1980 Japanese general election

1980 Japanese general election

22 June 1980
All 511 seats in the House of Representatives 256 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	74.57% (6.56%)
First party Second party Third party   Leader Eiichi Nishimura (acting) Ichio Asukata Yoshikatsu Takeiri Party LDP Socialist Kōmeitō Last election 44.59%, 248 seats 19.71%, 107 seats 9.78%, 57 seats Seats won 284 107 33 Seat change 36 24 Popular vote 28,262,441 11,400,748 5,329,942 Percentage 47.88% 19.31% 9.03% Swing 3.29pp 0.40pp 0.74pp   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Sasaki Ryōsaku Kenji Miyamoto Yōhei Kōno Party Democratic Socialist JCP New Liberal Club Last election 6.78%, 35 seats 10.42%, 39 seats 3.02%, 4 seats Seats won 32 29 12 Seat change 4 10 8 Popular vote 3,896,728 5,803,613 1,766,396 Percentage 6.60% 9.83% 2.99% Swing 0.18pp 0.59pp 0.03pp
Districts shaded according to winners' vote strength
Prime Minister before election Masayoshi Ito (acting) LDP Elected Prime Minister Zenkō Suzuki LDP

General elections were held in Japan on 22 June 1980. The incumbent Liberal Democratic Party won an overall majority for the first time since 1972.

Campaign

Vote of no confidence in the Ohira cabinet

The election was triggered following a vote of no confidence brought by the Japan Socialist Party (JSP) on 16 May 1980 regarding corruption and rises in public utility charges as reasons for the House of Representatives of Japan (lower house) to withdraw its backing from the LDP government.

Unexpectedly, 69 Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) members of the Diet from the Fukuda Takeo, Miki Takeo and Hidenao Nakagawa factions abstained from voting on the motion, leading to the fall of the government.

For the first time, the election for the House of Representatives was held in conjunction with the election for the House of Councillors on the same day.

Death of the Prime Minister

Prime Minister Masayoshi Ōhira, the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party died during the campaign. Ōhira had expected the vote of no confidence to fail, and was visibly shaken when it passed by a margin of 243–187. Given the choice of resigning or calling new elections, Ōhira chose the latter and began campaigning for LDP candidates. He was hospitalized for exhaustion on 31 May and died of a massive heart attack 12 days later.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Masayoshi Ito became acting prime minister after Ōhira's death. In the elections of both the houses LDP gained a majority. The election results for the lower house are shown in the table below. Yoshio Sakurauchi, the Secretary General of LDP, led the LDP to its greatest victory in fifteen years, capitalizing on the "sympathy vote" generated by Ōhira's death. The Prime Minister was succeeded by Zenkō Suzuki after the election.

Results

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Liberal Democratic Party	28,262,442	47.88	284	+36
	Japan Socialist Party	11,400,748	19.31	107	0
	Japanese Communist Party	5,803,613	9.83	29	–10
	Kōmeitō	5,329,942	9.03	33	–24
	Democratic Socialist Party	3,896,728	6.60	32	–4
	New Liberal Club	1,766,396	2.99	12	+8
	Socialist Democratic Federation	402,832	0.68	3	+1
	Other parties	109,168	0.18	0	–
	Independents	2,056,967	3.48	11	–8
Total		59,028,836	100.00	511	0
Valid votes		59,028,836	97.82
Invalid/blank votes		1,313,492	2.18
Total votes		60,342,328	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		80,925,034	74.57
Source: Statistics Bureau of Japan, National Diet

By prefecture

Prefecture	Total seats	Seats won
		LDP	JSP	Kōmeitō	DSP	JCP	NLC	SDF	Ind.
Aichi	22	11	2	2	4	1			2
Akita	8	5	3
Aomori	7	5	1				1
Chiba	16	11	2	2					1
Ehime	9	6	3
Fukui	4	3			1
Fukuoka	19	9	2	3	2	2		1
Fukushima	12	9	2				1
Gifu	9	6	2			1
Gunma	10	7	3
Hiroshima	12	7	3		1				1
Hokkaido	22	11	9	1					1
Hyōgo	20	9	6	2	2	1
Ibaraki	12	9	3
Ishikawa	6	5	1
Iwate	8	6	2
Kagawa	6	4	2
Kagoshima	11	9	2
Kanagawa	19	5	5	3	2	1	3
Kōchi	5	2	1	1		1
Kumamoto	10	7	2						1
Kyoto	10	3		2	2	2			1
Mie	9	6	2		1
Miyagi	9	6	2	1
Miyazaki	6	5			1
Nagano	13	7	4		1	1
Nagasaki	9	5	2		1				1
Nara	5	2	1		1	1
Niigata	15	8	5						2
Ōita	7	5	1		1
Okayama	10	6	2	1	1
Okinawa	5	2	1	1		1
Osaka	26	7	3	6	3	6	1
Saga	5	4	1
Saitama	15	9	3		1	1	1
Shiga	5	2	1		1	1
Shimane	5	3	2
Shizuoka	14	8	1	1	2	1			1
Tochigi	10	6	3		1
Tokushima	5	4	1
Tokyo	43	15	7	6	2	7	5	1
Tottori	4	2	2
Toyama	6	5	1
Wakayama	6	3	1	1		1
Yamagata	8	5	2					1
Yamaguchi	9	6	2		1
Yamanashi	5	4	1
Total	511	284	107	33	32	29	12	3	11

References

• Mahendra Prakash (2004), Coalition Experience in Japanese Politics: 1993-2003, New Delhi: JNU[1].