Liberal Party (1998)
Not to be confused with the Liberal Party (1945) that merged with the Democratic Party in 1995 to form the Liberal Democratic Party.
Also not to be confused with the Liberal Party (2016), another movement led by Ozawa, which joined the Democratic Party for the People in 2019.
The Liberal Party (自由党) of 1998 was founded from the largest faction of the New Frontier Party. In 2003 it merged into the DPJ.
Formation
The 1995 leadership contest of the New Frontier Party led to bitter factionalism. Ichiro Ozawa (小沢一郎) won, but minor factions immediately began to splinter. By 1998 the party was stripped down to just Ozawa's own faction, leading him to formally dissolve the party and form a new one. Ozawa was the first and only leader of the new Liberal Party.
The new party joined the DPJ-led opposition.
LDP Coalition
Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi (小渕 恵三) inherited a troubled minority government from his predecessor, Ryutaro Hashimoto (橋本 龍太郎), who had resigned after the disappointing loss of the July 1998 House of Councilors election. In January 1999, the Ozawa capitalized on his marginal position to join a LDP-led coalition government.
In October 1999 Komeito joined the coalition. Aware of his waning influence, Ozawa led the Liberal Party back into opposition in December.
Some members of the Liberal Party disapproved of the political maneuvering, and formed the New Conservative Party (保守新党) to remained in the coalition government. That party would merge into the LDP in 2003.
Dissolution
In preparation for the November 2003 general election, the Liberal Party merged into the LDP.