I'm unfamiliar with japanese politics, but does the Liberal Democratic Party in japan promise small government at all? After all, Abenomics involved increased government spending.

> Centre-right, Conservatism and Japanese nationalism. The LDP is Japan's largest political party. It is a conservative party and is made up of various conservative, nationalist and centrist factions. It is supported by the "Japan Conference", the "Shinto Association of Spiritual Leadership" which is Japanese ethnic religious conservative organization and Japan Business Federation. Before 2009, the LDP had been in power almost continuously since 1955, when it was formed as a merger of early postwar Japan's two conservative parties, the Liberal Party of Japan, and the Japan Democratic Party.

Abe isn't an American conservative. Even European conservatism isn't a one-to-one match with the American version, much less Japanese conservatism.

Even American conservatives haven't actually been in favor of small government for a very, very long time. Roughly 40 to 50 years as a majority position (some of them still lie and pretend they are of course; they always flake when it comes to actions & votes).

George W. Bush nearly doubled Federal Government spending and built numerous massive new bureaucracy agencies. Reagan before him did likewise in regards to spending. They're almost all big government conservatives now, the only question is what they spend on.

There few conservatives in the US holding the political position of cutting government spending, and almost none in favor of cutting entitlements. The tiny wing of the Republican party that actually favors the free market heavily, is irrelevant and has zero power or influence.