structural:expansion, information:filtering
Japan

Conservatism has been the dominant political ideology throughout modern Japanese history. The right-wing conservative Liberal Democratic Party has been the dominant ruling party since 1955, often referred to as the 1955 System. Therefore, some experts consider Japan a democratically elected one-party state since the populace always votes for the same conservative party.

Up until 1868, Japan was largely a feudal state ruled by members of the aristocratic Samurai order with its bushido code of honour. In the Meiji era, a process of modernisation, industrialisation, and nationalisation was initiated. Power struggles between the old decentralised Samurai aristocracy and the new centralised imperial monarchy culminated in the Satsuma Rebellion in 1877 with imperial victory. During the era of World War II, Japan was transformed into an ultranationalist, imperialist state that conquered much of east and southeast Asia. Contemporary conservatives, notably during the second premiership of Shinzo Abe from 2012 to 2020, advocate for revising the country's constitution, particularly Article 9 which renounces war and prohibits Japan from maintaining a military.

Japan is the oldest continuing monarchy in the history of mankind, with Naruhito currently serving as Emperor of Japan. In accordance with the principle of monarchy, Japanese society has an authoritarian family structure with a traditionalist fatherly authority that is primarily transferred to the oldest son.

Anti-communist and anti-Chinese sentiment is widespread in Japan. In 1925 the Peace Preservation Law was enacted with the aim of allowing the Special Higher Police to suppress socialists and communists more effectively. In 1936 the Empire of Japan and Nazi Germany opposed the Communist International by signing the Anti-Comintern Pact —a pact later joined by the Kingdom of Italy, Francoist Spain, and the Kingdom of Hungary. The Japanese term tenkō refers to the coerced ideological conversions of Japanese socialists who were induced to renounce leftist ideology and enthusiastically embrace the monarchist, capitalist, and imperialist ideology favoured by the state. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, during the Red Purge, tens of thousands of supporters of left-wing groups, especially those affiliated with the Japanese Communist Party, were removed from their jobs in government, schools, and universities.

Nippon Kaigi is an ultraconservative and ultranationalist organisation that exerts a significant influence over contemporary Japanese politics. In 2014, a majority of National Diet members were part of the group. Many ministers and a few prime ministers, including Fumio Kishida, Tarō Asō, Shinzō Abe, and Yoshihide Suga, have been members.

A highly developed and industrialised nation, Japan is more capitalistic and Western-orientated than other Asian nations. Therefore, some experts consider Japan part of the Western world. In 1960 a treaty was signed that established a military alliance between the United States and Japan. However, the ultraconservative reactionary traditionalist Yukio Mishima feared that his fellow Japanese were too enamored of modernisation and Western-style capitalism to protect traditional Japanese culture.