1969 Japanese general election

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1969 Japanese general election
← 1967 27 December 1969 1972 →
All 486 seats in the House of Representatives of Japan
244 seats needed for a majority
Turnout68.51% (Decrease5.47pp)
  First party Second party Third party
  Eisaku Sato 19641109.jpg Tomomi Narita.png
CGP
Leader Eisaku Satō Tomomi Narita Yoshikatsu Takeiri
Party Liberal Democratic Socialist Kōmeitō
Leader since 1 December 1964 30 November 1968 13 February 1967
Last election 277 seats, 48.8% 140 seats, 27.9% 25 seats, 5.4%
Seats won 288 90 47
Seat change Increase11 Decrease50 Increase22
Popular vote 22,381,570 10,074,101 5,124,666
Percentage 47.6% 21.4% 10.9%
Swing Decrease1.2pp Decrease6.5pp Increase5.5pp
  Fourth party Fifth party
  Nishimura Eiichi.png Kenji Miyamoto (cropped).jpg
Leader Eiichi Nishimura Kenji Miyamoto
Party Democratic Socialist Communist
Leader since 1 August 1958
Last election 30 seats, 7.4% 5 seats, 4.8%
Seats won 31 14
Seat change Increase1 Increase9
Popular vote 3,636,591 3,199,032
Percentage 7.7% 6.8%
Swing Increase0.3pp Increase2.0pp
1969 JAPAN GENERAL ELECTION, combined vote share.svg
Prime Minister before election

Eisaku Satō
Liberal Democratic

Prime Minister after election

Eisaku Satō
Liberal Democratic

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General elections were held in Japan on 27 December 1969. The result was a victory for the Liberal Democratic Party, which won 288 of the 486 seats.[1] Voter turnout was 68.51%, the lowest since 1947. This was the first general election in Japanese history in which candidates were allowed limited use of television as a means for campaigning, something that had been formerly proscribed under Japan's strict election campaign laws.[2] This election was also the first one in Japanese history to feature a mix of both single-member constituencies as well as regional proportional representation.[3]

The main national policy issue at the time was the possibility of reverting Okinawa, which had been under American military occupation since the end of World War II, back over to Japanese control. Nonetheless, as is characteristic of Japanese elections, voters were more interested in pocket book issues, or "livelihood problems" (kurashi mondai), over pressing national and foreign policy questions. The election was marked by relative apathy, especially among young people in urban areas, with voter turnout in Tokyo being the lowest in the country, dropping from 63.12% in the last election to 56.35% in the 1969 election.[2]

Moreover, old districting laws from the pre-war period were still in effect, and as urban areas increased in population, individual rural voters (who were heavily skewed towards the LDP) were disproportionately more powerful than the average individual urban voter. In any event, the actual popular vote of the LDP had been continuously sliding down since its formation, and the LDP's increase in seats was more attributable to its competent endorsement of only a limited number of local seat candidates when compared to the Japan Socialist Party, which ran too many candidates and thus split votes at a disastrous rate. Ironically, what little increase in support the JSP saw was found primarily in rural areas rather than urban areas, the latter of which were traditionally seen as the base of the JSP's support; the young Kōmeitō and reformed Japanese Communist Party had been gradually making inroads into urban areas, further eating away at the JSP's strength.[2]

Results[]

Japan House of Representatives 1969.svg
PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Liberal Democratic Party22,381,57047.63288+11
Japan Socialist Party10,074,10121.4490–50
Komeitō5,124,66610.9147+22
Democratic Socialist Party3,636,5917.7431+1
Japanese Communist Party3,199,0326.8114+9
Other parties81,3730.1700
Independents2,492,5605.3016+7
Total46,989,893100.004860
Valid votes46,989,89399.03
Invalid/blank votes459,8160.97
Total votes47,449,709100.00
Registered voters/turnout69,260,42468.51
Source: Statistics Bureau of Japan

Individual results[]

Ichiro Ozawa won a seat in the House of Representatives for the first time in this election, becoming the youngest elected legislator in history at that time. He went on to become a powerful political figure in the LDP and other parties.[4][5]

Future prime minister Tsutomu Hata was drafted to run in the election following his father's death, and won a seat for the first time.[6] Future prime minister Junichiro Koizumi also attempted to win his late father's seat in the election, but lost.[7]

References[]

  1. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-02-15. Retrieved 2012-12-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ a b c Curtis, Gerald L. (1970). "The 1969 General Election in Japan". Asian Survey. 10 (10): 859–871. doi:10.2307/2643097. ISSN 0004-4687.
  3. ^ Tabusa, Keiko (1997). "The 1996 General Election in Japan". The Australian Quarterly. 69 (1): 21–29. doi:10.2307/20634762. ISSN 0005-0091.
  4. ^ Hayashi, Yuka (2010-09-09). "Japan's Kingmaker Bids to Seize the Crown". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2020-09-08.
  5. ^ Desmond, Edward W. (2010-06-16). "Ichiro Ozawa: Reformer at Bay". ISSN 0015-7120. Retrieved 2020-09-08.
  6. ^ "Hata: Japan's Hope to End Paralysis". Los Angeles Times. 1994-04-23. Retrieved 2020-09-08.
  7. ^ "Koizumi Urges Constitutional Revision For Direct Election of Japanese Premier". Wall Street Journal. 2001-04-27. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2020-09-08.
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