| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Kokkai / National Diet |
| Structure of parliament |
Bicameral |
| Chamber name (generic / translated) |
Shugiin / House of Representatives |
| Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) |
Sangiin / House of Councillors
|
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
30 August 2009 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all the seats in the House of Representatives following the premature dissolution of this body on 21 July 2009. Elections to the House of Representatives had previously taken place on 11 September 2005. |
The 2009 elections to the House of Representatives were the first to be held under the premiership of Mr. Taro Aso
grandson of a prominent former prime minister
Mr. Shigeru Yoshida. Mr Yoshida co-founded the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in 1955 with his rival Mr. Ichiro Hatoyama
who subsequently became the first LDP prime minister. The LDP has ruled the country ever since except for a short period between 1993 and 1994 when an eight-party "opposition" alliance became the largest force in the House of Representatives. This alliance comprised many LDP dissidents
including Mr. Yukio Hatoyama
a grandson of the former prime minister and the current leader of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ).
In the elections to the House of Representatives held in September 2005
the LDP won a resounding victory under the leadership of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi by winning 296 of the 480 seats at stake
whereas the DPJ took 113 seats
losing 64. The LDP's coalition partner
New Komeito
won 31. The Japanese Communist Party (JCP) and the Social Democratic Party of Japan (SDPJ) took nine and seven seats respectively. The remainder went to small parties and independent candidates.
The country has had three more prime ministers since. In September 2006
Mr. Shinzo Abe succeeded Mr. Koizumi. In the elections to the House of Councillors held in July 2007
the LDP suffered a heavy defeat
losing control of the chamber for the first time since the party's inception in 1955. In September 2007
71 year-old veteran politician and a former chief Cabinet secretary
Mr. Yasuo Fukuda (LDP)
succeeded Mr. Abe. A year later
however
he resigned and was succeeded by a former foreign minister
Mr. Aso
shortly after the global economic crisis started to affect the Japanese economy.
Prime Minister Aso initially enjoyed high popularity. However
he soon came under criticism over his government's economic policies. The government introduced several stimulus packages in an attempt to revive the economy. Japan officially came out from the recession after its economy grew by 0.7 per cent in the second quarter of 2009. However
the unemployment rate for July
announced two days before polling day
was recorded at 5.7 per cent - the highest since the end of the World War II.
On 21 July 2009
Prime Minister Aso dissolved the House of Representatives and called elections for 30 August. A total of 1
374 candidates
including a record 229 women
were vying for seats. Some LDP heavyweights had announced their retirement prior to the elections. They included former prime minister Koizumi and outgoing House Speaker
Mr. Yohei Kono
who had held the post for 2
029 days
the longest period since the parliamentary system was introduced in Japan in 1890.
The 2009 elections saw a duel between the LDP and the DPJ. The DPJ called on voters' support for a political power shift to change the course of the country's history. It promised to cut back wasteful spending and maintain the consumption tax at the current 5 per cent for four years. It also promised to introduce a raft of benefits including child allowances as well as a new income-support system for farmers. The DPJ promised to unify the existing pension funds and to guarantee a minimum pension of JPY 70
000 per month (US$ 750). It also promised to raise the minimum wage and to cut annual government expenditure by JPY 10 trillion (US$ 107.5 million) by abolishing what it termed as wasteful public works and other projects.
The LDP ran on its own record and pledged to continue to be a responsible government. It criticized the DPJ for making empty promises and being ambiguous about the financial resources for its policies. The LDP pledged to rebuild the economy within three years and strengthen the basic pension system to ensure that the elderly and people with no or low pensions could lead a decent life. The LDP pledged to implement fundamental tax reforms
including a review of the consumption tax by 2011 on the condition that there was an economic upturn. Its coalition partner
New Komeito
promised to make kindergartens and nurseries free of charge for three years.
The SDPJ promised to cut wasteful spending by postponing public works and budgets for hosting the US military in Japan. The JCP pledged to abolish medical fees for people over 75 years and children under school age. Your Party (Minna-no-to)
a new party formed in August by LDP dissidents
claimed to be an alternative force for those who were "unsatisfied" with the LDP's policies and "uneasy" about the DPJ's. Kokumin Shinto (People's New Party) promised to review the privatization of the postal service.
In the 2009 polls
nearly 14 million voters cast early votes. In all
69.27 per cent of the 104 million registered voters turned out at the polls.
The final results gave a resounding victory to the DPJ. It won 308 of the 480 seats at stake
becoming the largest force in the House of Representatives for the first time. Its victory marked a turning point in Japanese politics. The LDP's share of seats dropped to 119
its worst performance since the party's inception. Its coalition partner
New Komeito
took 21
losing ten including that of its leader
Mr. Akihiro Ohta
who stepped down as party leader. The JCP and the SDPJ retained the same number of seats as in the outgoing legislature: nine and seven respectively. Your Party took five. The remainder went to small parties and independent candidates. A record 54 women (11.25 per cent) were elected. It was the first time in the country's history that the percentage of women reached double figures. The DPJ accounted for 40 women
also a record number of women from one party. Mr. Aso announced that he would resign as LDP President.
On 16 September
the newly elected House of Representatives held its first session and elected Mr. Takahiro Yokomichi (DPJ) as its new Speaker. Mr. Yukio Hatoyama was elected as the new Prime Minister. He subsequently formed a coalition government comprising the DPJ
the SDPJ and Kokumin Shinto (People's New Party). |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 30 August 2009 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
103'949'442
72'003'538 (69.27%)
|
|
Notes
|
Statistics above refer to PR system. |
| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
Majority cand. |
Double candidacy |
% |
|
|
| Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) |
330 |
|
271 |
268 |
|
|
|
| Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) |
326 |
|
289 |
269 |
|
|
|
| New Komeito |
51 |
|
8 |
0 |
|
|
|
| Japanese Communist Party (JCP) |
171 |
|
152 |
60 |
|
|
|
| Social Democratic Party (SDPJ) |
37 |
|
31 |
31 |
|
|
|
| Independents |
70 |
|
70 |
0 |
|
|
|
| Your Party (Minna no To) |
15 |
|
14 |
13 |
|
|
|
| Kokumin Shinto (People's New Party) |
18 |
|
9 |
9 |
|
|
|
| Shinto Nippon (New Party Japan) |
8 |
|
2 |
2 |
|
|
|
| Shinto Daichi (New Party Mother Earth) |
4 |
|
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
Majority |
PR |
Gain/loss |
Number of women |
| Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) |
308
|
221 |
87 |
195 |
40 |
| Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) |
119
|
64 |
55 |
-'177 |
8 |
| New Komeito |
21
|
0 |
21 |
-10 |
3 |
| Japanese Communist Party (JCP) |
9
|
0 |
9 |
0 |
1 |
| Social Democratic Party (SDPJ) |
7
|
3 |
4 |
0 |
2 |
| Independents |
6
|
6 |
0 |
-13 |
0 |
| Your Party (Minna no To) |
5
|
2 |
3 |
|
0 |
| Kokumin Shinto (People's New Party) |
3
|
3 |
0 |
-1 |
0 |
| Shinto Nippon (New Party Japan) |
1
|
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Shinto Daichi (New Party Mother Earth) |
1
|
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
426
54
11.25%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
21 to 30 years
31 to 40 years
41 to 50 years
51 to 60 years
61 to 70 years
Over 70 years
|
7
83
131
132
111
16
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Sources:
- House of Representatives (04.09.2009
15.02.2010
05.01.2012
07.11.2012)
- http://www.soumu.go.jp/senkyo/senkyo_s/data/shugiin45/index.html
- Jiji Press
Notes on "Distribution of votes'"
- The figures under "Candidates" refer to the number of candidates for the proportional representation (PR) system.
- The figures under "Majority cand." refer to the number of candidates for the majority system.
- The figures under "Double candidacy" show the number of candidates who ran under both the PR and majority systems. |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
