Kōmeitō Turns Fifty: A History of Political Twists and Compromises

Sōka Gakkai Honorary President Ikeda Daisaku in May 2008. © Jiji.

Kōmeitō Chairman Takeiri Yoshikatsu (right) meets with Prime Minister Tanaka Kakuei at the prime minister’s office in August 1972 after a visit to China. At left is Minister for Foreign Affairs Ōhira Masayoshi. © Jiji.

Seated from left to right, Liberal Party President Ozawa Ichirō, Prime Minister Obuchi Keizō of the LDP, and Kōmeitō President Kanzaki Takenori exchange agreement documents between their parties at the prime minister’s office on October 4, 1999. Standing behind them are, from left, Liberal Party Secretary-General Fujii Hirohisa, LDP Secretary-General Mori Yoshirō, Kōmeitō Acting President Hamayotsu Toshiko, and Kōmeitō Secretary-General Fuyushiba Testsuzō. © Jiji.