1969 Japanese general election

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1969 Japanese general election
Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg
  1967 27 December 1969 1972  

All 486 seats in the House of Representatives of Japan
244 seats needed for a majority
Turnout68.51% (Decrease2.svg5.47pp)
 First partySecond partyThird party
  Eisaku Sato cropped 1 Eisaku Sato 19641109.jpg Tomomi-Narita-1.png Yoshikatsu-Takeiri-3.png
Leader Eisaku Satō Tomomi Narita Yoshikatsu Takeiri
Party Liberal Democratic Socialist Kōmeitō
Leader since1 December 196430 November 196813 February 1967
Leader's seatYamaguchi–2ndKagawa–1stTokyo–10th
Last election48.80%, 277 seats27.88%, 140 seats5.38%, 25 seats
Seats won2889047
Seat changeIncrease2.svg11Decrease2.svg50Increase2.svg22
Popular vote22,381,57010,074,1015,124,666
Percentage47.63%21.44%10.91%
SwingDecrease2.svg1.17ppDecrease2.svg6.44ppIncrease2.svg5.53pp

 Fourth partyFifth party
  Eiichi-Nishimura-1 (Cropped).png The-Zenei-1962-December-Special-1.png
Leader Eiichi Nishimura Kenji Miyamoto
Party Democratic Socialist Communist
Leader sinceJune 19671 August 1958
Leader's seatOsaka–5thDid not contest
Last election7.40%, 30 seats4.76%, 5 seats
Seats won3114
Seat changeIncrease2.svg1Increase2.svg9
Popular vote3,636,5913,199,032
Percentage7.74%6.81%
SwingIncrease2.svg0.34ppIncrease2.svg2.05pp

1969 JAPAN GENERAL ELECTION, combined vote share.svg

Prime Minister before election

Eisaku Satō
Liberal Democratic

Prime Minister after election

Eisaku Satō
Liberal Democratic

General elections were held in Japan on 27 December 1969. The result was a victory for the Liberal Democratic Party, which won 288 of the 486 seats. [1] Voter turnout was 68.51%, the lowest since 1947. This was the first general election in Japanese history in which candidates were allowed limited use of television as a means for campaigning, something that had been formerly proscribed under Japan's strict election campaign laws. [2]

The main national policy issue at the time was the possibility of reverting Okinawa, which had been under American military occupation since the end of World War II, back over to Japanese control. Nonetheless, as is characteristic of Japanese elections, voters were more interested in pocket book issues, or "livelihood problems" (kurashi mondai), over pressing national and foreign policy questions. The election was marked by relative apathy, especially among young people in urban areas, with voter turnout in Tokyo being the lowest in the country, dropping from 63.12% in the last election to 56.35% in the 1969 election. [2]

Moreover, old districting laws from the pre-war period were still in effect, and as urban areas increased in population, individual rural voters (who were heavily skewed towards the LDP) were disproportionately more powerful than the average individual urban voter. In any event, the actual popular vote of the LDP had been continuously sliding down since its formation, and the LDP's increase in seats was more attributable to its competent endorsement of only a limited number of local seat candidates when compared to the Japan Socialist Party, which ran too many candidates and thus split votes at a disastrous rate. Ironically, what little increase in support the JSP saw was found primarily in rural areas rather than urban areas, the latter of which were traditionally seen as the base of the JSP's support; the young Kōmeitō and reformed Japanese Communist Party had been gradually making inroads into urban areas, further eating away at the JSP's strength. [2]

Results

Ichirō Ozawa won a seat in the House of Representatives for the first time, becoming the youngest elected legislator at the time. He went on to become a powerful political figure in the LDP and other parties. [3] [4]

Future prime minister Tsutomu Hata was drafted to run in the election following his father's death, and won a seat for the first time. [5] Future prime minister Junichiro Koizumi also attempted to win his late father's seat in the election, but lost. [6]

Japan House of Representatives 1969.svg
PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Liberal Democratic Party 22,381,57047.63288+11
Japan Socialist Party 10,074,10121.4490–50
Komeitō 5,124,66610.9147+22
Democratic Socialist Party 3,636,5917.7431+1
Japanese Communist Party 3,199,0326.8114+9
Other parties81,3730.1700
Independents2,492,5605.3016+7
Total46,989,893100.004860
Valid votes46,989,89399.03
Invalid/blank votes459,8160.97
Total votes47,449,709100.00
Registered voters/turnout69,260,42468.51
Source: Statistics Bureau of Japan

By prefecture

PrefectureTotal
seats
Seats won
LDP JSP Kōmeitō DSP JCP Ind.
Aichi 201343
Akita 8431
Aomori 74111
Chiba 131012
Ehime 9621
Fukui 431
Fukuoka 1993421
Fukushima 129111
Gifu 972
Gunma 1082
Hiroshima 1281111
Hokkaido 2212721
Hyōgo 1994321
Ibaraki 12921
Ishikawa 651
Iwate 844
Kagawa 6411
Kagoshima 11812
Kanagawa 145333
Kōchi 5311
Kumamoto 10811
Kyoto 1041212
Mie 972
Miyagi 963
Miyazaki 6411
Nagano 137411
Nagasaki 95211
Nara 5311
Niigata 1596
Ōita 7511
Okayama 10622
Osaka 2382661
Saga 541
Saitama 138212
Shiga 5311
Shimane 541
Shizuoka 149311
Tochigi 106211
Tokushima 5311
Tokyo 391721046
Tottori 431
Toyama 642
Wakayama 6321
Yamagata 8332
Yamaguchi 9612
Yamanashi 532
Total4862889047311416

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References

  1. "統計局ホームページ/第27章 公務員・選挙". Archived from the original on 2015-02-15. Retrieved 2012-12-19.
  2. 1 2 3 Curtis, Gerald L. (1970). "The 1969 General Election in Japan". Asian Survey. 10 (10): 859–871. doi:10.2307/2643097. ISSN   0004-4687. JSTOR   2643097.
  3. Hayashi, Yuka (2010-09-09). "Japan's Kingmaker Bids to Seize the Crown". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 2020-09-08.
  4. Desmond, Edward W. (2010-06-16). "Ichiro Ozawa: Reformer at Bay". ISSN   0015-7120 . Retrieved 2020-09-08.
  5. "Hata: Japan's Hope to End Paralysis". Los Angeles Times. 1994-04-23. Retrieved 2020-09-08.
  6. "Koizumi Urges Constitutional Revision For Direct Election of Japanese Premier". Wall Street Journal. 2001-04-27. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 2020-09-08.