1983 Japanese general election

1983 Japanese general election

←  1980 18 December 1983 1986  →
All 511 seats in the House of Representatives 256 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	67.94% ( 6.63pp)
First party Second party Third party   Leader Yasuhiro Nakasone Masashi Ishibashi Yoshikatsu Takeiri Party LDP Socialist Kōmeitō Last election 47.88%, 284 seats 19.31%, 107 seats 9.03%, 33 seats Seats won 250 112 58 Seat change 34 5 25 Popular vote 25,982,785 11,065,082 5,745,751 Percentage 45.76% 19.49% 10.12% Swing 2.12pp 0.18pp 1.09pp   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   New Leader Sasaki Ryōsaku  [ ja ] Tetsuzo Fuwa Seiichi Tagawa Party Democratic Socialist JCP New Liberal Club Last election 6.60%, 32 seats 9.83%, 29 seats 2.99%, 12 seats Seats won 38 26 8 Seat change 6 3 4 Popular vote 4,129,907 5,302,485 1,341,584 Percentage 7.27% 9.34% 2.36% Swing 0.67pp 0.49pp 0.63pp   Seventh party   Leader Hideo Den Party Socialist Democratic Last election 0.68%, 3 seats Seats won 3 Seat change Popular vote 381,045 Percentage 0.63% Swing 0.05pp
Districts shaded according to winners' vote strength
Prime Minister before election Yasuhiro Nakasone LDP Elected Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone LDP

General elections were held in Japan on 18 December 1983 to elect the 511 members of the House of Representatives. The voter turnout was 67.94%, the lowest it had ever been in post-war history up to that point, and a low which would not be surpassed until ten years later.

Contrary to pre-election polls by national daily papers which projected a comfortable majority for the LDP, the latter party lost 34 seats compared to the previous election, falling six seats short of the 256 needed for majority control. As a result, the major conservative party was forced to form a majority coalition government for the first time since 1948. ^[1] In order to do so, the LDP formed a coalition with the New Liberal Club, a move which JSP leader Masashi Ishibashi called a "betrayal of the electorate." ^[2]

It is likely that the LDP's losses resulted in great part due to running too many candidates and thus falling prey to the spoiler effect. The biggest winner among the opposition was Kōmeitō, which saw an increase in terms of both seats as well as the popular vote that exceeded all of the other parties. This election also saw considerable tactical voting cooperation between the Japan Socialist Party, Komeito, Socialist Democratic Federation, and Democratic Socialist Party in various combinations, which resulted in varying levels of success for the opposition, but primarily for Komeito's outcome. ^[1]

Results

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Liberal Democratic Party	25,982,785	45.76	250	–34
	Japan Socialist Party	11,065,083	19.49	112	+5
	Kōmeitō	5,745,751	10.12	58	+25
	Japanese Communist Party	5,302,485	9.34	26	–3
	Democratic Socialist Party	4,129,908	7.27	38	+6
	New Liberal Club	1,341,584	2.36	8	–4
	Socialist Democratic Federation	381,045	0.67	3	0
	Other parties	62,324	0.11	0	–
	Independents	2,768,736	4.88	16	+5
Total		56,779,701	100.00	511	0
Valid votes		56,779,701	99.19
Invalid/blank votes		461,128	0.81
Total votes		57,240,829	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		84,252,608	67.94
Source: Statistics Bureau of Japan, National Diet

Seats won per district
LDP JSP Kōmeitō JCP DSP (orange) & SDF (crimson) NLC Independent

By prefecture

Prefecture	Total seats	Seats won
		LDP	JSP	Kōmeitō	DSP	JCP	NLC	SDF	Ind.
Aichi	22	9	4	2	4				3
Akita	8	4	3			1
Aomori	7	5	1			1
Chiba	16	9	3	3		1
Ehime	9	6	3
Fukui	4	2			1				1
Fukuoka	19	8	4	3	2	2
Fukushima	12	7	3		1		1
Gifu	9	5	2	1		1
Gunma	10	6	3						1
Hiroshima	12	7	2	2	1
Hokkaido	22	8	9	1	1				3
Hyōgo	20	6	5	4	3	2
Ibaraki	12	6	3	1	1				1
Ishikawa	6	5	1
Iwate	8	6	1		1
Kagawa	6	5	1
Kagoshima	11	8	3
Kanagawa	19	3	5	4	4		3
Kōchi	5	2	1	1		1
Kumamoto	10	7	2	1
Kyoto	10	4	1	2	2	1
Mie	9	5	2	1	1
Miyagi	9	6	2	1
Miyazaki	6	3	2		1
Nagano	13	8	3		1	1
Nagasaki	9	5	2	1	1
Nara	5	1		1	1	1			1
Niigata	15	10	4						1
Ōita	7	3	2		1				1
Okayama	10	5	2	2				1
Okinawa	5	2	1	1		1
Osaka	26	6	5	7	3	4	1
Saga	5	4	1
Saitama	15	7	2	3	1		1		1
Shiga	5	2	1		1	1
Shimane	5	3	1			1
Shizuoka	14	6	3	1	2				2
Tochigi	10	5	3	1	1
Tokushima	5	3	1	1
Tokyo	43	14	6	11	3	6	2	1
Tottori	4	3	1
Toyama	6	4	2
Wakayama	6	3		1		1			1
Yamagata	8	5	2					1
Yamaguchi	9	6	2	1
Yamanashi	5	3	2
Total	511	250	112	58	38	26	8	3	16

References

1. Baerwald, Hans H. (1984). "Japan's December 1983 House of Representatives Election: The Return of Coalition Politics". Asian Survey. 24 (3): 265–278. doi:10.2307/2644066. ISSN   0004-4687. JSTOR   2644066.
2. "ELECCIONS". Dossier-CIDOB (2): 6–8. 1983. ISSN   1132-6093. JSTOR   40591549.