2007 Japanese House of Councillors election

2007 Japanese House of Councillors election
July 29, 2007
121 of the 242 seats in the House of Councillors
122 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Ichirō Ozawa Shinzō Abe Akihiro Ota
Party Democratic LDP Komeito
Last election 82 seats 115 seats 24 seats
Seats won 60 37 9
Seats after 109 83 20
Seat change Increase 27 Decrease 32 Decrease 4
Constituency vote 24,006,818 18,606,193 3,534,672
% and swing 40.45% (Increase1.36pp) 31.35% (Decrease3.74pp) 5.96% (Decrease2.11pp)
National vote 23,256,247 16,544,761 7,765,329
% and swing 39.48% (Increase1.69pp) 28.08% (Decrease1.95pp) 13.18% (Decrease2.23pp)
  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Leader Kazuo Shii Mizuho Fukushima Tamisuke Watanuki
Party JCP Social Democratic People's New
Last election 9 seats 5 seats Did not exist
Seats won 3 2 2
Seats after 7 5 4
Seat change Decrease 2 Steady New
Constituency vote 5,164,572 1,352,018 1,111,005
% and swing 8.70% (Decrease1.14pp) 2.28% (Increase0.53pp) 1.87% (New)
National vote 4,407,933 2,634,714 1,269,209
% and swing 7.48% (Decrease0.32pp) 4.47% (Decrease0.88pp) 2.15% (New)
  Seventh party
 
Leader Yasuo Tanaka
Party NP-Nippon
Last election Did not exist
Seats won 1
Seats after 1
Seat change New
Constituency vote —
National vote 1,770,707
% and swing 3.01% (New)
Constituency and proportional representation (bottom right) election result
President of the House of Councillors before election

Chikage Oogi
LDP

 Elected President of the House of Councillors

Satsuki Eda
Democratic

House of Councillors elections were held in Japan on July 29, 2007.[1][2] The date was originally to be July 22, but the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) decided in mid-June to extend the session of the House for a week to finish up legislative business; this step was criticised due to the short-term delay.[3]

The House of Councillors consists of 242 members who serve six-year terms. Approximately half the members are elected every three years. The previous elections took place in 2004 when Junichiro Koizumi, Abe's predecessor, was in office.

The house ended its 166th session on July 5, 2007, marking the unofficial beginning of campaign. The official campaign began on July 12.[4]

The ruling coalition of Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito lost control, creating the first divided Diet (opposition control of the House of Councillors) since 1999. The LDP became the second party for the first time, while the DPJ became first party for the first time.

Background

The DPJ had 79 seats (82 including shin-ryokufukai) after the 2004 Upper House elections, winning 50 out of the 121 up for election, gaining 12, compared to the LDP's 49. As of February 17, 2007, the DPJ held 82 seats to the LDP's 111.

Ichirō Ozawa, the leader of the DPJ, addressed a workers' May Day rally in Yoyogi Park on April 28, 2007, setting out the party's agenda for the election. He pledged that the key policy areas would be an end to 'self-righteous' government, pension and medical reforms, and that the DPJ would 'stand in the shoes of workers, residents, and taxpayers'.

Reports throughout 2007 showed Shinzō Abe's approval ratings falling,[5] and public support for the DPJ's position on the recent pension scandal.[6] Several other scandals right up until the start of official campaigning did not improve the outlook for the LDP.[1]

Political issues

Results

According to results by NHK, the LDP lost its majority in the Upper House. Meanwhile, the DPJ managed to gain the largest margin since its formation in 1996.[7] LDP's coalition partner New Komeito lost 3 of its twelve seats.[7][8] Although the opposition made it clear that they intended to officially ask for Abe's resignation, he vowed to "continue pitching" for leadership.[9]

Most of the candidates who received international coverage were defeated in the elections - including Alberto Fujimori, Kaori Tahara, Kanako Otsuji, Yoshiro Nakamatsu, and Yuko Tojo.[10] Notable candidates who were elected included iconoclastic former Nagano governor Yasuo Tanaka, who achieved one seat for his own New Party Nippon, and ethnic Finn Marutei Tsurunen, who was re-elected with the sixth-highest vote count on the DPJ party list.

The election resulted in the removal of numerous LDP councillors representing doctors, dentists, the construction industry and other special interest groups. Historically, such individuals had been elected solely by the votes of members of their own industries.[11]

PartyNationalConstituencySeats
Votes%SeatsVotes%SeatsNot upWonTotal
after		+/–
Democratic Party of Japan23,256,24739.482024,006,81840.45404960109+27
Liberal Democratic Party16,544,76128.081418,606,19331.3523463783–32
New Komeito Party7,765,32913.1873,534,6725.96211920–4
Japanese Communist Party4,407,9337.4835,164,5728.700437–2
Social Democratic Party2,634,7144.4721,352,0182.2803250
New Party Nippon1,770,7073.011011New
People's New Party1,269,2092.1511,111,0051.871224New
Women's Party673,5601.1400000
Article 9 Net273,7450.460185,7730.310000New
Ishin Seito Shimpu170,5100.290129,2220.2200000
Kyōsei Shintō146,9850.250128,6220.220000New
Other parties33,5650.060101–
Independents5,095,1688.5976712+5
Total58,913,700100.004859,347,628100.00731211212420
Valid votes58,914,13496.8959,347,62997.59
Invalid/blank votes1,889,1013.111,464,7002.41
Total votes60,803,235100.0060,812,329100.00
Registered voters/turnout103,710,03558.63103,710,03558.64
Source: MIC, National Diet

Detailed results

Elected
Prefectural districts
Constituency Previous members Elected members Votes % Status
Hokkaido & Tohoku
Hokkaido Katsuya OgawaDPJKatsuya OgawaDPJ1,018,59736.0DPJ hold
Chūichi DateLDPChūichi DateLDP757,46326.8LDP hold
Aomori Tsutomu YamazakiLDPKōji HirayamaDPJ305,64249.0DPJ gain from LDP
Iwate Tatsuo HiranoDPJTatsuo HiranoDPJ437,81462.6DPJ hold
Miyagi Tomiko OkazakiDPJTomiko OkazakiDPJ549,18352.7DPJ hold
Jiro AichiLDPJiro AichiLDP359,09934.5LDP hold
Akita Katsutoshi KanedaLDPDaigo MatsuuraInd.319,63150.4Ind. gain from LDP
Yamagata Masatoshi AbeLDPYasue FunayamaDPJ371,07157.3DPJ gain from LDP
Fukushima Hiroko WadaDPJEmi KanekoDPJ503,42349.9DPJ hold
Toyoaki OtaLDPMasako MoriLDP372,85737.0LDP hold
Kanto
Ibaraki Moto KobayashiDPJYukihisa FujitaDPJ540,17443.4DPJ hold
Yasu KanoLDPTamon HasegawaLDP427,29734.3LDP hold
Tochigi Hiroyuki TaniDPJHiroyuki TaniDPJ484,90053.9DPJ hold
Masayuki KuniiLDPSeat abolishedLDP loss
Gunma Ichita YamamotoLDPIchita YamamotoLDP530,11462.0LDP hold
Giichi TsunodaDPJSeat abolishedDPJ loss
Saitama Hiroshi TakanoKomeiKuniko KodaDPJ745,51723.5DPJ gain from Komei
Taizo SatoLDPToshiharu FurukawaLDP684,27021.6LDP hold
Ryuji YamaneDPJRyuji YamaneDPJ665,06321.0DPJ hold
Chiba Akira ImaizumiDPJHiroyuki NagahamaDPJ666,24125.2DPJ hold
Hiroyuki KurataLDPJunichi IshiiLDP541,70120.5LDP hold
New seatKen KagayaDPJ477,40218.1DPJ win
Tokyo Yasuo OgataJCPMasako ŌkawaraDPJ1,087,74318.4DPJ gain from JCP
Natsuo YamaguchiKomeiNatsuo YamaguchiKomei794,93613.5Komei hold
Kan SuzukiDPJKan SuzukiDPJ780,66213.2DPJ hold
Sanzo HosakaLDPTamayo MarukawaLDP691,36711.7LDP hold
New seatRyūhei KawadaInd.683,62911.6Ind. win
Kanagawa Akira MatsuKomeiHiroe MakiyamaDPJ1,010,86625.4DPJ gain from Komei
Yutaka KobayashiLDPYutaka KobayashiLDP895,75222.5LDP hold
Yoriko KawaguchiLDPMasashi MitoDPJ781,53319.7DPJ gain from LDP
Chubu
Niigata Takahiro KuroiwaDPJIchiro TsukadaLDP403,49732.1LDP gain from DPJ
Yuko MoriDPJYuko MoriDPJ355,90128.3DPJ hold
Toyama Kōtarō NogamiLDPTakashi MoritaInd.291,71450.1Ind. gain from LDP
Ishikawa Tetsuo KutsukakeLDPYasuo IchikawaDPJ272,36646.9DPJ gain from LDP
Fukui Ryuji MatsumuraLDPRyuji MatsumuraLDP193,61747.5LDP hold
Yamanashi Mahito NakajimaLDPHarunobu YonenagaDPJ242,58655.3DPJ gain from LDP
Nagano Yuichiro HataDPJYuichiro HataDPJ538,69047.9DPJ hold
Hiromi YoshidaLDPHiromi YoshidaLDP301,63526.8LDP hold
Gifu Tsuyako ŌnoLDPTakao FujiiInd.466,00846.1Ind. gain from LDP
Kenji HirataDPJKenji HirataDPJ445,48944.1DPJ hold
Shizuoka Kazuya ShimbaDPJKazuya ShimbaDPJ823,18447.1DPJ hold
Yutaka TakeyamaLDPTakao MakinoLDP549,37531.4LDP hold
Aichi Kohei OtsukaDPJKohei OtsukaDPJ880,85626.4DPJ hold
Seiji SuzukiLDPSeiji SuzukiLDP734,15322.0LDP hold
Tamotsu YamamotoKomeiKuniko TaniokaDPJ720,77721.6DPJ gain from Komei
Mie Chiaki TakahashiDPJChiaki TakahashiDPJ527,93559.4DPJ hold
Kansai
Shiga Hidetoshi YamashitaLDPHisashi TokunagaDPJ325,36550.2DPJ gain from LDP
Kyoto Koji MatsuiDPJKoji MatsuiDPJ501,97943.6DPJ hold
Yoshihiro NishidaLDPShoji NishidaLDP362,27431.4LDP hold
Osaka Takashi YamamotoDPJSatoshi UmemuraDPJ1,281,50233.2DPJ hold
Kazuyoshi ShirahamaKomeiKazuyoshi ShirahamaKomei836,90321.7Komei hold
Shuzen TanigawaLDPShuzen TanigawaLDP732,17518.9LDP hold
Hyogo Yasuhiro TsujiDPJYasuhiro TsujiDPJ1,086,68244.1DPJ hold
Yoshitada KonoikeLDPYoshitada KonoikeLDP860,56834.9LDP hold
Nara VacantLDPTetsuji NakamuraDPJ359,58452.5DPJ gain from LDP
Wakayama Hiroshige SekōLDPHiroshige SekōLDP256,57752.3LDP hold
Chugoku
Tottori Takayoshi TsunedaLDPYoshihiro KawakamiDPJ168,38051.5DPJ gain from LDP
Shimane Shuntaro KageyamaLDPAkiko KameiPNP217,70750.9PNP gain from LDP
Okayama Toranosuke KatayamaLDPYumiko HimeiDPJ451,18549.4DPJ gain from LDP
Hiroshima VacantLDPKoji SatoDPJ570,82343.9DPJ gain from LDP
Kensei MizoteLDPKensei MizoteLDP389,88130.0LDP hold
Yamaguchi Yoshimasa HayashiLDPYoshimasa HayashiLDP419,94756.7LDP hold
Shikoku
Tokushima Shuji KitaokaLDPTomoji NakataniDPJ206,45754.0DPJ gain from LDP
Kagawa Kenji ManabeLDPEmiko UematsuDPJ257,54853.6DPJ gain from LDP
Ehime Katsutsugu SekiyaLDPToshirō TomochikaInd.378,81351.3Ind. gain from LDP
Kochi Kohei TamuraLDPNorio TakeuchiDPJ166,22044.7DPJ gain from LDP
Kyushu & Okinawa
Fukuoka Tsukasa IwamotoDPJTsukasa IwamotoDPJ1,003,17046.8DPJ hold
Masaji MatsuyamaLDPMasaji MatsuyamaLDP791,15236.9LDP hold
Saga Takao JinnouchiLDPMinoru KawasakiDPJ210,45249.6DPJ gain from LDP
Nagasaki Tadashi TauraLDPYukishige OkuboDPJ352,95349.0DPJ gain from LDP
Kumamoto Issui MiuraLDPNobuo MatsunoDPJ440,74248.4DPJ gain from LDP
Oita Hiroko GotoPNPYōsuke IsozakiLDP199,52332.6LDP gain from PNP
Miyazaki Toshifumi KosehiraLDPItsuki ToyamaInd.196,68537.6Ind. gain from LDP
Kagoshima Yoshito KajiyaLDPYoshito KajiyaLDP402,54147.6LDP hold
Okinawa Junshiro NishimeLDPKeiko ItokazuInd.376,46060.2LDP hold
Proportional representation results
PartyVotesSeatsElected memberPref.
votes
DPJ23,256,242 (39.5%)20 Kumiko Aihara507,792
Saori Yoshikawa306,577
Ai Aoki297,035
Hajime Ishii292,272
Shuji Ikeguchi255,451
Marutei Tsurunen242,740
Mieko Kamimoto224,994
Yoshiro Yokomine211,829
Masashi Fujiwara194,080
Takanori Kawai171,084
Naoki Kazama169,723
Toshiharu Todoroki166,969
Kusuo Oshima153,779
Takeo Nishioka151,375
Azuma Konno111,457
Yoshinobu Fujiwara110,126
Koshin Fujitani79,656
Kunihiko Muroi72,545
Yasuhiro Oe68,973
Takashi Yamamoto67,611
LDP16,544,728 (28.1%)14 Yōichi Masuzoe470,571
Toshio Yamada449,183
Kyoko Nakayama385,913
Kazuya Maruyama272,348
Yoriko Kawaguchi261,404
Masahisa Sato251,579
Hidehisa Otsuji230,299
Midori Ishii228,166
Nobuaki Sato227,098
Hiroyuki Yoshiie223,068
Seiko Hashimoto221,361
Akiko Santō203,323
Seiichi Eto202,315
Haruko Arimura201,301
Komei7,765,328 (13.2%)7 Kanae Yamamoto1,027,543
Kentaro Koba706,996
Hiroshi Yamamoto619,837
Kiyohiko Toyama612,972
Takao Watanabe558,206
Shuichi Kato392,897
Yuichiro Uozumi231,500
JCP4,407,932 (7.5%)3 Satoshi Inoue189,458
Tomoko Kami76,878
Yoshiki Yamashita55,911
SDP2,634,713 (4.5%)2 Seiji Mataichi218,856
Tokushin Yamauchi145,659
NPN1,770,707 (3.0%)1 Yasuo Tanaka458,221
PNP1,269,209 (2.2%)1 Shozaburo Jimi117,590

References

  1. 1 2 "Japan News Review - Upper House election campaigning sees official kick off". Archived from the original on 2007-10-14. Retrieved 2007-07-12.
  2. ↑ Abe has high hopes for Diet session | The Japan Times Online
  3. ↑ "The Asahi Shimbun".
  4. ↑ http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070713TDY01004.htm
  5. ↑ Support for Abe falls below 40% | The Japan Times Online
  6. ↑ Abe approval rating hits all-time low
  7. 1 2 "NHK ONLINE English". Archived from the original on 2009-09-20. Retrieved 2007-07-29.
  8. ↑ The polls are in: Historical loss for Abe, LDP, opposition grabs overwhelming majority Archived 2007-10-14 at the Wayback Machine, Japan News Review
  9. ↑ "Abe on precarious foothold, opposition demands resignation". Archived from the original on 2007-10-21. Retrieved 2007-07-30.
  10. ↑ "Fujimori, Ainu, Lesbian, inventor and Tojo's granddaughter all defeated in election". Archived from the original on 2014-10-25. Retrieved 2007-07-30.
  11. ↑ Cucek, Michael (10 July 2010). "Japan's Meaningless Election". The Diplomat. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
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