1890 Japanese general election

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1890 Japanese general election
Merchant flag of Japan (1870).svg
1 July 1890 1892  

All 300 seats in the House of Representatives
151 seats needed for a majority
 First partySecond partyThird party
  Itagaki Taisuke.jpg Masuda Shigeyuki.jpg Shigenobu Okuma 2.jpg
Leader Itagaki Taisuke Shigeyuki Masuda Ōkuma Shigenobu
Party Liberal Taiseikai Rikken Kaishintō
Seats won1307941

Prime Minister before election

Yamagata Aritomo
Independent

Prime Minister after election

Yamagata Aritomo
Independent

General elections were held for the first time in Japan on 1 July 1890. Voters elected 300 members of the House of Representatives of the Diet of Japan in what was the first example of a popularly elected national assembly in Asia (as the Ottoman Chamber of Deputies was elected indirectly). [1]

Contents

Background

The elections for the lower house of the Diet were held in accordance with provisions of the new Meiji Constitution, which had been promulgated in 1889. [2]

The elections had limited suffrage, with only male citizens 25 years of age and over, who had paid 15 Japanese Yen or more in national taxes, and who had been resident in their prefecture for at least a year, qualified to vote. The number of eligible voters who met this requirement was 450,872 people out of a total Japanese population of 39,933,478 (1.13%). The high tax requirement meant that voter roles were heavily weighed towards rural landlords and urban entrepreneurs. In terms of social class, 91% were commoners, and 9% were ex-samurai. [3] Residents of the prefectures in Honshū, Kyūshū and Shikoku participated; residents in Hokkaidō and Okinawa (as “territories”) were excluded from this election. About 95% of those eligible to vote actually cast ballots, although there was no penalty for not doing so. [4]

Only male citizens 30 years of age and over, who were not members of the kazoku peerage or of the imperial family or its branches were allowed to become candidates for office in the lower house. The number of seats in the lower house was 300, divided into 214 single-seat districts and 43 two-seat districts, which were contested by 1,243 candidates. The election went smoothly and without violence reported. [5]

Results

House of Representatives(Japan) 1890.svg
PartyVotes%Seats
Liberal Party 130
Taiseikai 79
Rikken Kaishintō 41
Kokumin Jiyutō 5
Independents45
Total300
Total votes422,594
Registered voters/turnout450,87293.73
Source: Statistics Bureau of Japan

Post-election composition by prefecture

PrefectureTotal
seats
Seats won
Liberal Taiseikai Rikken Kaishintō Kokumin Jiyutō Ind.
Aichi 1129000
Akita 532000
Aomori 440000
Chiba 940302
Ehime 750200
Fukui 440000
Fukuoka 925002
Fukushima 725000
Gifu 715001
Gunma 541000
Hiroshima 1012205
Hyōgo 1260501
Ibaraki 821302
Ishikawa 620211
Iwate 541000
Kagawa 530101
Kagoshima 770000
Kanagawa 760100
Kōchi 440000
Kumamoto 821041
Kyoto 715001
Mie 731201
Miyagi 514000
Miyazaki 330000
Nagano 852001
Nagasaki 751001
Nara 420101
Niigata 1390301
Ōita 614100
Okayama 834100
Osaka 1064000
Saga 410300
Saitama 841201
Shiga 514000
Shimane 605001
Shizuoka 824200
Tochigi 540100
Tokushima 510301
Tokyo 1224303
Tottori 302001
Toyama 510301
Wakayama 500005
Yamagata 640002
Yamaguchi 700007
Yamanashi 301002
Total3001277844546
Note: Party affiliation after the general election.

Aftermath

The first Diet session was summoned on 25 November; the two opposing forces confronted each other for the first time in the arena of practical Japanese politics. The mintō (liberal parties), which included the Liberal Party, Rikken Kaishintō and their affiliates) held a combined strength of 171 seats, forming a majority.

Notes

  1. The First Japanese Election The New York Times, 31 July 1890
  2. Jansen. Cambridge History of Japan Vol. 5: The Nineteenth Century. Page 670.
  3. Meyer. Japan: A Concise History. Page 144
  4. Keane. Emperor of Japan:Meiji and his World. Page 435.
  5. Mason. Japan's First General Election, 1890.

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References