1904 Japanese general election explained

Country:Empire of Japan
Type:parliamentary
Election Date:1 March 1904
Previous Election:1903 Japanese general election
Previous Year:1903
Next Election:1908 Japanese general election
Next Year:1908
Seats For Election:All 379 seats in the House of Representatives
Majority Seats:190
Image1:Kinmochi Saionji 2.jpg
Leader1:Saionji Kinmochi
Party1:Rikken Seiyūkai
Last Election1:45.42%, 175 seats
Seats1:133
Seat Change1:42
Popular Vote1:217,691
Percentage1:33.47%
Swing1:11.95pp
Party2:Kensei Hontō
Last Election2:26.63%, 85 seats
Seats2:90
Seat Change2:5
Popular Vote2:170,319
Percentage2:26.19%
Swing2:0.44pp
Image3:3x4.svg
Party3:Kōshin Club
Color3:00BFFF
Last Election3:4.51%, 31 seats
Seats3:39
Seat Change3:8
Popular Vote3:55,709
Percentage3:8.57%
Swing3:4.06pp
Prime Minister
Posttitle:Prime Minister after election
Before Election:Katsura Tarō
Before Party:Independent politician
After Election:Katsura Tarō
After Party:Independent politician

General elections were held in Japan on 1 March 1904.[1] [2] The Rikken Seiyūkai party remained the largest in the House of Representatives, winning 133 of the 379 seats.

Electoral system

The 379 members of the House of Representatives were elected in 51 multi-member constituencies based on prefectures and cities. Voting was restricted to men aged over 25 who paid at least 10 yen a year in direct taxation.[3]

Notes and References

  1. Thomas T Mackie & Richard Rose (1991) The International Almanac of Electoral History, Macmillan, p281
  2. Garner. James Wilford. 1904. Record of Political Events. Political Science Quarterly. 19. 2. 367–368. 10.2307/2140296. 2140296 . 0032-3195.
  3. Mackie & Rose, p276