![]() | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
121 (of the 242) seats in the House of Councillors 122 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() Seats won by ■ – DPJ ■ – LDP ■ – NKP ■ – JCP ■ – PNP ■ – SDP Contents■ – No election | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
![]() |
---|
This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Japan |
![]() |
The 21st Elections to the House of Councillors(第21回参議院議員通常選挙 Dainijūikkai Sangiingiin Tsūjōsenkyo) for the upper house of the legislature of Japan were held on July 29, 2007. [1] [2] The date was originally to be July 22, but the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) decided in mid-June to extend the session of the House for a week to finish up legislative business; this step was criticised due to the short-term delay. [3]
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asian continent and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and the Philippine Sea in the south.
The Liberal Democratic Party of Japan, frequently abbreviated to LDP or Jimintō (自民党), is a conservative political party in Japan.
The House of Councillors consists of 242 members who serve six-year terms. Approximately half the members are elected every three years. The last election took place in 2004 when Junichiro Koizumi, Abe's predecessor, was in office.
Junichiro Koizumi is a Japanese politician, who was the 56th Prime Minister of Japan from 2001 to 2006. He retired from politics when his term in parliament ended in 2009, and is the sixth longest serving PM in Japanese history.
The house ended its 166th session on July 5, 2007, marking the unofficial beginning of campaign. The official campaign began on July 12. [4]
The ruling coalition of Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito lost control, creating the first divided Diet (opposition control of the House of Councillors) since 1999. The LDP became the second party for the first time, while the DPJ became first party for the first time.
The DPJ had 79 seats (82 including shin-ryokufukai) after the 2004 Upper House elections, winning 50 out of the 121 up for election, gaining 12, compared to the LDP's 49. As of February 17, 2007, the DPJ held 82 seats to the LDP's 111.
Ichirō Ozawa, the leader of the DPJ, addressed a workers' May Day rally in Yoyogi Park on April 28, 2007 setting out the party's agenda for the election. He pledged that the key policy areas would be an end to 'self-righteous' government, pension and medical reforms, and that the DPJ would 'stand in the shoes of workers, residents, and taxpayers'.
Ichirō Ozawa is a Japanese politician and has been a member of the House of Representatives since 1969, representing the Iwate 3rd district. He is often dubbed the "Shadow Shōgun" due to his back-room influence.
Yoyogi Park is a park in Yoyogikamizonocho, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, located adjacent to Harajuku Station and Meiji Shrine.
Reports throughout 2007 showed Shinzō Abe's approval ratings falling, [5] and public support for the DPJ's position on the recent pension scandal. [6] Several other scandals right up until the start of official campaigning did not improve the outlook for the LDP. [1]
Shinzō Abe is a Japanese politician serving as Prime Minister of Japan and Leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) since 2012. He previously served as Prime Minister from 2006 to 2007 and Chief Cabinet Secretary from 2005 to 2006. In 2019, Abe succeeded Shigeru Yoshida as the second-longest serving Prime Minister in post-war Japan and the fourth-longest serving PM in Japanese history.
According to results by NHK, the LDP lost its majority in the Upper House. Meanwhile, the DPJ managed to gain the largest margin since its formation in 1996. [7] LDP's coalition partner New Komeito lost 3 of its twelve seats. [7] [8] Although the opposition made it clear that they intended to officially ask for Abe's resignation, he vowed to "continue pitching" for leadership. [9]
Most of the candidates who received international coverage were defeated in the elections - including Alberto Fujimori, Kaori Tahara, Kanako Otsuji, Yoshiro Nakamatsu, and Yuko Tojo. [10] Notable candidates who were elected included iconoclastic former Nagano governor Yasuo Tanaka, who achieved one seat for his own New Party Nippon, and ethnic Finn Marutei Tsurunen, who was re-elected with the sixth-highest vote count on the DPJ party list.
The election resulted in the removal of numerous LDP councillors representing doctors, dentists, the construction industry and other special interest groups. Historically, such individuals had been elected solely by the votes of members of their own industries. [11]
Parties | Prefectural constituency vote | National PR vote | Elected in 2007 | Not up | Total seats | +/− [13] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes [14] | % | Seats | Votes [15] | % | Seats | ||||||
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Jiyū Minshutō | 18,606,193 | 31.35 | 23 | 16,544,696 | 28.1 | 14 | 37 | 46 | 83 | ![]() | |
New Komeito Party (NKP) Kōmeitō | 3,534,672 | 5.96 | 2 | 7,762,324 | 13.2 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 20 | ![]() | |
Ruling centre-right coalition | 22,140,865 | 37.31 | 25 | 24,307,020 | 41.3 | 21 | 46 | 57 | 103 | ![]() | |
Democratic Party (DPJ) Minshutō | 24,006,817.693 | 40.45 | 40 | 23,256,242 | 39.5 | 20 | 60 | 49 | 109 | ![]() | |
Social Democratic Party (SDP) Shakai Minshutō | 1,352,018 | 2.28 | 0 | 2,637,716 | 4.5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | ![]() | |
People's New Party (PNP) Kokumin Shintō | 1,111,005 | 1.87 | 1 | 1,269,220 | 2.2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ![]() | |
New Party Nippon (NPN) Shintō Nippon | – | 1,770,697 | 3.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ![]() | |||
Centre-left opposition | 26,469,840.693 | 44.60 | 41 | 28,933,875 | 49.1 | 24 | 65 | 54 | 119 | ![]() | |
Japanese Communist Party (JCP) Nihon Kyōsantō | 5,164,572.184 | 8.70 | 0 | 4,407,937 | 7.5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 7 | ![]() | |
Others | 477,182.472 | 0.80 | 0 | 1,264,841 | 2.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ![]() | |
Independents [16] | 5,095,168.460 | 8.59 | 7 | – | 7 | 6 | 13 | ![]() | |||
Total | 59,347,628.809 | 100.00 | 73 | 58,913,700 | 100.00 | 48 | 121 | 121 | 242 | ![]() (vacancies) | |
Turnout [17] | 58.64% | 58.63% | – |
Source: [18]
Party | Party list votes | PR votes total | Top elected PR candidates with preference votes | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic Party (DPJ) Minshutō | 18,829,335 | 23,256,242.307 | Kumiko Aihara | 507,787 | Saori Yoshikawa | 306,575 | Ai Aoki | 297,034 |
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Jiyū Minshutō | 10,543,574 | 16,544,696.515 | Yōichi Masuzoe | 470,571 | Toshio Yamada | 449,182 | Kyoko Nakayama | 385,909.714 |
New Komeito Party (NKP) Shin Kōmeitō | 3,520,417 | 7,765,324.212 | Kanae Yamamoto | 1,027,546.325 | Kentaro Koba | 706,993 | Hiroshi Yamamoto | 619,837.396 |
Japanese Communist Party (JCP) Nihon Kyōsantō | 3,931,542 | 4,407,937.067 | Satoshi Inoue | 189,456 | Tomoko Kami | 76,877.832 | Yoshiki Yamashita | 55,912.849 |
Social Democratic Party (SDP) Shakai Minshutō | 1,981,216 | 2,634,716.554 | Seiji Mataichi | 218,850.049 | Tokushin Yamauchi | 145,666.597 | ||
People's New Party (PNP) Kokumin Shintō | 679,054 | 1,269,220.927 | Shozaburo Jimi | 117,590 | ||||
New Party Nippon (NPN) Shintō Nippon | 1,141,196 | 1,770,697.114 | Yasuo Tanaka | 458,211.81 | ||||
Others | 910,739 | 1,264,848.987 |
Elected candidates in bold
Notes:
Source: [19]
Northern Japan | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Prefecture | Seats up | Incumbents | Party | Result | Candidates (Party – endorsements) Vote share | |
Hokkaidō | 2 | Chūichi Date | LDP | Incumbents re-elected DPJ gains top tōsen | Katsuya Ogawa (DPJ) 36.0% Chūichi Date (LDP – Kōmeitō) 26.8% Kaori Tahara (I – DPJ, PNP, NPD) 22.0% Kazuya Hatayama (JCP) 7.3% Hideyoshi Hashiba (I) 3.7% Takao Asano (SDP) 2.8% Masayuki Arakawa (I) 0.8% Nobuhito Sendai (Ishin Seito Shimpū) 0.6% | |
Katsuya Ogawa | DPJ | |||||
Aomori | 1 | Tsutomu Yamazaki | LDP | Incumbent lost re-election DPJ pickup | Kōji Hirayama (DPJ – PNP) 49.0% Tsutomu Yamazaki (LDP – Kōmeitō) 39.9% Hidehiko Watanabe (SDP) 6.0% Hiroaki Takayanagi (JCP) 5.1% | |
Iwate | 1 | Tatsuo Hirano | DPJ | Incumbent re-elected | Tatsuo Hirano (DPJ – PNP) 62.6% Shōichirō Chida (LDP – Kōmeitō) 25.2% Masahiro Isawa (SDP) 6.8% Akio Wakayama (JCP) 5.4% | |
Miyagi | 2 | Tomiko Okazaki | DPJ | Incumbents re-elected | Tomiko Okazaki (DPJ) 52.7% Jirō Aichi (LDP – Kōmeitō) 34.5% Mikio Katō (JCP) 6.9% Kiyomi Kishida (SDP) 5.9% | |
Jirō Aichi | LDP | |||||
Akita | 1 | Katsutoshi Kaneda | LDP | Incumbent lost re-election DPJ pickup | Daigo Matsuura (I – DPJ, SDP) 50.4% Katsutoshi Kaneda (LDP) 43.6% Satoshi Suzuki (JCP) 6.0% | |
Yamagata | 1 | Masatoshi Abe | LDP | Incumbent retired DPJ pickup | Yasue Funayama (DPJ – PNP) 57.3% Mieko Shinohara (LDP – Kōmeitō) 36.8% Masayuki Satō (JCP) 5.9% | |
Fukushima | 2 | Toyoaki Ōta | LDP | Incumbents retired LDP and DPJ hold DPJ gains top tōsen | Emi Kaneko (DPJ) 49.9% Masako Mori (LDP – Kōmeitō) 37.0% Shizue Miyamoto (JCP) 7.8% Uzen Ogawa (SDP) 5.4% | |
Hiroko Wada | DPJ | |||||
Eastern and Central Japan | ||||||
Prefecture | Seats up | Incumbents | Party | Result | Candidates (Party – endorsements) Vote share | |
Ibaraki | 2 | Yasu Kanō | LDP | Incumbents retired LDP and DPJ hold DPJ gains top tōsen | Yukihisa Fujita (DPJ) 43.4% Tamon Hasegawa (LDP) 34.3% Masao Ishizu (I) 9.2% Takeo Taya (JCP) 6.9% Toshitaka Kudō (PNP) 4.2% Hiromitsu Mutō (Kyōsei) 1.9% | |
Moto Kobayashi | DPJ | |||||
Tochigi | 1 | Masayuki Kunii | LDP | 1 seat lost by reapportionment LDP incumbent lost re-election DPJ incumbent re-elected | Hiroyuki Tani (DPJ – PNP) 53.9% Masayuki Kunii (LDP – Kōmeitō) 41.4% Kazunori Koike (JCP) 4.7% | |
Hiroyuki Tani | DPJ | |||||
Gunma | 1 | Ichita Yamamoto | LDP | 1 seat lost by reapportionment DPJ incumbent retired LDP incumbent re-elected | Ichita Yamamoto (LDP – Kōmeitō) 62.0% Kōji Fukuda (PNP – DPJ) 27.0% Hiroaki Sakai (JCP) 11.1% | |
Giichi Tsunoda | DPJ | |||||
Saitama | 3 | Taizō Satō | LDP | DPJ incumbent re-elected LDP incumbent retired LDP hold Kōmeitō incumbent lost re-election DPJ pickup DPJ gains top tōsen | Kuniko Kōda (DPJ) 23.5% Toshiharu Furukawa (LDP) 21.6% Ryūji Yamane (DPJ) 21.0% Hiroshi Takano (Kōmeitō) 19.7% Sumiko Ayabe (JCP) 8.7% Etsuko Matsuzawa (SDP) 3.3% Tetsuo Sawada (PNP) 2.3% | |
Hiroshi Takano | Kōmeitō | |||||
Ryūji Yamane | DPJ | |||||
Chiba | 3 | Hiroyuki Kurata | LDP | Incumbents retired LDP and DPJ hold DPJ gains top tōsen | Hiroyuki Nagahama (DPJ) 25.2% Jun'ichi Ishii (LDP – Kōmeitō) 20.5% Ken Kagaya (DPJ) 18.1% Takaki Shirasuka (LDP – Kōmeitō) 14.7% Fumiko Asano (JCP) 8.1% Susumu Honma (I) 4.9% Kazumi Aoki (SDP) 4.7% Michiko Iwabuchi (PNP) 3.8% | |
Akira Imaizumi | DPJ | |||||
1 seat gained by reapportionment DPJ pickup | ||||||
Tokyo | 5 | Sanzō Hosaka | LDP | JCP incumbent retired DPJ and Kōmeitō incumbents re-elected LDP incumbent lost re-election LDP hold DPJ pickup DPJ gains top tōsen | Masako Ōkawara (DPJ) 18.4% Natsuo Yamaguchi (Kōmeitō) 13.5% Kan Suzuki (DPJ) 13.2% Tamayo Marukawa (LDP) 11.7% Ryūhei Kawada (I) 11.6% Sanzō Hosaka (LDP) 11.0% Tomoko Tamura (JCP) 9.4% Hitomi Sugiura (SDP) 3.5% Keiichirō Nakamura (PNP) 2.6% Dr. NakaMats (I) 1.6% Kishō Kurokawa (Kyōsei) 1.2% Yūko Tōjō (I) 1.0% Nobuyuki Suzuki (Ishin) 0.4% Kikuo Suda (Halve Parliament) 0.3 % Toshiaki Kanda (I) 0.2% 5 other candidates 0.5% | |
Natsuo Yamaguchi | Kōmeitō | |||||
Kan Suzuki | DPJ | |||||
Yasuo Ogata | JCP | |||||
1 seat gained by reapportionment Independent pickup | ||||||
Kanagawa | 3 | Yutaka Kobayashi | LDP | LDP incumbent re-elected LDP incumbent retires Kōmeitō incumbent lost re-election 2 DPJ pickups DPJ gains top tōsen post-election: LDP incumbent disqualified → Kōmeitō hold (see note) | Hiroe Makiyama (DPJ) 25.4% Yutaka Kobayashi (LDP) 22.5% Masahi Mito (DPJ) 19.7% Akira Matsu (Kōmeitō) 17.4% Kimie Hatano (JCP) 9.7% Shigeru Wada (SDP) 3.2% Sachiko Saitō (PNP) 1.5% Toshimori Mizoguchi (Ishin) 0.5% | |
Akira Matsu | Kōmeitō | |||||
Yoriko Kawaguchi | LDP | |||||
Niigata | 2 | Takahiro Kuroiwa | DPJ | DPJ incumbent re-elected DPJ incumbent lost re-election LDP pickup | Ichirō Tsukada (LDP – Kōmeitō) 32.1% Yūko Mori (DPJ – PNP) 28.3% Takahiro Kuroiwa (DPJ) 27.4% Akiko Yamamoto (SDP) 7.2% Katsutoshi Takeda (JCP) 4.3% Mitsumasa Kusuhara (I) 0.6% | |
Yūko Mori | DPJ | |||||
Toyama | 1 | Kōtarō Nogami | LDP | Incumbent lost re-election PNP pickup | Takashi Morita (I – DPJ, SDP, PNP) 50.1% Kōtarō Nogami (LDP) 45.7% Kazuyuki Izumino (JCP) 4.2% | |
Ishikawa | 1 | Tetsuo Kutsukake | LDP | Incumbent retired DPJ pickup | Yasuo Ichikawa (DPJ – PNP) 46.9% Tomirō Yata (LDP – Kōmeitō) 46.2% Mikiko Chikamatsu (JCP) 4.9% Shigeru Hamasaki (I) 2.0% | |
Fukui | 1 | Ryūji Matsumura | LDP | Incumbent re-elected | Ryūji Matsumura (LDP – Kōmeitō) 47.5% Seizō Wakaizumi (DPJ – PNP) 46.8% Kazuo Yamada (JCP) 5.7% | |
Yamanashi | 1 | Mahito Nakajima | LDP | Incumbent retired DPJ pickup | Harunobu Yonenaga (DPJ – PNP) 55.3% Kaname Irikuri (LDP – Kōmeitō) 37.1% Hitoshi Hanada (JCP) 7.5% | |
Nagano | 2 | Hiromi Yoshida | LDP | Incumbents re-elected DPJ gains top tōsen | Yūichirō Hata (DPJ) 47.9% Hiromi Yoshida (LDP – Kōmeitō) 26.8% Sanae Nakano (JCP) 17.3% Hiroji Nakagawa (SDP) 8.0% | |
Yūichirō Hata | DPJ | |||||
Gifu | 2 | Tsuyako Ōno | LDP | DPJ incumbent re-elected LDP incumbent retired LDP hold | Takao Fujii (I – LDP, Kōmeitō) 46.1% Kenji Hirata (DPJ) 44.1% Takao Katō (JCP) 9.8% | |
Kenji Hirata | DPJ | |||||
Shizuoka | 2 | Yutaka Takeyama | LDP | DPJ incumbent re-elected LDP incumbent retired LDP hold DPJ gains top tōsen | Kazuya Shinba (DPJ) 47.1% Takao Makino (LDP – Kōmeitō) 31.4% Ichi Kibe (I) 8.6% Takashige Hiraga (JCP) 7.9% Hirokazu Tsuchida (I) 4.9% | |
Kazuya Shinba | DPJ | |||||
Aichi | 3 | Seiji Suzuki | LDP | LDP and DPJ incumbents re-elected Kōmeitō incumbent lost re-election DPJ pickup DPJ gains top tōsen | Kōhei Ōtsuka (DPJ) 26.4% Seiji Suzuki (LDP) 22.0% Kuniko Tanioka (DPJ – PNP) 21.6% Tamotsu Yamamoto (Kōmeitō) 17.6% Hiroko Hatta (JCP) 8.8% Ryōhei Hirayama (SDP) 2.1% Takashi Hyōdō (I) 0.7% Masaji Tsuge (Ishin) 0.4% Arakawa Kōtarō (Kyōsei) 0.4% | |
Kōhei Ōtsuka | DPJ | |||||
Tamotsu Yamamoto | Kōmeitō | |||||
Mie | 1 | Chiaki Takahashi | DPJ | Incumbent re-elected | Chiaki Takahashi (DPJ – PNP) 59.4% Kōhei Onozaki (LDP – Kōmeitō) 33.0% Takeshi Nakano (JCP) 7.7% | |
Western Japan | ||||||
Prefecture | Seats up | Incumbents | Party | Result | Candidates (Party – endorsements) Vote share | |
Shiga | 1 | Hidetoshi Yamashita | LDP | Incumbent lost re-election DPJ pickup | Hisashi Tokunaga (DPJ – PNP) 50.2% Hidetoshi Yamashita (LDP – Kōmeitō) 40.6% Ikuo Tsubota (JCP) 9.2% | |
Kyōto | 2 | Yoshihiro Nishida | LDP | DPJ incumbent re-elected LDP incumbent retired LDP hold DPJ gains top tōsen | Kōji Matsui (DPJ) 43.6% Shōji Nishida (LDP – Kōmeitō) 31.4% Mariko Narumiya (JCP) 23.9% Toyokazu Ōkida (Ishin) 1.1% | |
Kōji Matsui | DPJ | |||||
Ōsaka | 3 | Shūzen Tanigawa | LDP | LDP and Kōmeitō incumbents re-elected DPJ incumbent retired DPJ hold DPJ gains top tōsen | Satoshi Umemura (DPJ) 33.2% Kazuyoshi Shirahama (Kōmeitō) 21.7% Shūzen Tanigawa (LDP) 18.9% Takeshi Miyamoto (JCP) 15.2% Junko Shiraishi (PNP) 4.2% Ryōichi Hattori (SDP – 9-jō Net) 3.7% Takeshi Ueda (I) 1.4% Shōnosuke Hayashi (I) 1.3% Yoshio Ōtani (I) 0.5% | |
Kazuyoshi Shirahama | Kōmeitō | |||||
Takashi Yamamoto | DPJ | |||||
Hyōgo | 2 | Yoshitada Kōnoike | LDP | Incumbents re-elected DPJ gains top tōsen | Yasuhiro Tsuji (DPJ) 44.1% Yoshitada Kōnoike (LDP – Kōmeitō) 34.9% Terufumi Horiuchi (JCP) 10.9% Kazumi Hara (9-jō Net) 7.5% Yukimitsu Nishida (I) 2.6% | |
Yasuhiro Tsuji | DPJ | |||||
Nara | 1 | vacant (last held by Shōgo Arai, LDP) | DPJ pickup | Tetsuji Nakamura (DPJ – PNP) 52.5% Masatake Matsui (LDP – Kōmeitō) 36.9% Atsuko Nakamura (JCP) 10.6% | ||
Wakayama | 1 | Hiroshige Sekō | LDP | Incumbent re-elected | Hiroshige Sekō (LDP – Kōmeitō) 52.3% Naoto Sakaguchi (DPJ – PNP) 38.2% Hideaki Kunishige (JCP) 9.5% | |
Tottori | 1 | Takayoshi Tsuneda | LDP | Incumbent lost re-election DPJ pickup | Yoshihiro Kawakami (DPJ – PNP) 51.5% Takayoshi Tsuneda (LDP – Kōmeitō) 41.4% Shōzō Ichitani (JCP) 7.2% | |
Shimane | 1 | Shuntarō Kageyama | LDP | Incumbent lost re-election PNP pickup | Akiko Kamei (PNP – DPJ) 50.9% Shuntarō Kageyama (LDP – Kōmeitō) 43.6% Kazuhiko Gotō (JCP) 5.5% | |
Okayama | 1 | Toranosuke Katayama | LDP | Incumbent lost re-election DPJ pickup | Yumiko Himei (DPJ – PNP) 49.4% Toranosuke Katayama (LDP – Kōmeitō) 44.2% Kanji Uemoto (JCP) 4.7% Fukuji Hayashi (I) 1.0% Makoto Kitagawa (Ishin) 0.6% | |
Hiroshima | 2 | vacant (last held by Takeaki Kashimura, LDP) | Incumbent re-elected DPJ pickup DPJ gains top tōsen | Kōji Satō (DPJ – PNP) 43.9% Kensei Mizote (LDP – Kōmeitō) 30.0% Miyoko Kōno (I) 15.3% Satoshi Fujimoto (JCP) 4.9% Yui Yoshinaga (I) 4.2% Jun'ichi Fukumoto (I) 1.7% | ||
Kensei Mizote | LDP | |||||
Yamaguchi | 1 | Yoshimasa Hayashi | LDP | Incumbent re-elected | Yoshimasa Hayashi (LDP – Kōmeitō) 56.7% Takako Tokura (DPJ – PNP) 36.2% Sadayoshi Yoshida (JCP) 7.1% | |
Tokushima | 1 | Shūji Kitaoka | LDP | Incumbent lost re-election DPJ pickup | Tomoji Nakatani (DPJ) 54.0% Shūji Kitaoka (LDP – Kōmeitō) 39.3% Atsushi Hanaoka (JCP) 6.7% | |
Kagawa | 1 | Kenji Manabe | LDP | Incumbent lost re-election DPJ pickup | Emiko Uematsu (DPJ) 53.6% Kenji Manabe (LDP – Kōmeitō) 40.6% Michiko Chikaishi (JCP) 5.8% | |
Ehime | 1 | Katsutsugu Sekiya | LDP | Incumbent lost re-election DPJ pickup | Toshirō Tomochika (I – DPJ, SDP, PNP) 51.3% Katsutsugu Sekiya (LDP – Kōmeitō) 43.1% Katsuhiko Tanaka (JCP) 5.5% | |
Kōchi | 1 | Kōhei Tamura | LDP | Incumbent lost re-election DPJ pickup | Norio Takeuchi (DPJ) 44.7% Kōhei Tamura (LDP – Kōmeitō) 41.4% Nobuo Murakami (JCP) 13.9% | |
Southern Japan | ||||||
Prefecture | Seats up | Incumbents | Party | Result | Candidates (Party – endorsements) Vote share | |
Fukuoka | 2 | Masaji Matsuyama | LDP | Incumbents re-elected DPJ gains top tōsen | Tsukasa Iwamoto (DPJ) 46.8% Masaji Matsuyama (LDP – Kōmeitō) 36.9% Miyuki Tanaka (JCP) 8.7% Hideo Kanaiwa (SDP) 5.3% Yoshihisa Baba (Ishin) 1.7% Takayuki Shūnan (Kyōsei) 0.7% | |
Tsukasa Iwamoto | DPJ | |||||
Saga | 1 | Takao Jinnouchi | LDP | Incumbent retired DPJ pickup | Minoru Kawasaki (DPJ – SDP, PNP) 49.6% Yoshiyuki Kawakami (LDP – Kōmeitō) 44.6% Junko Nakao (JCP) 5.9% | |
Nagasaki | 1 | Tadashi Taura | LDP | Incumbent retired DPJ pickup | Yukishige Ōkubo (DPJ – PNP) 49.0% Tadatoshi Komine (LDP – Kōmeitō) 46.0% Eiko Fuchise (JCP) 5.0% | |
Kumamoto | 1 | Issei Miura | LDP | Incumbent lost re-election DPJ pickup | Nobuo Matsuno (DPJ – PNP) 48.4% Issei Miura (LDP – Kōmeitō) 47.5% Yoshiaki Hashida (JCP) 4.1% | |
Ōita | 1 | Hiroko Gotō | PNP | Incumbent lost re-election LDP pickup | Yōsuke Isozaki (LDP – Kōmeitō) 32.6% Taiwa Yano (I – DPJ) 27.9% Bunroku Matsumoto (I – SDP) 22.9% Hiroko Gotō (PNP) 10.3% Kai Yamashita (JCP) 6.2% | |
Miyazaki | 1 | Toshifumi Kosehira | LDP | Incumbent lost re-election DPJ pickup | Itsuki Toyama (I – DPJ, SDP, PNP) 37.6% Toshifumi Kosehira (LDP) 28.0% Haruo Higashi (I) 14.3% Motoi Nagamine (I) 14.0% Hiromitsu Baba (JCP) 4.9% Motohiro Ino (Kyōsei) 1.3% | |
Kagoshima | 1 | Yoshito Kajiya | LDP | Incumbent re-elected | Yoshito Kajiya (LDP – Kōmeitō) 47.6% Inao Minayoshi (DPJ – PNP) 47.3% Haruki Yamaguchi (JCP) 5.0% | |
Okinawa | 1 | Junshirō Nishime | LDP | Incumbent lost re-election Independent (OSMP) pickup | Keiko Itokazu (I – DPJ, JCP, SDP, PNP) 60.2% Junshirō Nishime (LDP – Kōmeitō) 39.8% |
The politics of Japan are conducted in a framework of a multi-party bicameral parliamentary representative democratic constitutional monarchy whereby the Emperor is the ceremonial head of state and the Prime Minister is the head of government and the head of the Cabinet, which directs the executive branch.
A general election took place in Japan on November 9, 2003. Incumbent Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of the Liberal Democrat Party won the election but with a reduced majority. The main opposition Democratic Party made considerable gains, winning 177 of the 480 seats in the House of Representatives, its largest share ever. Other traditional parties like the Communist Party and the Social Democrat Party lost a significant numbers of seats, making a two-party system a possibility in later Japanese politics.
Elections to the House of Councillors, the upper house of the legislature of Japan, were held on July 11, 2004. The House of Councillors consists of 242 members who serve six-year terms. Approximately half the members are elected every three years. At these elections 121 members were elected. Of these 73 were elected from the 47 prefectural districts and 48 were elected from a nationwide list by proportional representation.
A general election in Japan was held on 11 September 2005 for all 480 seats of the House of Representatives of Japan, the lower house of the Diet of Japan, almost two years before the end of the term taken from the last election in 2003. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi called the election after bills to privatize Japan Post were voted down in the upper house, despite strong opposition within his own Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) (LDP).
The People's New Party was a Japanese political party formed on August 17, 2005 in the aftermath of the defeat of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Japan Post privatisation bills which led to a snap election. On March 21, 2013 party leader Shozaburo Jimi announced that he was disbanding the party.
Elections for the Japanese House of Councillors were held in Japan on 29 July 2001. It was the first national election since Junichiro Koizumi was appointed as prime minister after Yoshiro Mori resigned in April 2001. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its election allies, were the major winner, provided Koizumi a strong mandates to move forward with his reform policies. The ruling coalition performed well, and regain their majority in the House of Councillors.
Elections for the Japanese House of Councillors were held in Japan on July 12, 1998.
A general election for the Japanese House of Representatives was held on August 30, 2009. The opposition Democratic Party (DPJ) defeated the ruling coalition in a sweeping victory, winning 221 of the 300 electoral districts and receiving 42.4% of the proportional block votes for another 87 seats, a total of 308 seats to only 119 for the LDP.
Prefectural elections for the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly were held on 12 July 2009. In the runup to the Japanese general election due by October they were seen as an important test for Taro Aso's ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the New Komeito. New Komeito considers Tokyo as an important stronghold and had repeatedly asked Prime Minister Aso to avoid holding the two elections within a month of each other.
The 22nd Elections to the House of Councillors for the upper house of the legislature of Japan were held on July 11, 2010. In the last election in 2007, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lost its majority to the Democratic Party (DPJ), which managed to gain the largest margin since its formation in 1996. The House of Councillors is elected by halves to six-year terms. The seats up for election in 2010 were last contested in the 2004 election.
The New Renaissance Party was a minor political party in Japan.
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 currently represented by five Councillors electing three at a time every three years by single non-transferable vote for six-year terms. In the election period from 2016 to 2019, 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/or assemblies in hundreds of cities, cities of Tokyo, towns and villages were up for election. Additionally, a by-election for the National Diet was held in Aichi on April 24.
The 23rd Elections to the House of Councillors for the upper house of the National Diet, the legislature of Japan, was held on July 21, 2013. In the last election in 2010, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) remained the largest party, but the DPJ-led ruling coalition lost its majority. The House of Councillors is elected by halves to six year terms. In 2013, the class of Councillors elected in 2007 was up.
The 47th general election of members of the House of Representatives of Japan was held on 14 December 2014. Voting took place in all Representatives constituencies of Japan including proportional blocks, in order to appoint Members of Diet to seats in the House of Representatives, the lower house of the National Diet of Japan. As the cabinet resigns in the first post-election Diet session after a general House of Representatives election, the lower house election also led to a new designation election of the prime minister in the Diet, and the appointment of a new cabinet. The turnout in this election is the lowest in Japanese history.
The 48th general election of members of the House of Representatives took place 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 Komeito retained their seats in light of what was perceived as weak opposition, winning his fourth term in office and holding on to the two-thirds supermajority in order to revise the war-renouncing Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution.
The 24th regular election of members of the House of Councillors was held on Sunday 10 July 2016 to elect 121 of the 242 members of the House of Councillors, the upper house of the 717-member bicameral National Diet of Japan, for a term of six years. As a result of the election, the LDP/Komeito coalition gained ten seats for a total of 146, the largest coalition achieved since the size of the house was set at 242 seats.
The Democratic Party, abbreviated as DP, was a political party in Japan. It was the largest opposition political party in Japan from 2016 until its marginalization in the House of Representatives in 2017. The party was founded on 27 March 2016 from the merger of the Democratic Party of Japan and the Japan Innovation Party. The majority of the party split on 28 September 2017, before the 2017 general election, with many its members contesting the election as candidates for the Party of Hope, Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan or as party members without nomination. On 7 May 2018 the DP merged with the Party of Hope to form the Democratic Party for the People.
Kenji Nakanishi is a Japanese politician and member of the House of Councillors from Kanagawa. A former executive of JP Morgan Securities Japan, he was elected to the House of Councillors in 2010 as a member of Your Party for the Kanagawa at-large district, and he later joined the Liberal Democratic Party House of Councillors parliamentary group.
The 25th regular election of members of the House of Councillors will be held on July 2019 to elect 124 of the 245 members of the House of Councillors, the upper house of the then 710-member bicameral National Diet of Japan, for a term of six years.