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The 27th general election of the House of Councillors is scheduled to be held in Japan by 27 July 2025 to elect 124, half of the 248 members of the House of Councillors, the upper house of the National Diet, for a term of six years. [1] [2]
The October 2024 general election resulted in the loss of majority of the Liberal Democratic Party-Komeito governing coalition in the House of Representatives under Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, [3] with the possibility of the ruling coalition suffering another "major defeat" at the House of Councillors election if opposition parties unite their candidates. [4]
According to Jiji Press, if five opposition parties, including the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP), make deals in the 32 single-seat constituencies, the ruling LDP-Komeito coalition is projected to win 10 seats against the opposition camp's 22, and only three if the Nippon Ishin no Kai, also known as the Japan Innovation Party, joins the opposition alliance. [4] In January 2025 Ishin introduced a plan to the CDP that would seek to "unify" the opposition in single-member districts against the LDP; their proposal involves the use of online polls and holding primary elections. Reiwa and the DPFP cast doubt on the plan while the Social Democrats declined to participate entirely. [5]
| Parties | Leader | Ideology | Seats | Status | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Last election | Before election | |||||
| Liberal Democratic Party | Shigeru Ishiba | Conservatism Japanese nationalism | 119 / 248 | 115 / 248 | Governing coalition | |
| Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan | Yoshihiko Noda | Liberalism | 39 / 248 | 38 / 248 | Opposition | |
| Komeito | Keiichi Ishii | Buddhist democracy Social conservatism | 27 / 248 | 27 / 248 | Governing coalition | |
| Nippon Ishin no Kai | Nobuyuki Baba | Right-wing populism Economic liberalism | 21 / 248 | 20 / 248 | Opposition | |
| Japanese Communist Party | Tomoko Tamura | Communism Democratic socialism | 11 / 248 | 11 / 248 | ||
| Democratic Party For the People | Yuichiro Tamaki | Conservatism | 10 / 248 | 9 / 248 | ||
| Reiwa Shinsengumi | Tarō Yamamoto | Progressivism Left-wing populism | 5 / 248 | 5 / 248 | ||
| Collaborative Party | Ayaka Otsu (disputed) | Anti–TV license fees | 2 / 248 | 0 / 248 | ||
| Social Democratic Party | Mizuho Fukushima | Social democracy | 1 / 248 | 2 / 248 | ||
| Sanseitō | Sohei Kamiya | Ultraconservatism Right-wing populism | 1 / 248 | 1 / 248 | Unaffiliated | |
Katsuya Okada is a Japanese politician who was Deputy Prime Minister of Japan from January to December 2012. A member of the House of Representatives of Japan, he was the President of the Democratic Party, and previously of the Democratic Party of Japan. He also served as Secretary-General of the DPJ three times. During the DPJ's period in government he was Foreign Minister of Japan.
The Japanese political process has two types of elections.
Sadakazu Tanigaki is a Japanese politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives from 1983 to 2017, as Minister of Finance from 2003 to 2006, as President of the Liberal Democratic Party and Leader of the Opposition from 2009 to 2012, as Minister of Justice from 2012 to 2014, and as LDP Secretary-General from 2014 to 2016. He was only the second LDP leader who was not simultaneously Prime Minister of Japan. He retired from politics following a spinal cord injury in 2016 that saw him using a wheelchair.
Toshihiro Nikai is a former Japanese politician for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the leader of the LDP Shisuikai faction, who served as the Secretary-General of the LDP from 2016 to 2021. He was previously the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry. Nikai is currently retired, after thirteen terms in the Lower House representing Wakayama's Third District. He is widely considered to be "Japan's most pro-China lawmaker". He has also been criticized for misogynistic views expressed in the past, and caused controversy when he invited women to "look, but not talk" at key party meetings.
Yukishige Okubo is a Japanese politician of the Democratic Party of Japan, a fmember of the House of Councillors in the Diet. A native of Isahaya, Nagasaki and graduate of Nagasaki University, he had served in the assembly of Nagasaki Prefecture since 2003. After running unsuccessfully for the House of Representatives in 2005, he was elected to the House of Councillors for the first time in 2007.
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Tokyo at-large district is an electoral district of the House of Councillors in the National Diet, the national legislature of Japan. The district was created in 1947 by the new Constitution of Japan and sent 8 members to the House from 1947 until 2007. From 2007 until 2016, this district sent 10 members to the House, and from 2016 onwards, the district has sent 12 councillors to the House, making it by far the largest constituency in the House of Councillors.
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 Nagasaki at-large district is a constituency of the House of Councillors in the Diet of Japan. It consists of Nagasaki Prefecture and elects two Councillors, one every three years by a first-past-the-post system for a six-year term. In the first election in 1947, Nagasaki like all districts used single non-transferable vote to elect both its Councillors in one election. Similar to other small, rural Kyushu prefectures, it is a "conservative kingdom" in favor of the LDP. Since the Democratic Party folded, LDP candidates have consistently won with over 50% of the vote.
The Iwate at-large district is a constituency of the House of Councillors in the Diet of Japan. It consists of Iwate Prefecture and elects two Councilors, one every three years, making it one of the decisive single-member districts. Ichirō Ozawa came from the prefecture, and as a result, it is much more markedly competitive than many other rural, 2 seat districts. In fact, it was represented by two opposition members until 2022, when Hirose defeated CDP Councilor Eiji Kidoguchi to return it to split control. Kidoguchi defeated other opposition parties to win it back in a 2024 by-election following Hirose's resignation. It is also one of the districts where the opposition have been most consolidated; the last time multiple major party opposition members ran was 2013. The last LDP member to represent the district before Hirose was Motoo Shiina, who left the party in 1998.
The Japan Innovation Party is a conservative and centre-right to 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 2016 House of Councillors election.
The Hyogo at-large district is a constituency that represents Hyogo Prefecture in the House of Councillors in the Diet of Japan. It currently has five Councillors in the 242-member house, but this representation will increase to six by July 2019.
The Japanese National Proportional Representation Block, known in Japan as the House of Councillors proportional district is an electoral district for the House of Councillors, the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. It consists of the whole nation and elects 50 members per election, 100 in total, by D'Hondt method proportional representation (PR).
General elections were held in Japan on 27 October 2024 due to the early dissolution of the House of Representatives, the lower house of the National Diet, by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. Voting took place in all constituencies, including proportional blocks, to elect all 465 members of the House of Representatives.
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 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 Japanese unified local elections were held across the country on 9 and 23 April 2023. In total 15,047 candidates were elected in 1,008 races with a high of 1,685 in Hokkaido and a low of 1 in Okinawa.
Free Education For All was a political party in Japan founded in 2023 by former members of the Democratic Party for the People.
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.
In the run up to the Next Japanese general election, various organisations carried out opinion polling to gauge voting intention. Results of such polls are displayed in this article. The date range for these opinion polls is from the previous general election, held on 27 October 2024, to the present day.
