| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Kokkai / National Diet |
| Structure of parliament |
Bicameral |
| Chamber name (generic / translated) |
Sangiin / House of Councillors |
| Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) |
Shugiin / House of Representatives
|
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
29 July 2007 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for one-half of the seats in the House of Councillors on the normal expiry of the members' term of office. |
General elections were held on 29 July for half of the 242-member House of Councillors
the Upper Chamber of the Japanese Diet. Incumbent Prime Minister Shinzo Abe promised to build a "beautiful country" and pledged to resolve the issue of individuals believed to have been abducted by the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea in the 1970s and 1980s. A once popular negotiator for the victims of abductions
the new Prime Minister soon faced a series of scandals. These included missing records of some 50 million pensioners
suicide by a government minister over alleged misuse of political funds
and controversy over the statement by the then Defense Minister on the use of the atomic bomb by the US during World War II.
A total of 377 candidates (218 for the prefectural constituencies
and 159 under the party list) contested the 2007 elections. Former Peruvian President
Alberto Fujimori
who was under house arrest in Chile
filed his candidature under the proportional representation list of the People's New Party
a small opposition party formed by dissidents of the LDP prior to the 2005 elections to the House of Representatives (lower chamber).
Before the elections
the parties in the coalition government - the LDP and the New Komeito - controlled 133 of the 242 seats in the House of Councillors (with one independent member supporting the LDP)
of which 76 were up for renewal in 2007.
Changes in the electoral law reduced the number of seats in the LDP stronghold in rural areas and attributed more seats to big cities like Tokyo. Both parties targeted the 29 constituencies where only one seat was being renewed. The DPJ leader
Mr. Ichiro Ozawa said that he would resign if the ruling coalition retained its majority.
During the election campaign
a major earthquake hit the northern part of Japan on 16 July. All parties pledged to take sufficient measures to rescue people and restore public safety.
In all
over 58 per cent of the 104 million registered voters turned out at the polls (see note).
The ruling LDP suffered a heavy defeat
taking only 37 seats
The total number of LDP seats was reduced to 83 in the 242-member House of Councillors
which meant that the LDP lost control of the chamber for the first time since the party's inception in 1955. The LDP's coalition partner
the New Komeito
took nine seats. Inversely
the opposition DPJ won a record 60 seats and became the largest party in the House of Councillors. Other seats went to small parties and independent candidates. The former Peruvian President
Mr. Fujimori
was not elected.
In all
26 women were elected
a record high in the history of the House of Councillors. The total number of women thus rose to 42
or 17.36 per cent.
Following the defeat of the ruling coalition
Mr. Hidenao Nakagawa resigned as LDP Secretary General. Prime Minister Abe announced that he would stay in office and renew his cabinet in September.
On 7 August
the newly-elected members were sworn in. Mr. Satsuki Eda (DPJ) was elected as the new President
becoming the first opposition member to hold the post. Ms. Akiko Santo (LDP) became the first female Vice-President of the House of Councillors.
On 27 August
Prime Minister Abe announced a new 18-member cabinet comprising the LDP and the New Komei Party. However
another financial scandal forced the new Agriculture Minister
Mr. Takehiko Endo
to resign only a week after the cabinet reshuffle.
On 9 September
Prime Minister Abe said he would make every effort to extend the Japanese refuelling mission in support of the US-led operation in Afghanistan and would not remain in his post unless it is agreed to. On 12 September
he announced he would resign
saying the country needed a new leader to fight terrorism
On 23 September
the LDP chose 71 year old veteran politician Mr. Yasuo Fukuda as its new President. Prime Minister Abe formally resigned on 25 September. On the same day
Mr. Fukuda was elected as its new Prime Minister. Mr. Fukuda became the first prime minister of Japan whose father had also held the same post. He subsequently formed a new government
including most members of Mr. Abe's reshuffled cabinet.
Note:
A total of 103
710
035 persons were eligible to vote
102
551 of whom resided abroad. In the 2007 elections
overseas voters were allowed to cast their ballots for both the proportional representation (PR) list and the prefectural constituency for the first time. However
turnout of overseas voters remained low: 23.57 per cent for the PR and 23.01 per cent for the constituencies. Overall turnout was recorded at 58.63 per cent for the PR
and 58.64 per cent for the prefectural constituency. Absentee ballots cast before the voting day reached 10.8 million
50 per cent higher than in the last elections.
Note on the final composition of the House of Councillors:
The DPJ leads a parliamentary group in the House of Councillors
which includes some independent members. Following the elections
the group was composed of 113 members. Two elected independent candidates joined the LDP
thus bringing the party's total number of seats to 85. Together with the un-renewed seats
the New Komeito held 20 seats
followed by the Japanese Communist Party with seven seats. The Social Democratic Party held five
followed by the People's New Party with four seats. Eight members remained independents. They include one member elected under the Shinto Nippon (New Party Japan) banner remained independent since the Standing Orders of the House of Councillors requires a minimum of two members to form a parliamentary group.
Parliamentary groups in the House of Councillors (6 August 2007)
The Democratic Party and the Shin-Ryokufukai (DP-SR): 113
Liberal Democratic Party and Group of Independents (LDP-GI): 85
New Komeito (NK): 20
Japanese Communist Party (JCP): 7
Social Democratic Party (SDP): 5
The People's New Party (PN): 4
Independents: 8
Total: 242 |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 29 July 2007 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
103'710'035
60'806'582 (58.63%)
58'913'700 |
|
Notes
|
Statistics above refer to PR system.
Statistics for Majority system
Number of registered electors: 103
710
035
Voters: 60
813
927 (58.64%) |
| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
Majority votes |
|
% |
% Majority |
|
| Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) |
80 |
23'256'247 |
24'006'817 |
|
39.48 |
40.45 |
|
| Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) |
83 |
16'544'761 |
18'606'193 |
|
28.08 |
31.35 |
|
| New Komeito |
22 |
7'765'329 |
3'534'672 |
|
13.18 |
5.96 |
|
| Independents |
34 |
0 |
5'095'168 |
|
0.00 |
8.59 |
|
| Japanese Communist Party (JCP) |
63 |
4'407'932 |
5'164'572 |
|
7.48 |
8.70 |
|
| Social Democratic Party (SDPJ) |
23 |
2'634'713 |
1'352'018 |
|
4.47 |
2.28 |
|
| Kokumin Shinto (People's New Party) |
23 |
1'269'209 |
1'111'005 |
|
2.15 |
1.87 |
|
| Shinto Nippon (New Party Japan) |
3 |
1'770'707 |
0 |
|
3.01 |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
Majority |
PR |
|
|
| Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) |
60
|
40 |
20 |
|
|
| Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) |
37
|
23 |
14 |
|
|
| New Komeito |
9
|
2 |
7 |
|
|
| Independents |
7
|
7 |
0 |
|
|
| Japanese Communist Party (JCP) |
3
|
0 |
3 |
|
|
| Social Democratic Party (SDPJ) |
2
|
0 |
2 |
|
|
| Kokumin Shinto (People's New Party) |
2
|
1 |
1 |
|
|
| Shinto Nippon (New Party Japan) |
1
|
0 |
1 |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
95
26
21.49%
|
| 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
|
1
20
41
33
22
4
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Sources:
- http://www.soumu.go.jp
- House of Councillors (01.01.2008
22.02.2008
01.01.2010)
- Nikkei net?http://www.nikkei.co.jp/senkyo/200707/
- Yomiuri online?http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/election/sangiin2007/
- Asahi.com http://www.asahi.com/
Notes on "Distribution of votes'"
- The figures under "Votes" show the number of votes cast for the PR system.
- The "Majority votes" figure shows the number of votes won by each political group under the majority system.
- The "%" shows the percentage of votes won by each political group under the PR system.
- The "% Majority" shows the percentage of votes won by each political group under the majority system.
Note on the "Distribution of seats according to sex":
The "Distribution of seats according to sex" above shows the breakdown for the MPs elected in 2007: 26 women of 121 members
or 21.49 per cent. After the 2007 elections
there were 42 women in all out of 242 members
or 17.36% (House of Councillors
31.07.2007). |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
