Liberals and Lefty-wingers
The reason we chose this theme is because we felt that liberals and lefty-wingers are often conflated in Japan, whether intentionally or not.
We believe a major cause of this conflation is that left-wing ideological individuals refer to themselves as liberals.
Also, we think another cause is that the old media with left-wing ideologies are introducing left-wing commentators, political parties, and lawmakers as liberals.
On a YouTube program, when a Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan member of the House of Councillors was asked about his political stance, he explained that he was a “lberal conservative” and followed the tradition of the Koichikai.
Like this, it feels like left-wing members are exploiting the image of “liberal.
(But for this lawmaker to claim he is the liberal conservative… We think that shows a serious lack of self-analysis. )
In Japan, it feels like terms like “left-wing” and “right-wing” have negative connotations.
Therefore, terms like “liberal” or “conservative” are used more frequently, and it feels like the terms “right-wing” or “left-wing” are used when there is an intent to disparage the other side.
In fact, the old media and left-wing individuals do intentionally use the term “right-wing” depending on their opponent. However, this feels like the old media and left-wing individuals are themselves declaring their own position as “left-wing.”
Liberals and Lefty-wingers are fundamentally distinct ideologies.
This is a summary from Wikipedia
Liberalism
Liberalism is a major political and moral philosophy that emphasizes individual rights and liberty, the consent of the governed, political equality, equality before the law, and protections for civil liberties. Liberals typically support liberal democracy, market economies, private property, secularism, rule of law, and various freedoms including speech, press, assembly, and religion.
The movement emerged during the Age of Enlightenment, challenging traditional structures such as hereditary privilege, absolute monarchy, state religion, and mercantilism, and instead promoting representative democracy, free trade, and greater individual rights.
Lefty-wingers
Left-wing politics refers to a broad range of political ideologies that prioritize social equality, egalitarianism, and efforts to reduce economic and social hierarchies. The opposing concept is “the stance that places greater emphasis on tradition, order, market economies, and nationalism”. Therefore, the left wing represents social democracy, Democratic socialism and Marxism and communism ideologies
Core themes typically include:
- Economic equality – Reducing wealth disparities through progressive taxation, redistribution, or collective ownership.
- Social justice – Promoting civil rights, minority rights, gender equality, and protections against discrimination.
- Government intervention – Supporting a stronger role for the state in regulating markets, providing public services, and ensuring social welfare.
- Labor rights – Advocating for workers’ protections, unions, fair wages, and safe working conditions.
The Left is typically reserved for movements more critical of capitalism, including the labour movement, socialism, anarchism, communism, Marxism, Leninism and syndicalism, each of which rose to prominence in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The difference between the two seems to be whether they prioritize freedom or equality (especially economic equality).
And there are clear differences in the underlying ideology and economic policies as well. That is, whether they are affirmative or critical of capitalism.
Applying this to Japan’s situation and summarizing it simply, we think it would be as follows.
Liberalism
- Essence: Individual freedom, human rights, rule of law, equal of opportunity, respect for democracy
- Ideology: Based on classical liberalism which seeks to limit state intervention and maximize individual rights
- Economy: Accepts capitalism as a principle while seeking to correct inequality and disparities through appropriate government intervention and regulation (social liberalism)
- Approach: Emphasizes gradual reform within existing political systems (legal revisions and system design)
- On Defense: Affirms collective self-defense to maintain peace through cooperation with the United Nations and democratic nations, rather than relying solely on national defense. While respecting Article 9 of the Constitution, prioritizes legal revisions and treaties based on international circumstances.
- On separate surnames for married couples: A stance aiming for a tolerant society where the government does not interfere in individuals’ lifestyles. In other words, it advocates for a stance that embraces diverse family forms by expanding the “choice” to include not only the same surname but also the option of separate surnames.
Left-wingers
- Essence: Social equality, economic equality, expansion of rights, reform of old orders and vested interests, equality of outcome
- Ideology: Focuses on the inequality caused by capitalism, seeking to transform society through state redistribution and occasionally the sharing of production methods (e.g., nationalization)
- Economy: Anti-capitalist, demanding wealth redistribution, public ownership, and large-scale government intervention (socialism, communism, etc.)
- Approach: Tends to seek fundamental transformation of existing structures themselves
- On Defense: A stance that negates military force inherently and advocates for no military capability.
- Therefore, they demand the abolition of the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan and the removal of U.S. military bases, advocating that national independence and peace should be safeguarded through international treaties.
- On separate surnames for married couples: Since the same surname symbolizes the ‘traditional family system’ that serves as the foundation for the state and capitalism to govern and control individuals, they believe breaking down and transforming this system through separate surnames is the fastest path to social revolution.
By clarifying the difference between liberals and lefty-wingers, we can understand the positions of the Japanese Communist Party (hereinafter called JCP) of Japan,The Social Democratic Party (hereinafter called SDP) of Japan, Reiwa Shinsengumi, and The Constitutional Democratic Party(hereinafter called CDP) of Japan, though their intensity varies.
As we posted in another article “Considering Gender Equality – What is Equality?”, individuals with left-wingers ideologies prioritize equality of outcomes and consider democratic selection processes unnecessary. if they valued democratic selection processes, they should advocate for equality of opportunity rather than equality of outcomes.
Prior to this House of Representatives election, New Komeito Party and the CDP merged to form the Centrist Reform Alliance (hereinafter called Chudo).
Ideologically, it seemed the CDP abandoned its leftist ideology to merge with New Komeito.
Therefore, former CDP members claimed to be “anti-nuclear power”, and co-leader Noda explained that the “Henoko relocation” would be considered after the election, showing a complete lack of cohesion.
In other words, the liberal and left-wing ideologies have completely different economic and political viewpoints and approaches.
Personally, we felt perfectly natural when the CDP collaborated with the JCP in elections.
Here’s an example using the “discussion on separate surnames for married couples.”
Supporters of ‘expanding the use of maiden names’ pointed out to self-identified liberals strongly pushing the separate surname system that “advocates of separate surnames refuse to listen to opposing views, so discussion is impossible.”
At that time, supporters of separate surnames responded that there is a “paradox of tolerance”, and argued this was a legitimate response.
Such reasoning is called “justifying intolerance”. It is said that there is a risk that it arbitrarily labels inconvenient opinions as “intolerance” and uses the “paradox of tolerance” as a “logic of exclusion.”
In fact, we also felt this response was “denying diversity by exploiting the paradox of tolerance, claiming only their own opinions are correct.”
We believe true liberals engage in calm discussions.
However, individuals with left-wing ideologies refuse to engage in any discussion, insisting their way of thinking is the only correct policy. In other words, these self-identified liberals are typical left-wingers.
We believe liberals and left-wingers should be clearly distinguished.
Reference: Wikipedia (2026/02/26)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberalism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-wing_politics
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox_of_tolerance
Thanks.
2026/03/01