The Japanese political process has two types of elections.
The Hokkaido at-large district is a constituency of the House of Councillors in the Diet of Japan. It consists of the prefecture (dō) of Hokkai[dō] and is represented by six Councillors electing three at a time every three years by single non-transferable vote for six-year terms. In the election period from 2019 to 2022, Hokkaido's Councillors are :
The 17th unified local elections in Japan took place in April 2011. In the first phase on April 10, 2011, 12 governors, 41 prefectural assemblies as well as five mayors and 15 assemblies in cities designated by government ordinance were elected. In the second phase on April 24, 2011, mayors and assemblies in hundreds of cities, "special wards" of Tokyo, towns, and villages were up for election. Additionally, a by-election for the National Diet was held in Aichi on April 24.
General elections were held in Japan on 22 October 2017. Voting took place in all Representatives constituencies of Japan – 289 single-member districts and eleven proportional blocks – in order to appoint all 465 members of the House of Representatives, the lower house of the then 707-member bicameral National Diet of Japan. Incumbent Prime Minister Shinzō Abe's governing coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Komeito party retained their seats in signs of what was perceived as weak opposition. The PM won his fourth term in office and held on to the two-thirds supermajority in order to implement policies on revising the war-renouncing Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution.
The first stage of the 18th unified local elections in Japan took place on April 12, 2015. The Liberal Democratic Party under leadership of Shinzo Abe was the overall victor, winning many races including all ten gubernatorial races and 1,153 of the 2,284 assembly seats at stake. Further elections for municipal mayors and assemblies took place on April 26.
The Japan Innovation Party is a conservative and right-wing populist political party in Japan. Formed as Initiatives from Osaka in October 2015 from a split in the old Japan Innovation Party, the party became the third-biggest opposition party in the National Diet following the July 2016 House of Councillors election.
The 2015 Hyōgo prefectural election was an election for the Hyogo Prefectural Assembly held on 12 April 2015 as part of the 2015 unified local elections in Japan. The election saw the number of assembly members reduced from 89 to 87 and the number of electoral districts reduced from 41 to 40. Voting was held in 23 districts and representatives for the remaining 17 districts were elected unopposed. The election was held in the wake of the political expenses scandal that was exposed in July 2014 involving multiple assembly members and was notable for former assemblyman Ryutaro Nonomura's outburst of uncontrolled sobbing at a news conference.
General elections were held in Japan on 31 October 2021, as required by the constitution. Voting took place in all constituencies in order to elect members to the House of Representatives, the lower house of the National Diet. As the constitution requires the cabinet to resign in the first Diet session after a general election, the elections will also lead to a new election for Prime Minister in the Diet, and the appointment of a new cabinet, although ministers may be re-appointed. The election was the first general election of the Reiwa era.
Niigata 1st district is a constituency of the House of Representatives in the National Diet of Japan, represented by Chinami Nishimura of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan since 2017. As of 2017, 439,968 eligible voters were registered in the district
A gubernatorial election was held on 7 April 2019 to elect the next governor of Mie.
The 2019 Osaka mayoral election was held on 7 April 2019 to elect the next mayor of Osaka. Incumbent mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura decided to not seek a second term as mayor of Osaka in order to run as Governor of Osaka. The result of the election was a victory for Governor of Osaka Prefecture Ichiro Matsui. He received 58% of the vote.
The 2020 Tokyo gubernatorial election took place on 5 July 2020 to elect the Governor of Tokyo. In a result viewed as an endorsement of her handling of Tokyo's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, incumbent Yuriko Koike was re-elected for a second term in a landslide, increasing her share of the vote to 59.7%.
House of Councillors elections were held in Japan on 10 July 2022 to elect 125 of the 248 members of the upper house of the National Diet, for a term of six years. The elections occurred after the assassination of Shinzo Abe, former Prime Minister of Japan on 8 July 2022. The elected candidate with the fewest votes in the Kanagawa prefectural district will serve for three years, as the district combined its regular and byelections.
The 2023 Osaka Prefecture Gubernatorial election is scheduled to be held on 9 April 2023 as part of the 20th unified local elections. Incumbent Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura won re-election to a second term, defeating Taniguchi Mayumi who was supported by the Liberal Democratic Party, Constitutional Democratic Party and several minor candidates.
The 2023 Osaka City Council election was held following the expiration of the council's four-year term on 9 April 2023, marking the first half of the 20th national unified elections. There were 128 candidates running for 81 seats in the city's 24 wards. The political parties contesting the election were: the Osaka Ishin, Komeito, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Japan Communist Party (JCP), Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP), and the Reiwa Shinsengumi (Reiwa).
2023 Wakayama 1st district by-election was held on 23 April 2023 because Shuhei Kishimoto resigned as a member of the House of Representatives.
Shibata Takumi is a Japanese politician who is serving as a member of the National Diet in the House of Councillors for Nippon Ishin no Kai as part of the Japanese House of Councillors national proportional representation block.
On April 28, 2024, by-elections in Japan were held in order to fill vacancies in the National Diet of Japan. In the October 27 slot, there will be at least one national by-election, for the Iwate senate seat in the 2022 class after incumbent Megumi Hirose (LDP→independent) has resigned.
The 2024 Tokyo gubernatorial election took place on 7 July 2024 to elect the Governor of Tokyo. Incumbent Yuriko Koike was re-elected for a third term, albeit at a reduced share of the votes compared to her 2016 election and 2020 re-election. Shinji Ishimaru, the former Mayor of Akitakata, exceeded expectations to place second behind Koike. Meanwhile, lawmaker Renhō, who was endorsed by the main left-wing opposition parties and was widely considered Koike's main opponent leading up to election day, significantly underperformed her polling and placed third.
