Kōchikai
Kōchikai 宏池会 | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Fumio Kishida (last) |
| Founder | Hayato Ikeda |
| Founded | 1957 |
| Dissolved | 23 January 2024 |
| Ideology |
|
| Political position | Centre-right |
| Type | Liberal Democratic Party faction |
| Website | |
| kouchikai1957 | |
^ A: Centre-right in international context, but voters in Japan perceived the faction as centrist. | |
Kōchikai (宏池会; "Broad Pond Society") was a leading faction within Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), founded by bureaucrat-turned-politician Hayato Ikeda in 1957. The faction has produced five prime ministers (Ikeda, Masayoshi Ōhira, Zenkō Suzuki, Kiichi Miyazawa, and Fumio Kishida), two LDP presidents (Yōhei Kōno and Sadakazu Tanigaki), and a large number of cabinet officeholders. The faction was officially dissolved on January 23, 2024, after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged to dissolve the faction in the aftermath of a political funds scandal. However, former faction members still meet frequently as a group, exchange information, and collectively exert pressure on other politicians.