Japanese general election, 1993

Japanese general election, 1993
Japan
23 July 1993

All 511 seats to the House of Representatives of Japan
256 seats needed for a majority
Turnout 67.26%
  Majority party Minority party
 
Leader Morihiro Hosokawa Kiichi Miyazawa
Party Eight-Party Coalition (JSP/S/KP/JNP/DSP/NPS/SDF) Liberal Democratic
Last election 275 seats, 46.1%
Seats before 222
Seats won 243 223
Seat change Increase1
Popular vote 30,522,232 22,999,646
Percentage 48.6% 36.6%

Prime Minister before election

Kiichi Miyazawa
Liberal Democratic

Prime Minister-designate

Morihiro Hosokawa
New Party

This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Japan

Politics portal

Japan held a nationwide election to the House of Representatives, the more powerful lower house of the National Diet, on July 18, 1993.

Overview

The consumption tax and the Recruit scandal seriously affected the popularity of the long-time ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Along with the opposition MPs, members of some factions of the LDP cast a vote of no confidence against prime minister Kiichi Miyazawa; in response Miyazawa decided to dissolve the House of Representatives. Some LDP dissidents then left the party and formed new parties. The rebellion within the LDP was largely led by former finance and agriculture minister Tsutomu Hata and political fixer Ichiro Ozawa.[1]

Until the 1993 election, rural voters effectively had three times the weight in elections that urban voters had, and the LDP governments had subsidized rural areas at the expense or urban taxpayers. The LDP had also promoted regulations that helped entrenched businesses at the expense of consumers, and its leaders had historically had difficulty being prominent on the world stage. There were hopes prior to the election that the Hata-led coalition could change this situation.[1]

Results

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party lost its overall majority for the first time since 1983 and also failed to form the government for the first time since 1955. They were replaced by an eight-party coalition headed by Morihiro Hosokawa, who was elected prime minister.

The coalition government collapsed after 10 months when the Socialist Party and New Party Sakigake left the government. The Socialist Party decided to form a coalition government with Liberal Democratic Party in 1994, returning the LDP to power.

 Summary of the 18 July 1993 Japanese House of Representatives election results[2][3]
Alliances and parties Candidates Votes[4] % +/- Seats +/-
(last gen. election)
+/-
(dissolution)
   Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Jiyūminshutō 285 22,999,646 36.62% Decrease9.49 223 Decrease52 Increase1
   Japanese Socialist Party (JSP) Nihon Shakaitō 142 9,687,588 15.43% Decrease8.96 70 Decrease66 Decrease66
Shinseito Shinseitō ("Renewal Party") 69 6,341,364 10.10% (Increase10.10) 55 (Increase55) Increase19
Komeito Kōmeitō ("Justice Party") 54 5,114,351 8.14% Increase0.16 51 Increase6 Increase6
Japan New Party (JNP) Nihon Shintō 57 5,053,981 8.05% (Increase8.05) 35 (Increase35) Increase35
Democratic Socialist Party (DSP) Minshatō 28 2,205,682 3.51% Decrease1.33 15 Increase1 Increase1
New Party Sakigake Shintō Sakigake ("New Party Harbinger") 16 1,658,097 2.64% (Increase2.64) 13 (Increase13) Increase3
Social Democratic Federation (SDF) Shakaiminshu Rengō 4 461,169 0.73% Decrease0.13 4 Steady0 Steady0
Non-communist opposition (JSP, center-left opposition & LDP defectors) 370 30,522,232 48.60% Increase10.53 243 Increase44 Decrease2
   Japanese Communist Party (JCP) Nihon Kyōsantō 129 4,834,587 7.70% Decrease0.26 15 Decrease1 Decrease1
   Others 62 143,486 0.23% (Decrease0.29) 0 (Decrease1) Steady0
Independents 109 4,304,188 6.85% Decrease0.46 30 Increase9 Increase1
Total (turnout 67.26%) 955 62,804,145 100.00% Steady0 511 Decrease1
(reapportionment)
Decrease1
Vote share
LDP
 
36.62%
JSP
 
15.43%
JRP
 
10.10%
KP
 
8.14%
JNP
 
8.05%
JCP
 
7.70%
DSP
 
3.51%
NPH
 
2.64%
SDF
 
0.73%
Independents
 
6.85%
Others
 
0.23%
Parliament seats
LDP
 
43.64%
JSP
 
13.70%
JRP
 
10.76%
KP
 
9.98%
JNP
 
6.85%
JCP
 
2.94%
DSP
 
2.94%
NPH
 
2.54%
SDF
 
0.78%
Independents
 
5.87%

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Japan sees the light". The Economist. 26 June 1993. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
  2. Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), Statistics Department, Long-term statistics, chapter 27: Public servants and elections, sections 27-7 to 27-10 Elections for the House of Representatives.
  3. Inter Parliamentary Union
  4. Decimals from fractional votes (anbunhyō) rounded to full numbers