House of Representatives (Japan) explained

House of Representatives
Transcription Name:	Shūgiin
Legislature:	213th Session of the National Diet
Coa Pic:	Crest of Shūgiin.png
House Type:	Lower house
Body:	National Diet
Term Length:	Up to 4 years
Salary:	Speaker: ¥2,170,000/m Vice Speaker: ¥1,584,000/m Members: ¥1,294,000/m
Leader1:	Fukushiro Nukaga
Party1:	LDP
Election1:	October 20, 2023
Leader2:	Banri Kaieda
Party2:	CDP
Election2:	November 10, 2021
Leader3 Type:	Prime Minister
Leader3:	Fumio Kishida
Party3:	LDP
Election3:	October 4, 2021
Leader4 Type:	Leader of the Opposition
Leader4:	Kenta Izumi
Party4:	CDP
Election4:	November 30, 2021
Members:	465
Structure1:	Japanese House of Representatives July 2024.svg
Structure1 Res:	250px
Political Groups1:	Government (290) LDP (258) Kōmeitō (32) Opposition (168) CDP (99) Ishin-FEFA (45) JCP (10) DPFP (7) Yūshi no Kai (4) Reiwa (3) Unaffiliated (7) Independent (7)
Committees1:	17 committees
Voting System1:	Parallel voting First-past-the-post voting (289 seats) Party-list proportional representation (176 seats)
Last Election1:	31 October 2021
Next Election1:	On or before 30 October 2025
Session Room:	Chamber of the House of Representatives of Japan.jpg
Session Res:	270px
Meeting Place:	Chamber of the House of Representatives

The is the lower house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Councillors is the upper house.The composition of the House is established by and of the Constitution of Japan.^[1] The House of Representatives has 465 members, elected for a four-year term. Of these, 176 members are elected from 11 multi-member constituencies by a party-list system of proportional representation, and 289 are elected from single-member constituencies.

The overall voting system used to elect the House of Representatives is a parallel system, a form of semi-proportional representation. Under a parallel system, the allocation of list seats does not take into account the outcome in the single seat constituencies. Therefore, the overall allocation of seats in the House of Representatives is not proportional, to the advantage of larger parties. In contrast, in bodies such as the German Bundestag or the New Zealand Parliament the election of single-seat members and party list members is linked, so that the overall result respects proportional representation fully or to some degree.

The House of Representatives is the more powerful of the two houses, able to override vetoes on bills imposed by the House of Councillors with a two-thirds majority.^{[2] [3] [4]}

The last election for the House of Representatives was held on 31 October 2021 in which the Liberal Democratic Party won a majority government with 261 seats. Along with their coalition partner, Komeito which won 32 seats, the governing coalition holds 293 seats in total.^[5]

Right to vote and candidature

• Japanese nationals aged 18 years and older may vote (prior to 2016, the voting age was 20).^[6]
• Japanese nationals aged 25 years and older may run for office in the lower house.

Differences between the Upper and Lower Houses

The House of Representatives has several powers not given to the House of Councillors. If a bill is passed by the lower house (the House of Representatives) but is voted down by the upper house (the House of Councillors) the House of Representatives can override the decision of the House of Councillors by a two-thirds vote in the affirmative. However, in the case of treaties, the budget, and the selection of the prime minister, the House of Councillors can only delay passage, but not block the legislation. As a result, the House of Representatives is considered the more powerful house.

Members of the House of Representatives, who are elected to a maximum of four years, sit for a shorter term than members of the House of Councillors, who are elected to full six-year terms. The lower house can also be dissolved by the Prime Minister or the passage of a nonconfidence motion, while the House of Councillors cannot be dissolved. Thus the House of Representatives is considered to be more sensitive to public opinion, and is termed the "lower house".

While the legislative term is nominally 4 years, early elections for the lower house are very common, and the median lifespan of postwar legislatures has in practice been around 3 years.

Current composition

For a list of majoritarian members and proportional members from Hokkaidō, see the List of members of the Diet of Japan.

Historical composition

Before World War II (1890–1942)

Election	Total seats	Composition
1st (1890)	300	130 5 45 79 41
2nd (1892)	94 124 44 38
3rd (Mar. 1894)	120 51 34 60 35
4th (Sep. 1894)	107 48 64 49 32
5th (Mar. 1898)	105 26 37 103 29
6th (Aug. 1898)	9 26 244 21
7th (1902)	376	95 41 32 17 191
8th (1903)		85 44 55 17 175
9th (1904)	379	90 82 55 19 133
10th (1908)		70 58 64 187
11th (1912)	381	95 31 46 209
12th (1915)		27 153 45 48 108
13th (1917)		35 121 60 165
14th (1920)	464	29 110 47 278
15th (1924)		30 151 111 69 103
16th (1928)	466	7 216 7 19 217
17th (1930)		5 273 9 5 174
18th (1932)		5 146 2 12 301
19th (1936)		18 205 34 20 174 15
20th (1937)		37 179 34 19 175 11 11
21st (1942)		85 381

After World War II (since 1946)

Election	Total seats	Composition
22nd (1946)	466	6 92 14 38 81 2 94 141
23rd (1947)	4 143 31 17 12 2 4 124 131
24th (1949)	35 48 7 14 17 12 69 264
25th (1952)	54 57 4 7 19 85 240
26th (1953)	1 72 66 5 1 11 76 35 199
27th (1955)	467	2 89 67 4 2 5 185 112

Election	Total seats	Composition
28th (1958)	467	1 166 1 12 287
29th (1960)	3 145 17 1 5 296
30th (1963)	5 144 23 12 283
31st (1967)	486	5 140 30 9 25 277
32nd (1969)	14 90 31 16 47 288
33rd (1972)	491	38 118 19 2 14 29 271
34th (1976)	511	17 123 29 21 55 17 249
35th (1979)		39 107 35 2 19 57 4 248
36th (1980)		29 107 32 3 11 33 12 284
37th (1983)		26 112 38 3 16 58 8 250
38th (1986)	512	26 85 26 4 9 56 6 300
39th (1990)		16 136 14 4 1 21 45 275
40th (1993)	511	15 70 15 4 13 30 35 51 55 223
41st (1996)	500	26 15 2 156 52 1 9 239
42nd (2000)	480	20 19 127 6 15 22 31 7 233
43rd (2003)		9 6 177 2 11 34 4 237
44th (2005)		9 7 113 2 18 31 4 239
45th (2009)		9 7 308 2 6 21 5 3 119
46th (2012)		8 2 9 57 1 5 31 18 1 54 294
47th (2014)	475	21 2 73 4 8 35 41 291
48th (2017)	465	12 2 55 22 29 11 50 284
49th (2021)		10 3 1 96 10 11 32 41 261

Election results for major parties since 1958

Shaded

• green: Ruling party/coalition before and after the lower house election
• red: Ruling party/coalition until the election = Change of government as a result of the lower house election
• blue: Ruling party/coalition after the election = Change of government as a result of the lower house election
• none: Opposition before and after the election

Note that the composition of the ruling coalition may change between lower house elections, e.g. after upper house elections. Parties who vote with the government in the Diet, but are not part of the cabinet (e.g. SDP & NPH after the 1996 election) are not shaded.

Parallel electoral system (since 1996)

|-! style="background:#e9e9e9"| Parties! style="background:#e9e9e9"| Segment! 1996^[7] !! 2000^[8] !! 2003^[9] !! 2005^[10] !! 2009^[11] !! 2012 !! 2014 !! 2017|-! colspan="2"| Total seats !! 500 !! 480 !! 480 !! 480 !! 480 !! 480 !! 475 !! 465|-| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="5"| Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Jiyū Minshutō|| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| FPTP| 38.6%|| 41.0%|| 43.9%|| 47.8%|| 38.6%|| 43.0%|| 48.1%|| 48.21%|-| 169|| 177|| 168|| 219|| 64|| 237|| 223^[12] || 226|-| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| PR| 32.8%|| 28.3%|| 35.0%|| 38.1%|| 26.7%|| 27.6%|| 33.1%|| 33.28%|-| 70|| 56|| 69|| 77|| 55|| 57|| 68|| 66|-| style="text-align:left;"| Total seats|| style="background:#cfc;"| 239|| style="background:#cfc;"| 233|| style="background:#cfc;"| 237|| style="background:#cfc;"| 296|| style="background:#fcc;"| 119|| style="background:#ccf;"| 294|| style="background:#cfc;"| 291|| style="background:#cfc;"| 284|-| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="5"| Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) Rikken Minshutō|| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| FPTP| colspan="7" rowspan="5"| –|| 8.75%|-| 18|-| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| PR| 19.88%|-| 37|-| style="text-align:left;"| Total seats|| 55|-| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="5"| Party of Hope Kibō no Tō|| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| FPTP| colspan="7" rowspan="5"| –|| 20.64%|-| 18|-| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| PR| 17.36%|-| 32|-| style="text-align:left;"| Total seats|| 50|-| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="5"| Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) Minshutō (1996–2014)
Democratic Party (DP) Minshintō (2017)|| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| FPTP| 10.6%|| 27.6%|| 36.7%|| 36.4%|| 47.4%|| 22.8%|| 22.5%|| rowspan="5"| no party
nominations,
≈14 members
elected|-| 17|| 80|| 105|| 52|| 221|| 27|| 38|-| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| PR| 16.1%|| 25.2%|| 37.4%|| 31.0%|| 42.4%|| 15.9%|| 18.3%|-| 35|| 47|| 72|| 61|| 87|| 30|| 35|-| style="text-align:left;"| Total seats|| 52|| 127|| 177|| 113|| style="background:#ccf;"| 308|| style="background:#fcc;"| 57|| 73|-| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="5"| Japan Restoration Party (JRP) Nippon Ishin no Kai (2012)
Japan Innovation Party (JIP) Ishin no Tō (2014)|| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| FPTP| colspan="5" rowspan="5"| –|| 11.6%|| 8.2%|| 3.18%|-| 14|| 11|| 3|-| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| PR| 20.3%|| 15.7%|| 6.07%|-| 40|| 30|| 8|-| style="text-align:left;"| Total seats|| 54|| 41|| 11|-| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="5"| (New) Komeito (K/NK/NKP/CGP/NCGP/etc.) Kōmeitō|| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| FPTP| rowspan="5"| –|| 2.0%|| 1.5%|| 1.4%|| 1.1%|| 1.4%|| 1.5%|| 1.5%|-| 7|| 9|| 8|| 0|| 9|| 9|| 8|-| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| PR| 13.0%|| 14.8%|| 13.3%|| 11.4%|| 11.8%|| 13.7%|| 12.51%|-| 24|| 25|| 23|| 21|| 22|| 26|| 21|-| style="text-align:left;"| Total seats| style="background:#cfc;"| 31|| style="background:#cfc;"| 34|| style="background:#cfc;"| 31|| style="background:#fcc;"| 21|| style="background:#ccf;"| 31|| style="background:#cfc;"| 35|| style="background:#cfc;"| 29|-| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="5"| Japanese Communist Party (JCP) Nihon Kyōsantō|| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| FPTP| 12.6%|| 12.1%|| 8.1%|| 7.2%|| 4.2%|| 7.8%|| 13.3%|| 9.02%|-| 2|| 0|| 0|| 0|| 0|| 0|| 1|| 1|-| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| PR| 13.1%|| 11.2%|| 7.8%|| 7.2%|| 7.0%|| 6.1%|| 11.4%|| 7.9%|-| 24|| 20|| 9|| 9|| 9|| 8|| 20|| 11|-| style="text-align:left;"| Total seats|| 26|| 20|| 9|| 9|| 9|| 8|| 21|| 12|-| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="5"| Social Democratic Party (SDP) Shakai Minshutō|| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| FPTP| 2.2%|| 3.8%|| 2.9%|| 1.5%|| 1.9%|| 0.7%|| 0.8%|| 1.15%|-| 4|| 4|| 1|| 1|| 3|| 1|| 1|| 1|-| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| PR| 6.4%|| 9.4%|| 5.1%|| 5.5%|| 4.2%|| 2.3%|| 2.5%|| 1.69%|-| 11|| 15|| 5|| 6|| 4|| 1|| 1|| 1|-| style="text-align:left;"| Total seats|| style="background:#fcc;"| 15|| 19|| 6|| 7|| style="background:#ccf;"| 7|| 2|| 2|| 2|-| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="5"| New Frontier Party (NFP) Shinshintō (1996)
Liberal Party Jiyūtō (2000)
Tomorrow Party of Japan (TPJ) Nippon Mirai no Tō (2012)
People's Life Party (PLP) Seikatsu no Tō (2014)
Liberal Party (LP) Jiyūtō (2017)|| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| FPTP| 28.0%|| 3.4%|| colspan="3" rowspan="5"| –|| 5.0%|| 1.0%|| rowspan="5"| no party
nominations,
2 members
elected|-| 96|| 4|| 2|| 2|-| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| PR| 28.0%|| 11.0%|| 5.7%|| 1.9%|-| 60|| 18|| 7|| 0|-| style="text-align:left;"| Total seats|| 156|| 22|| 9|| 2|-| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="5"| Your Party (YP) Minna no Tō|| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| FPTP| colspan="4" rowspan="5"| –|| 0.8%|| 4.7%|| colspan="2" rowspan="5"| –|-| 2|| 4|-| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| PR| 4.2%|| 8.7%|-| 3|| 14|-| style="text-align:left;"| Total seats|| 5|| 19|-| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="5"| Conservative Party Hoshutō (2000)
New Conservative Party Hoshu Shintō (2003)|| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| FPTP| rowspan="5"| –|| 2.0%|| 1.3%|| colspan="5" rowspan="5"| –|-| 7|| 4|-| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| PR| 0.4%|| –|-| 0|| –|-| style="text-align:left;"| Total seats|| style="background:#cfc;"| 7|| style="background:#cfc;"| 4|-| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="5"| New Party Harbinger (NPH) Shintō Sakigake|| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| FPTP| 1.3%|| colspan="7" rowspan="5"| –|-| 2|-| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| PR| 1.0%|-| 0|-| style="text-align:left;"| Total seats|| style="background:#fcc;"| 2|}

SNTV multi-member districts (1947–1993)

|-! style="background:#e9e9e9"| Parties! 1958^[13] !! 1960 !! 1963 !! 1967 !! 1969 !! 1972 !! 1976 !! 1979 !! 1980 !! 1983 !! 1986 !! 1990 !! 1993|-! Total seats !! 467 !! 467 !! 467 !! 486 !! 486 !! 491 !! 511 !! 511 !! 511 !! 511 !! 512 !! 512 !! 511|-| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Jiyū Minshutō| 57.8%|| 57.6%|| 54.7%|| 48.8%|| 47.6%|| 46.8%|| 41.8%|| 44.6%|| 47.9%|| 48.9%|| 49.4%|| 46.1%|| 36.7%|- style="background:#cfc;"| 287|| 296|| 283|| 277|| 288|| 271|| 249|| 248|| 284|| 250|| 300|| 275|| style="background:#fcc;"| 223|-| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| Japan Socialist Party (JSP) Nippon Shakaitō| 32.9%|| 27.6%|| 29.0%|| 27.9%|| 21.4%|| 21.9%|| 20.7%|| 19.7%|| 19.3%|| 19.5%|| 17.2%|| 24.4%|| 15.4%|-| 166|| 145|| 144|| 140|| 90|| 118|| 123|| 107|| 107|| 112|| 85|| 136|| style="background:#ccf;"| 70|-| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| Japan Renewal Party (JRP) Shinseitō| colspan="12" rowspan="2"| –|| 10.1%|-| style="background:#ccf;"| 55|-| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| Kōmeitō (K/KP/CGP/etc.) Kōmeitō| colspan="3" rowspan="2"| –|| 5.4%|| 10.9%|| 8.5%|| 11.0%|| 9.8%|| 9.0%|| 10.1%|| 9.4%|| 8.0%|| 8.1%|-| 25|| 47|| 29|| 55|| 57|| 33|| 58|| 56|| 45|| style="background:#ccf;"| 51|-| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| Japan New Party (JNP) Nihon Shintō| colspan="12" rowspan="2"| –|| 8.0%|-| style="background:#ccf;"| 35|-| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| Democratic Socialist Party (DSP) Minshatō| rowspan="2"| –|| 8.8%|| 7.4%|| 7.4%|| 7.7%|| 7.0%|| 6.3%|| 6.8%|| 6.6%|| 7.3%|| 6.4%|| 4.8%|| 3.5%|-| 17|| 23|| 30|| 31|| 19|| 29|| 35|| 32|| 38|| 26|| 14|| style="background:#ccf;"| 15|-| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| Japanese Communist Party (JCP) Nihon Kyōsantō| 2.6%|| 2.9%|| 4.0%|| 4.8%|| 6.8%|| 10.5%|| 10.4%|| 10.4%|| 9.8%|| 9.3%|| 8.8%|| 8.0%|| 7.7%|-| 1|| 3|| 5|| 5|| 14|| 38|| 17|| 39|| 29|| 26|| 26|| 16|| 15|-| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| New Party Harbinger (NPH) Shintō Sakigake| colspan="12" rowspan="2"| –|| 3.5%|-| style="background:#ccf;"| 13|}

History

Meiji period (1890–1912)

See also: Meiji Restoration.

The Japanese parliament, then known as the Imperial Diet, was established in 1890 as a result of the 1889 Meiji Constitution. It was modeled on the parliaments of several Western countries, particularly the German Empire and the United Kingdom, because of the Emperor Meiji's westernizing reforms. The Imperial Diet consisted of two chambers, the elected House of Representatives which was the lower house, and the House of Peers which was the upper house. This format was similar to the House of Lords in the Westminster system, or the Herrenhaus in Prussia, where the upper house represented the aristocracy.

Both houses, and also the Emperor, had to agree on legislation, and even at the height of party-based constitutional government, the House of Peers could simply vote down bills deemed too liberal by the Meiji oligarchy, such as the introduction of women's suffrage, increases in local autonomy, or trade union rights. The prime minister and his government served at the Emperor's pleasure, and could not be removed by the Imperial Diet. However, the right to vote on, and if necessary to block, legislation including the budget, gave the House of Representatives leverage to force the government into negotiations. After an early period of frequent confrontation and temporary alliances between the cabinet and political parties in the lower house, parts of the Meiji oligarchy more sympathetic to political parties around Itō Hirobumi and parts of the liberal parties eventually formed a more permanent alliance, in the form of the Rikken Seiyūkai in 1900. The confidence of the House of Representatives was never a formal requirement to govern, but between 1905 and 1918, only one cabinet took office that did not enjoy majority support in the House of Representatives.^[14]

Taisho and early Showa periods (1912–1937)

See also: Politics of the Empire of Japan (1914–1944).

During the Taishō political crisis in 1913, a no-confidence vote^[15] against the third Katsura government, accompanied by major demonstrations outside the Diet, was followed shortly by resignation. Subsequently, in the period often referred to as Taishō democracy, it became increasingly customary to appoint many ministers, including several prime ministers, from the House of Representatives – Hara Takashi was the first commoner to become prime minister in 1918.

In the same year, the Rice Riots had confronted the government with an unprecedented scale of domestic unrest, and a German Revolution brought the Prusso-German monarchy to an end, the very system Meiji oligarchs had used as the main model for the Meiji constitution to consolidate and preserve Imperial power. Even Yamagata Aritomo and other oligarchs that had been fundamentally opposed to political parties, became more inclined to cooperate with the still mainly bourgeoisie parties, to prevent a rise of socialism or other movements that might threaten Imperial rule. Socialist parties would not be represented in significant numbers in the lower house until the 1930s.

The initially very high census suffrage requirement was reduced several times, until the introduction of universal male suffrage in 1925. The electoral system to the House of Representatives was also fundamentally changed several times: between systems of "small" mostly single- and few multi-member electoral districts (1890s, 1920, 1924), "medium" mostly multi-member districts (1928–1942) and "large" electoral districts (usually only one, rarely two city and one counties district per prefecture; 1900s and 1910s), using first-past-the-post in single-member districts, plurality-at-large voting (1890s) or single non-transferable vote in the multi-member districts.

Influence of the House of Representatives on the government increased, and the party cabinets of the 1920s brought Japan apparently closer to a parliamentary system of government, and there were several reforms to the upper house in 1925. However, the balance of powers between the two houses and the influential role of extra-constitutional actors such as the Genrō (who still selected the prime minister) or the military (that had brought down several cabinets) remained in essence untouched. Within a year of the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in September 1931, a series of assassinations and coup attempts followed. Party governments were replaced by governments of "national unity" (kyokoku itchi) which were dominated by nobles, bureaucrats and increasingly the military.

World War II and aftermath (1937–1947)

See also: Politics of the Empire of Japan (1914–1944).

After the Marco Polo Bridge Incident and the start of war in 1937, the influence of the Imperial Diet was further diminished, though never eliminated, by special laws such as the National Mobilization Law and expanded powers for cabinet agencies such as the Planning Board.^[16] The House of Representatives in the Empire had a four-year term and could be dissolved by the Emperor. In contrast, members of the House of Peers had either life tenure (subject to revocation by the Emperor) or a seven-year term in the case of members elected in mutual peerage elections among the three lower peerage ranks, top taxpayer and academic peerage elections. During the war, the term of the members of the House of Representatives elected in the last pre-war election of 1937 was extended by one year.

In the 1946 election to the House of Representatives, held under the U.S.-led Allied occupation of Japan, women's suffrage was introduced, and a system of "large" electoral districts (one or two per prefecture) with limited voting was used. A change in the electoral law in April 1945 had for the first time allocated 30 seats to the established colonies of the Empire: Karafuto (Sakhalin), Taiwan, and Chōsen (Korea); but this change was never implemented. Similarly, Korea and Taiwan were granted several appointed members of the House of Peers in 1945.

In 1946, both houses of the Imperial Diet (together with the Emperor) passed the postwar constitutional amendment which took effect in 1947. The Imperial Diet was renamed the National Diet, the House of Peers was replaced by an elected upper house called the House of Councillors, and the House of Representatives would now be able to override the upper house in important matters. The constitution also gave the Diet exclusive legislative authority, without involvement of the Emperor, and explicitly made the cabinet responsible to the Diet and requires that the prime minister has the support of a majority in the House of Representatives.

Late Showa period (1947–1989)

See also: Post-occupation Japan.

The Diet first met under the new constitution on 20 May 1947.^[17] Four days later, Tetsu Katayama of the Democratic Socialist Party became Japan's first socialist prime minister and the first since the introduction of parliamentarianism.

Since the end of US rule in 1952, it has been the norm that the prime minister dissolves the House of Representatives before its 4-year term expires. Only once, in 1976, did the House last a full 4 years. It has become tradition to give nicknames to each dissolution, usually referencing a major political issue or controversy. One infamous example was on 14 March 1953, when Shigeru Yoshida dissolved the House and called for new election, after he name called people during a meeting of the budget committee. This came to be known as the "you idiot" dissolution.^[18]

In 1955, prime minister Ichirō Hatoyama oversaw the creation of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which since his third government has dominated Japanese politics under the 1955 System. The LDP would govern without interruption for nearly 40 years until the 1993 election, alone save for a three-year coalition government with the New Liberal Club after the 1983 election.

Hatoyama planned to change the electoral system to first past the post, introducing a bill to that effect in March 1956. This was met with opposition from the Socialist Party, who criticized Hatoyama's plan as a "Hatomander". The bill passed the House of Representatives in May 1956, but was never voted on by the House of Councillors. Electoral reform came into vogue again in the 1970s, but Kakuei Tanaka's plan met opposition internally in the LDP and never came to a vote in either chamber of the Diet.

Heisei and Reiwa periods (since 1989)

Japan entered a lengthy recession in the 1990s (see Lost Decades), which many people blamed on the LDP. In the 1993 election, the party lost power for the first time under the 1955 System, when an eight-party coalition led by Morihiro Hosokawa of the Japan New Party were able to form a government. This government fell apart after nine months, and was succeeded by the Hata Cabinet, another short-lived non-LDP government. The LDP returned to power in 1994 with the Murayama Cabinet, this time in a coalition with their old rivals the Socialists, whose leader Tomiichi Murayama became prime minister.

As with party colleagues Ichirō Hatoyama and Kakuei Tanaka before him, prime minister Toshiki Kaifu of the LDP unsuccessfully tried to reform the electoral system in 1991. However, the Morihiro Hosokawa government got the 1994 Japanese electoral reform through the Diet, introducing a parallel voting system which went into effect at the next election in 1996. Under this system, which remains in effect as of 2022, 300 (since reduced to 289) members of the House of Representatives are elected using first past the post in single-member constituencies, while 200 (since reduced to 176) members are elected in regional blocs using party-list proportional representation.

Prime minister Junichiro Koizumi introduced a bill to the House of Representatives in 2006 on changing the Imperial Household Law to allow a woman to ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne (see Japanese imperial succession debate), but he withdrew the bill after the birth of Prince Hisahito of Akishino the same year. The LDP once again lost power at the 2009 election, when the Democratic Party-led Hatoyama Cabinet took over, followed in rapid succession by the Kan Cabinet and Noda Cabinet. The LDP and Komeito, who had formed a two-party government between 2003 and 2009, came to power again after the 2012 election. Shinzo Abe, who had previously led the First Abe Cabinet, was prime minister for another stint lasting eight years, stepping down for health reasons in 2020.

When the Emperor Akihito expressed interest in abdicating, the Diet passed the Emperor Abdication Law in 2017, allowing for the 2019 Japanese imperial transition and the succession to the throne of Naruhito. In December 2022, in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and increased military cooperation between China and Russia, prime minister Fumio Kishida announced plans to significantly increase funding for the Japan Self-Defense Forces.

List of House of Representatives general elections

19th century

Election	Date	(during term)	Turnout	Seats	Date of dissolution (D) / expiration of term (E)	Registered voters	Majority party	Seats Share		Emperor
Imperial Diet (1890–1947); upper house: House of Peers
1st	1 July 1890	Yamagata Aritomo	93.91%	300		450,872	bgcolor= rowspan="10" style="white-space:nowrap"	Constitutional Liberal	130	43.33%
		(Matsukata Masayoshi)
2nd	15 February 1892	Matsukata Masayoshi	91.59%		(D) 25 December 1891	434,594	94	31.33%
		(Itō Hirobumi)
3rd	1 March 1894	Itō Hirobumi	88.76%		(D) 30 December 1893	440,113	bgcolor=	120	bgcolor=	40.00%
4th	1 September 1894	Itō Hirobumi	84.84%		(D) 2 June 1894	460,483	107	35.66%
		(Matsukata Masayoshi)
		(Itō Hirobumi)
5th	15 March 1898	Itō Hirobumi	87.50%		(D) 25 December 1897	452,637	105	35.00%
		bgcolor=				(Ōkuma Shigenobu)
6th	10 August 1898	bgcolor=	Ōkuma Shigenobu		79.91%	(D) 10 June 1898	502,292	Kensei Hontō	124	41.33%
		(Yamagata Aritomo)
		(Itō Hirobumi)
		(Katsura Tarō)
Election	Date	(during term)	Turnout	Seats	Date of dissolution (D) / expiration of term (E)	Registered voters	Majority party	Seats Share		Emperor

20th century

Election	Date	(during term)	Turnout	Seats	Date of dissolution (D) / expiration of term (E)	Registered voters	Majority party	Seats Share		Emperor
7th	10 August 1902	Katsura Tarō	88.39%	376	(E) 9 August 1902	982,868	Rikken Seiyūkai	191	50.79%
8th	1 March 1903	86.17%	(D) 28 December 1902		958,322	175		46.54%
9th	1 March 1904	Katsura Tarō	86.06%	379	(D) 11 December 1903	762,445		133	35.09%
		(Saionji Kinmochi)
10th	15 May 1908	Saionji Kinmochi	85.29%		(E) 27 March 1908	1,590,045		187	49.34%
		(Katsura Tarō)
		(Saionji Kinmochi)
11th	15 May 1912	Saionji Kinmochi	89.58%	381	(E) 14 May 1912	1,506,143		209	54.85%
		(Katsura Tarō)
		(Yamamoto Gonnohyōe)
		bgcolor=				(Ōkuma Shigenobu)
12th	25 March 1915	bgcolor=	Ōkuma Shigenobu		92.13%	(D) 25 December 1914	1,546,411	Rikken Dōshikai	153	40.15%
		(Terauchi Masatake)
13th	20 April 1917	Terauchi Masatake	91.92%		(D) 25 January 1917	1,422,126	Rikken Seiyūkai	165	43.30%
		bgcolor=				(Hara Takashi)
14th	10 May 1920	bgcolor=	Hara Takashi	86.73%	464	(D) 26 February 1920	3,069,148	278	59.91%
		bgcolor=	(Takahashi Korekiyo)
		(Katō Tomosaburō)
		(Yamamoto Gonnohyōe)
		(Kiyoura Keigo)
15th	10 May 1924	bgcolor=	Katō Takaaki	91.18%		(D) 31 January 1924	3,288,405	Kenseikai	151	32.54%
		bgcolor=	(Wakatsuki Reijirō)
		bgcolor=	(Tanaka Giichi)
16th	20 February 1928	bgcolor=	Tanaka Giichi	80.36%	466	(D) 21 January 1928	12,408,678	Rikken Seiyūkai	218	46.78%
		(Hamaguchi Osachi)
17th	20 February 1930	Hamaguchi Osachi	83.34%	(D) 21 January 1930		12,812,895	Rikken Minseitō	273	58.58%
		(Wakatsuki Reijirō)
		(Inukai Tsuyoshi)
18th	20 February 1932	Inukai Tsuyoshi	81.68%	(D) 21 January 1932		13,237,841	Rikken Seiyukai	301	64.59%
		(Saitō Makoto)
		(Keisuke Okada)
19th	20 February 1936	Kōki Hirota	78.65%	(D) 21 January 1936		14,479,553	Rikken Minseitō	205	43.99%
		(Senjūrō Hayashi)
20th	30 April 1937	Senjūrō Hayashi	73.31%	(D) 31 March 1937		14,618,298	179	38.41%
		(Fumimaro Konoe)
		(Hiranuma Kiichirō)
		(Nobuyuki Abe)
		(Mitsumasa Yonai)
		(Fumimaro Konoe)
		(Fumimaro Konoe)
		(Hideki Tojo)
21st	30 April 1942	Hideki Tojo	83.16%	(E) 29 April 1942		14,594,287	Imperial Rule Assistance Association	381	81.75%
		(Kuniaki Koiso)
		(Kantarō Suzuki)
		(Kantarō Suzuki)
		(Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni)
		(Kijūrō Shidehara)
22nd	10 April 1946	Shigeru Yoshida	72.08%	(D) 18 December 1945		36,878,420	Liberal	141	30.25%
23rd	25 April 1947	Tetsu Katayama	67.95%	(D) 31 March 1947		40,907,493	Socialist	143	30.68%
		(Hitoshi Ashida)
		(Shigeru Yoshida)
National Diet (1947–present); upper house: House of Councillors
24th	23 January 1949	Shigeru Yoshida	74.04%	466	(D) 23 December 1948	42,105,300	Democratic Liberal	264	56.65%
		(Shigeru Yoshida)
25th	1 October 1952	Shigeru Yoshida	76.43%		(D) 28 August 1952	46,772,584	Liberal	240	51.50%
26th	19 April 1953	Shigeru Yoshida	74.22%		(D) 14 March 1953	47,090,167	Liberal Yoshida faction	199	42.70%
		(Ichirō Hatoyama)
27th	27 February 1955	Ichirō Hatoyama	75.84%	467	(D) 24 January 1955	49,235,375	Democratic	185	39.61%
		(Ichirō Hatoyama)
		(Tanzan Ishibashi)
		(Nobusuke Kishi)
28th	22 May 1958	Nobusuke Kishi	76.99%		(D) 25 April 1958	52,013,529	Liberal Democratic	287	61.45%
		(Hayato Ikeda)
29th	20 November 1960	Hayato Ikeda	73.51%		(D) 24 October 1960	54,312,993	296	63.38%
30th	21 November 1963	Hayato Ikeda	71.14%		(D) 23 October 1963	58,281,678	283	60.59%
		(Eisaku Satō)
31st	29 January 1967	Eisaku Satō	73.99%	486	(D) 27 December 1966	62,992,796	277	56.99%
32nd	27 December 1969	Eisaku Satō	68.51%		(D) 2 December 1969	69,260,424	288	59.25%
		(Kakuei Tanaka)
33rd	10 December 1972	Kakuei Tanaka	71.76%	491	(D) 13 November 1972	73,769,636	271	55.19%
		(Takeo Miki)
34th	5 December 1976	Takeo Fukuda	73.45%	511	(E) 9 December 1976	77,926,588	249	48.72%
		(Masayoshi Ōhira)
35th	7 October 1979	Masayoshi Ōhira	68.01%		(D) 7 September 1979	80,169,924	248	48.53%
36th	22 June 1980	Zenkō Suzuki	74.57%		(D) 19 May 1980	80,925,034	284	55.57%
		(Yasuhiro Nakasone)
37th	18 December 1983	Yasuhiro Nakasone	67.94%		(D) 28 November 1983	84,252,608	250	48.92%
38th	2 June 1986	Yasuhiro Nakasone	71.40%	512	(D) 2 June 1986	86,426,845	300	58.59%
		(Noboru Takeshita)
		(Sōsuke Uno)
		(Toshiki Kaifu)
39th	18 February 1990	Toshiki Kaifu	73.31%		(D) 24 January 1990	90,322,908	275	53.71%
		(Kiichi Miyazawa)
40th	18 July 1993	Morihiro Hosokawa	67.26%	511	(D) 18 June 1993	94,477,816	223	43.63%
		(Tsutomu Hata)
		(Tomiichi Murayama)
		(Ryūtarō Hashimoto)
41st	20 October 1996	Ryūtarō Hashimoto	59.65%	500	(D) 27 September 1996	97,680,719	239	47.80%
		(Keizō Obuchi)
		(Yoshirō Mori)
42nd	25 June 2000	Yoshirō Mori	62.49%	480	(D) 2 June 2000	100,492,328	233	48.54%
		(Junichiro Koizumi)
Election	Date	(during term)	Turnout	Seats	Date of dissolution (D) / expiration of term (E)	Registered voters	Majority party	Seats Share		Emperor

21st century

Election	Date	(during term)	Turnout	Seats	Date of dissolution (D) / expiration of term (E)	Registered voters	Majority party	Seats Share		Emperor
43rd	9 November 2003	Junichiro Koizumi	59.86%	480	(D) 10 October 2003	102,306,684	Liberal Democratic	237	49.37%
44th	11 September 2005	Junichiro Koizumi	67.51%		(D) 8 August 2005	103,067,966	296	61.66%
		(Shinzo Abe)
		(Yasuo Fukuda)
		(Tarō Asō)
45th	30 August 2009	Yukio Hatoyama	69.28%		(D) 21 July 2009	104,057,361	Democratic	308	64.16%
		(Naoto Kan)
		(Yoshihiko Noda)
46th	16 December 2012	Shinzo Abe	59.32%		(D) 16 November 2012	103,959,866	Liberal Democratic	294	61.25%
47th	14 December 2014	52.66%	475	(D) 21 November 2014	104,067,104	291		61.26%
48th	22 October 2017	Shinzo Abe	53.68%	465	(D) 28 September 2017	106,091,229		284	61.08%
		(Yoshihide Suga)
		(Fumio Kishida)
49th	31 October 2021	Fumio Kishida	55.93%		(D) 14 October 2021	105,622,758		261	56.12%
Election	Date	(during term)	Turnout	Seats	Date of dissolution (D) / expiration of term (E)	Registered voters	Majority party	Seats Share		Emperor

See also

• National Diet
  • House of Councillors
• List of districts of the House of Representatives of Japan
• List of current members of the House of Representatives of Japan
• Speaker of the House of Representatives (Japan)
• Sekihairitsu, the system used in elections for the House of Representatives to determine the order of candidates on a proportional representation list

External links

• House of Representatives Website (in English) – Official site of the House of Representatives
• House of Representatives Internet TV- Official site

Notes and References

1. Web site: The Constitution of Japan. Japanese Law Translation. August 7, 2020. January 5, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210105093921/http://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/law/detail/?id=174. dead.
2. News: Japan election: PM Shinzo Abe dissolves parliament. BBC News. 28 September 2017. 21 July 2018. 1 December 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211201050225/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41423848. live.
3. News: Japan calls snap election as new party roils outlook. Reuters. 28 September 2017. Takenaka. Linda Sieg. 28 September 2017. 28 September 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170928062906/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-election/japan-parliament-dissolved-snap-october-22-election-expected-idUSKCN1C23AO. live.
4. Web site: Democratic Party effectively disbands, throwing support behind Koike's party for Lower House poll. 28 September 2017. 28 September 2017. 28 September 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170928063235/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/09/28/national/politics-diplomacy/abe-dissolves-lower-house-opposition-bands-together/. live.
5. Web site: 1 November 2021. 衆議院選挙2021特設サイト. live. NHK. 1 November 2021. 30 October 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211030065517/https://www.nhk.or.jp/senkyo/database/shugiin/2021/.
6. Web site: Diet enacts law lowering voting age to 18 from 20. 17 June 2015. The Japan Times. 17 June 2015. 10 October 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161010081014/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/06/17/national/politics-diplomacy/diet-enacts-law-lowering-voting-age-18-20. live.
7. [Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications]
8. MIC: 第４２回衆議院議員総選挙結果
9. MIC: 衆議院議員総選挙・最高裁判所裁判官国民審査結果調
10. MIC: 平成17年9月11日執行　衆議院議員総選挙・最高裁判所裁判官国民審査結果調
11. MIC: 平成21年8月30日執行　衆議院議員総選挙・最高裁判所裁判官国民審査結果調
12. Includes Takahiro Inoue (independent, Fukuoka 1st district) who was retroactively nominated as LDP candidate; Reuters, December 14, 2014: 自民、井上氏を追加公認
13. [Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications]
14. Cambridge History of Japan, Vol. 6, p. 35
15. Wikisource: 第三次桂内閣に対する内閣不信任上奏決議案提出及び趣旨説明, excerpt from the Imperial Diet minutes, House of Representatives session February 5, 1913
16. [The Cambridge History of Japan]
17. Web site: National Parliaments: Japan - Library of Congress . . 2020-09-01 . 2021-03-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210323034411/https://www.loc.gov/law/help/national-parliaments/japan.php . live .
18. Web site: Dissolving the House of Representatives: A Powerful Political Tool - nippon.com . 11 October 2017 . 2020-09-01 . 2020-11-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201130053237/https://www.nippon.com/en/features/h00086/ . live .