Japanese general election, 1932

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Japanese general election, 1932
Merchant flag of Japan (1870).svg
  1930 20 February, 1932 1936  

All 466 seats to the House of Representatives
234 seats needed for a majority

  First party Second party
  Inukai Tsuyoshi.jpg Wakatsuki Reijiro.jpg
Leader Tsuyoshi Inukai Reijiro Wakatsuki
Party Seiyūkai Minseitō
Leader's seat Okayama-2nd Peers
Last election 174 seats 273 seats
Seats won 301 146
Seat changeIncrease2.svg 127Decrease2.svg 127
Popular vote 5,683,137 3,442,326
Percentage 58.20% 35.25%

Prime Minister before election

Tsuyoshi Inukai
Seiyūkai

Prime Minister-designate

Tsuyoshi Inukai
Seiyūkai

Imperial Seal of Japan.svg
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General elections were held in Japan on 20 February 1932. [1] They were the last elections before the May 15 Incident, which marked the temporary end of party politics in Japan. Rikken Seiyūkai won 301 of the 466 seats in the House of Representatives.

May 15 Incident coup détat

The May 15 Incident was an attempted coup d'état in the Empire of Japan, on May 15, 1932, launched by reactionary elements of the Imperial Japanese Navy, aided by cadets in the Imperial Japanese Army and civilian remnants of the ultra nationalist League of Blood. Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi was assassinated by 11 young naval officers. The following trial and popular support of the Japanese population led to extremely light sentences for the assassins, strengthening the rising power of Japanese militarism and weakening democracy and the rule of law in the Empire of Japan.

Rikken Seiyūkai early 20th century Japanese political party

The Rikken Seiyūkai was one of the main political parties in the pre-war Empire of Japan. It was also known simply as the "Seiyūkai".

House of Representatives (Japan) lower house of Japan

The House of Representatives is the lower house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Councillors is the upper house.

Contents

Background

In 1931, the ruling Rikken Minseitō opposed the Mukden Incident, which was engineered by the military. The anti-war Foreign Minister Kijuro Shidehara and Prime Minister Wakatsuki Reijirō were criticized for their intervention in military and was accused of "serious corruption". After the resignation of the Reijirō Cabinet, some right-wing members of the ruling party formed a coalition with the opposition Rikken Seiyūkai and elected Inukai Tsuyoshi as prime minister.

Mukden Incident event in which Lt. Suemori Kawamoto of the Japanese Army detonated dynamite on a Japan-owned railway line near Mukden (now Shenyang) in 18 Sept. 1931, blamed by Japan on Chinese dissidents and used as a pretext for the Japanese invasion of Manchuria

The Mukden Incident, or Manchurian Incident, was an event staged by Japanese military personnel as a pretext for the Japanese invasion in 1931 of northeastern China, known as Manchuria.

Wakatsuki Reijirō Japanese politician

Baron Wakatsuki Reijirō was a Japanese politician and the 25th and 28th Prime Minister of Japan.

Inukai Tsuyoshi Japanese politician and Prime Minister of Japan (1855–1932)

Inukai Tsuyoshi was a Japanese politician, cabinet minister, and Prime Minister of Japan from 13 December 1931 to his assassination on 15 May 1932.

Before the elections, some businessmen and candidates were assassinated by the right-wing.

Results

Despite assassinations of anti-war politicians, Rikken Minseitō was unpopular because of its mishandling of the economic crisis. The ruling right-wing Rikken Seiyūkai led by Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi won a landslide victory.

Great Depression 20th-century worldwide economic depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression that took place mostly during the 1930s, beginning in the United States. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations; in most countries it started in 1929 and lasted until the late-1930s. It was the longest, deepest, and most widespread depression of the 20th century. In the 21st century, the Great Depression is commonly used as an example of how intensely the world's economy can decline.

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Rikken Seiyūkai 5,683,13758.20301+127
Rikken Minseitō 3,442,32635.25146–127
Social Democratic Party 125,7581.293+1
Shakai Taishūtō 127,4591.312New
Kakushintō 36,8390.382–1
Other parties1,4450.010
Independents347,6683.5612+7
Invalid/blank votes49,036
Total9,813,6681004660
Registered voters/turnout13,103,67974.89
Source: Voice Japan

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References

  1. Bernd Martin (2006) Japan and Germany in the Modern World, Berghahn Books, p136