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All 475 seats in theHouse of Representatives 238 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 52.65% ( 6.67pp; Const. votes)52.65% ( 6.66pp; PR votes) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 districts and PR districts, shaded according to winners' vote strength | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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General elections were held inJapan on 14 December 2014. Voting took place in allRepresentatives constituencies ofJapan including proportional blocks to elect themembers of theHouse of Representatives, thelower house of theNational Diet of Japan. As thecabinet resigns in the first post-election Diet session after a general House of Representatives election (Constitution, Article 70), the lower house election also led to a newelection of the prime minister in the Diet, won by incumbentShinzō Abe, and the appointment of a new cabinet (with some ministers re-appointed). The voter turnout in this election remains the lowest in Japanese history.
In 2012, theDemocratic Party government underYoshihiko Noda decided to raise the Japanese consumption tax. This unpopular move allowed theLiberal Democratic Party underShinzo Abe to regain control of the Japanese government in the2012 Japanese general election. Abe proceeded to implement a series of economic programs known as "Abenomics" in a bid to stimulate the economy. Despite these programs, Japan entered a technicalrecession in mid-2014, which Abe blamed on the consumption tax hike, even though many members of the LDP supported the hike. Abe called a snap election on November 18, in part for the purpose of winning LDP backing to postpone the hike and pursue the Abenomics package.[1][2]
The LDP government was widely expected to win the election in a landslide, and many observers viewed the snap election as a mechanism for Abe to entrench his government at a time of relative popularity.[3]
Under 2013 changes to the electoral law designed to reducemalapportionment, district boundaries in 17 prefectures were redrawn and five districts are eliminated without replacement (one each inFukui,Yamanashi,Tokushima,Kōchi andSaga). The number of first-past-the-post seats is reduced to 295, the total number of seats decreases to 475.[4]
(Source:NHK)
| Date | LDP | DPJ | JRP | PFG | NKP | YP | PLP | JCP | SDP | GW | NRP | UP | JIP | Oth. | Und. | No Answer | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5–7 December | 38.1% | 11.7% | 0.1% | 5.9% | 0.3% | 4.3% | 0.9% | 0.0% | 3.7% | 0.1% | 26.3% | 8.5% | 11.8% | ||||
| 7–9 November | 36.6% | 7.9% | 0.2% | 2.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 3.5% | 0.6% | 1.2% | 0.1% | 40.0% | 7.7% | 3.4% | ||||
| 11–13 October | 40.2% | 5.6% | 0.1% | 4.1% | 0.5% | 0.1% | 3.3% | 0.9% | 1.4% | 0.1% | 35.0% | 8.8% | 5.2% | ||||
| 5–7 September | 40.4% | 5.4% | 0.7% | 0.1% | 4.3% | 0.0% | 0.2% | 3.3% | 0.5% | 0.1% | 0.4% | 36.9% | 7.8% | 3.5% | |||
| 8–10 August | 36.7% | 6.4% | 1.0% | 0.3% | 3.0% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 3.2% | 0.7% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 39.4% | 8.8% | 2.7% | |||
| 11–13 July | 34.3% | 4.8% | 1.7% | 3.6% | 0.5% | 0.3% | 3.4% | 0.9% | 0.1% | 0.3% | 42.5% | 7.6% | 8.2% | ||||
| 6–8 June | 36.9% | 5.1% | 1.1% | 4.0% | 0.4% | 0.1% | 2.8% | 0.6% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 42.4% | 6.7% | 5.5% | ||||
| 9–11 May | 41.4% | 5.6% | 1.1% | 3.7% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 2.4% | 0.9% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 37.2% | 6.9% | 4.2% | ||||
| 11–13 April | 38.1% | 7.4% | 1.3% | 3.4% | 0.9% | 0.2% | 3.6% | 0.6% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 37.2% | 5.2% | 0.9% | ||||
| 7–9 March | 38.7% | 6.5% | 1.1% | 2.2% | 0.8% | 0.1% | 3.3% | 0.8% | 0.4% | 0.1% | 40.0% | 5.2% | 1.3% | ||||
| 7–9 February | 36.2% | 5.8% | 1.3% | 3.9% | 1.1% | 0.3% | 3.3% | 1.4% | 0.5% | 0.2% | 41.0% | 5.2% | 4.8% | ||||
| 11–13 January | 40.4% | 5.8% | 1.6% | 2.8% | 0.8% | 0.1% | 1.6% | 0.7% | 0.1% | 0.3% | 40.3% | 5.5% | 0.1% | ||||
| 2014 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6–8 December | 36.7% | 7.8% | 2.1% | 2.8% | 1.2% | 0.2% | 3.1% | 0.6% | 0.0% | 38.7% | 6.8% | 2.0% | |||||
| 8–10 November | 41.9% | 5.2% | 1.8% | 4.4% | 1.9% | 0.3% | 3.3% | 0.4% | 0.3% | 35.1% | 5.6% | 6.8% | |||||
| 12–14 October | 36.1% | 5.2% | 2.1% | 3.8% | 1.2% | 0.2% | 4.0% | 0.5% | 0.3% | 41.8% | 4.9% | 5.7% | |||||
| 6–8 September | 40.3% | 5.5% | 2.2% | 4.4% | 2.1% | 0.0% | 3.2% | 0.7% | 0.2% | 34.6% | 6.8% | 5.7% | |||||
| 9–11 August | 37.9% | 7.3% | 4.6% | 4.6% | 3.2% | 0.2% | 3.5% | 0.8% | 0.9% | 30.8% | 6.2% | 7.1% | |||||
| 5–7 July | 42.5% | 8.0% | 2.7% | 5.3% | 3.1% | 0.5% | 3.7% | 0.9% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.3% | 24.5% | 8.4% | 18.0% | |||
| 7–9 June | 41.7% | 5.8% | 1.5% | 5.1% | 1.5% | 0.1% | 2.2% | 0.4% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.2% | 34.6% | 7.0% | 7.1% | |||
| 10–12 May | 43.4% | 5.3% | 2.4% | 3.7% | 2.3% | 0.3% | 2.0% | 1.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 33.3% | 6.1% | 10.1% | |||
| 5–7 April | 43.6% | 6.1% | 2.1% | 3.7% | 1.3% | 0.4% | 2.0% | 0.7% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 34.5% | 5.6% | 9.1% | |||
| 8–10 March | 40.1% | 7.0% | 3.9% | 4.4% | 3.1% | 0.3% | 2.1% | 0.6% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 31.8% | 6.6% | 8.3% | |||
| 10–12 February | 40.4% | 7.0% | 5.3% | 3.1% | 2.6% | 0.3% | 2.1% | 0.8% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.3% | 31.7% | 6.3% | 8.7% | |||
| 12–14 January | 37.8% | 7.6% | 6.5% | 4.0% | 3.7% | 0.5% | 2.7% | 0.8% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.3% | 30.8% | 5.4% | 7.0% | |||
| 2013 | |||||||||||||||||
| Date | PM | Approval | Disapproval |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5–7 December | Shinzo Abe | 47% | 38% |
| 7–9 November | Shinzo Abe | 44% | 38% |
| 11–13 October | Shinzo Abe | 52% | 34% |
| 5–7 September | Shinzo Abe | 58% | 28% |
| 8–10 August | Shinzo Abe | 51% | 33% |
| 11–13 July | Shinzo Abe | 47% | 38% |
| 6–8 June | Shinzo Abe | 52% | 32% |
| 9–11 May | Shinzo Abe | 56% | 29% |
| 11–13 April | Shinzo Abe | 52% | 31% |
| 7–9 March | Shinzo Abe | 51% | 30% |
| 7–9 February | Shinzo Abe | 52% | 33% |
| 11–13 January | Shinzo Abe | 54% | 31% |
| 2014 | |||
| 21–22 December[5] | Shinzo Abe | 49% | 34% |
| 6–8 December | Shinzo Abe | 50% | 35% |
| 8–10 November | Shinzo Abe | 60% | 25% |
| 12–14 October | Shinzo Abe | 58% | 26% |
| 6–8 September | Shinzo Abe | 59% | 23% |
| 9–11 August | Shinzo Abe | 57% | 29% |
| 5–7 July | Shinzo Abe | 57% | 25% |
| 7–9 June | Shinzo Abe | 62% | 20% |
| 10–12 May | Shinzo Abe | 65% | 18% |
| 5–7 April | Shinzo Abe | 66% | 19% |
| 23–24 March[6] | Shinzo Abe | 69% | 6% |
| 9–10 March[7] | Shinzo Abe | 76% | 22% |
| 8–10 March | Shinzo Abe | 66% | 18% |
| 10–12 February | Shinzo Abe | 64% | 20% |
| 8–10 February[8] | Shinzo Abe | 71% | 18% |
| 12–14 January | Shinzo Abe | 64% | 22% |
| 11–13 January[8] | Shinzo Abe | 68% | 24% |
| 2013 | |||
The LDP lost a small number of seats but slightly enlarged its majority coalition withKomeito. Turnout was a record low, and many voters viewed the election as a waste of time and money. DPJ presidentBanri Kaieda lost his seat in Tokyo while theJapanese Communist Party doubled in strength.[9][10] The right-leaningJapan Innovation Party andParty for Future Generations lost seats.[11]
 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Proportional | Constituency | Total seats | +/– | |||||
| Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | ||||
| Liberal Democratic Party | 17,658,916 | 33.11 | 68 | 25,461,449 | 48.10 | 223 | 291 | −3 | |
| Democratic Party of Japan | 9,775,991 | 18.33 | 35 | 11,916,849 | 22.51 | 38 | 73 | +16 | |
| Japan Innovation Party | 8,382,699 | 15.72 | 30 | 4,319,646 | 8.16 | 11 | 41 | −13 | |
| Komeito | 7,314,236 | 13.71 | 26 | 765,390 | 1.45 | 9 | 35 | +4 | |
| Japanese Communist Party | 6,062,962 | 11.37 | 20 | 7,040,170 | 13.30 | 1 | 21 | +13 | |
| Party for Future Generations | 1,414,919 | 2.65 | 0 | 947,396 | 1.79 | 2 | 2 | New | |
| Social Democratic Party | 1,314,441 | 2.46 | 1 | 419,347 | 0.79 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| People's Life Party | 1,028,721 | 1.93 | 0 | 514,575 | 0.97 | 2 | 2 | −7 | |
| Happiness Realization Party | 260,111 | 0.49 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Shiji Seitō Nashi | 104,854 | 0.20 | 0 | 0 | New | ||||
| New Renaissance Party | 16,597 | 0.03 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Genzei Nippon | 32,759 | 0.06 | 0 | 0 | New | ||||
| Future Party | 4,883 | 0.01 | 0 | 0 | New | ||||
| Katsuko Inumaru and Republican Party | 4,668 | 0.01 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| World Economic Community Party | 1,416 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Independents | 1,511,242 | 2.85 | 8 | 8 | +3 | ||||
| Total | 53,334,447 | 100.00 | 180 | 52,939,790 | 100.00 | 295 | 475 | −5 | |
| Valid votes | 53,334,447 | 97.45 | 52,939,790 | 96.71 | |||||
| Invalid/blank votes | 1,398,283 | 2.55 | 1,801,562 | 3.29 | |||||
| Total votes | 54,732,730 | 100.00 | 54,741,352 | 100.00 | |||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 103,962,785 | 52.65 | 103,962,784 | 52.65 | |||||
| Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications,[12] CLEA[13] | |||||||||
| Prefecture | Total seats | Seats won | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LDP | DPJ | JIP | Komei | PFG | PLP | JCP | SDP | Ind. | ||
| Aichi | 15 | 8 | 6 | 1 | ||||||
| Akita | 3 | 3 | ||||||||
| Aomori | 4 | 4 | ||||||||
| Chiba | 13 | 11 | 2 | |||||||
| Ehime | 4 | 4 | ||||||||
| Fukui | 2 | 2 | ||||||||
| Fukuoka | 11 | 11 | ||||||||
| Fukushima | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Gifu | 5 | 5 | ||||||||
| Gunma | 5 | 5 | ||||||||
| Hiroshima | 7 | 6 | 1 | |||||||
| Hokkaido | 12 | 8 | 3 | 1 | ||||||
| Hyōgo | 12 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ||||
| Ibaraki | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Ishikawa | 3 | 3 | ||||||||
| Iwate | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ||||||
| Kagawa | 3 | 2 | 1 | |||||||
| Kagoshima | 5 | 4 | 1 | |||||||
| Kanagawa | 18 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Kōchi | 2 | 2 | ||||||||
| Kumamoto | 5 | 4 | 1 | |||||||
| Kyoto | 6 | 4 | 2 | |||||||
| Mie | 5 | 3 | 2 | |||||||
| Miyagi | 6 | 5 | 1 | |||||||
| Miyazaki | 3 | 3 | ||||||||
| Nagano | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Nagasaki | 4 | 4 | ||||||||
| Nara | 4 | 3 | 1 | |||||||
| Niigata | 6 | 5 | 1 | |||||||
| Ōita | 3 | 2 | 1 | |||||||
| Okayama | 5 | 4 | 1 | |||||||
| Okinawa | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Osaka | 19 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 4 | |||||
| Saga | 2 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Saitama | 15 | 12 | 2 | 1 | ||||||
| Shiga | 4 | 4 | ||||||||
| Shimane | 2 | 2 | ||||||||
| Shizuoka | 8 | 6 | 2 | |||||||
| Tochigi | 5 | 4 | 1 | |||||||
| Tokushima | 2 | 2 | ||||||||
| Tokyo | 25 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Tottori | 2 | 2 | ||||||||
| Toyama | 3 | 3 | ||||||||
| Wakayama | 3 | 2 | 1 | |||||||
| Yamagata | 3 | 3 | ||||||||
| Yamaguchi | 4 | 4 | ||||||||
| Yamanashi | 2 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Total | 295 | 223 | 38 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| PR block | Total seats | Seats won | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LDP | DPJ | JIP | Komei | JCP | SDP | ||
| Chūgoku | 11 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | |
| Hokkaido | 8 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Hokuriku–Shinetsu | 11 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Kinki (Kansai) | 29 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 4 | |
| Kyushu | 21 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| Northern Kanto | 20 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | |
| Shikoku | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Southern Kanto | 22 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | |
| Tohoku | 14 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | |
| Tōkai | 21 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | |
| Tokyo | 17 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | |
| Total | 180 | 68 | 35 | 30 | 26 | 20 | 1 |
The most high-profile LDP candidate to lose re-election is Agriculture MinisterKoya Nishikawa, who lost by 199 votes (0.2%) to former Governor of TochigiAkio Fukuda.[14] He was questioned in October after allegedly receiving financial support from a fraudulent company.[15]
Amongst the DPJ members to lose their seats were party leaderBanri Kaieda.[16]Party for Future Generations leaderShintaro Ishihara was also unsuccessful in his attempt to win a seat after receiving a low position on his party's representative ballot.[16]
Former leader of the now-dissolvedYour Party and six-term representative for Tochigi-3rd districtYoshimi Watanabe was also defeated.[17]
The JCP gained its firstsingle-seat constituency seat since the1996 election. Amidst a growinganti-base movement inOkinawa, JCP candidateSeiken Akamine unseated LDP incumbentKōnosuke Kokuba in a night marked with a nationwide JCP surge.[18]
In November 2015 the Grand Bench of the Supreme Court ruled that the inequality in vote weight due to malapportionment was still in an unconstitutional state(iken jōtai); however, as in previous such rulings, it dismissed the demand to invalidate the election.[19][20]
Media related toJapanese general election, 2014 at Wikimedia Commons
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