The party was founded on 29 September 1996 by sitting members of the
Diet, and was composed mostly of former
Sakigake and
Japan Socialist Party politicians who did not support an alliance with the ruling
Liberal Democratic Party. Its initial leaders were
Yukio Hatoyama and
Naoto Kan, formerly members of Sakigake. At its formation, it had 39 parliamentarians. In April 1998, the party was augmented by former members of the
New Frontier Party, which had collapsed in December 1997, increasing it to 90 seats. It then merged with the
Good Governance Party (
Minseitō),
New Fraternity Party and
Democratic Reform Party to create
Democratic Party of Japan. ==Presidents of DPJ==