New Komeito Party
The New Kōmeitō (公明党, Shin Kōmeitō?), New Kōmei Party, or NKP is a centre-right political party in Japan founded by members of the Nichiren Buddhist organization Sōka Gakkai. The leadership and financing of the two groups are currently self-proclaimed to be independent, however an official 2008 Sōka Gakkai International (SGI) press release stated "official liaison meetings between New Komeito and the Sōka Gakkai are held at least twice a year." Also, the vast majority of party members are also members of Sōka Gakkai and many Sōka Gakkai members support NKP especially during election campaigns.
The three kanji characters 公明党 have the approximate meanings of "public/government" (公 kō), "light/brightness" (明 mei), and "political party" (党 tō). The combination "kōmei" (公明) is usually taken to mean "justice or fairness". The word "New" is not a part of the Japanese name, but is used in English to distinguish the party from its predecessor. The NKP was formed as a result of a merger between the Kōmeitō and the New Peace Party on November 7, 1998.
Read more about New Komeito Party: Platform
Famous quotes containing the word party:
“The real grounds of difference upon important political questions no longer correspond with party lines.... Politics is no longer the topic of this country. Its important questions are settled... Great minds hereafter are to be employed on other matters.... Government no longer has its ancient importance.... The people’s progress, progress of every sort, no longer depends on government. But enough of politics. Henceforth I am out more than ever.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)