama also joined. When Shintarō Ishihara resigned his position as Governor of Tokyo in 2012, he officially joined the party. On this occasion, the party also changed its name to the Sunrise Party.

The party platform calls for the enactment of an autonomous constitution. In 2012, it published the “Outline of an Independent Draft of the Constitution,” a document that reconsidered the entire text of the current Constitution. The draft also makes the Emperor the symbolic head of state, explicitly mentions the maintenance of a Self-Defense Army (jieigun), and makes it an obligation for the people to cooperate with the national government and local public entities during a state of emergency.