The Liberal Democratic Party turns 70 years old on Nov. 15, but with a loss of over 60,000 members in the past year alone, the birthday celebration is likely to be muted as the party struggles to find ways to win back former members and bring in new blood.
Deeper social changes to Japan, including an aging, declining population and growing differences and political preferences between urban and rural voters, present fundamental challenges to the LDP and other established parties in recruiting and maintaining a solid membership base from which to derive financial and political support.
On March 4, the LDP announced that its membership totaled 1,028,662 in 2024, a decline of 62,000 from 2023. The fall comes 10 years after the LDP, in 2014, set a goal of increasing its membership to 1.2 million.
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