2009 Japanese general election

none Japan parliamentary 2005 Japanese general election 2005 30 August 2009 2012 Japanese general election 2012 List of members of the House of Representatives of Japan, 2005–2009 List of members of the House of Representatives of Japan, 2009–2012 All 480 seats in the House of Representatives 241 69.19% (1.70pp; Const. votes)69.19% (1.73pp; PR votes) Constituency vote % and swing Regional vote % and swing Hatoyama_Yukio.jpg 140 120 160 4 7 Yukio Hatoyama Democratic Party of Japan 113 seats 115 308 195 33,475,335 47.43% (10.99pp) 29,844,799 42.41% (11.39pp) Tarō_Asō_20100714.jpg 135 120 160 0 4 Tarō Asō Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) Liberal Democratic Party (Japan, pre-2017) 296 seats 300 119 177 27,301,982 38.68% (9.09pp) 18,810,217 26.73% (11.45pp) Akihiro Ōta 20121227 (cropped).jpg 150 120 160 8 16 Akihiro Ota New Komeito 31 seats 31 21 10 782,984 1.11% (0.33pp) 8,054,007 11.45% (1.80pp) Kazuo Shii cropped.jpg 135 120 160 0 7 Kazuo Shii Japanese Communist Party 9 seats 9 9 2,978,354 4.22% (3.03pp) 4,943,886 7.03% (0.22pp) Mizuho_Fukushima_cropped.jpg 145 120 160 5 7 Mizuho Fukushima Social Democratic Party (Japan) 7 seats 7 7 1,376,739 1.95% (0.49pp) 3,006,160 4.27% (1.22pp) Yoshimi Watanabe cropped 2 YoshimiWatanabeJI1.jpg 120 120 160 0 0 Yoshimi Watanabe Your Party (Japan) Did not exist 4 5 New 615,244 0.87% (New) 3,005,199 4.27% (New) 2009 Japanese House of Representatives election.svg Districts and PR districts shaded according to winners' vote strength Prime Minister Tarō Asō Liberal Democratic Party (Japan, pre-2017) Yukio Hatoyama Democratic Party of Japan General elections were held in Japan on August 30, 2009 to elect the 480 members of the House of Representatives. The opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) defeated the ruling coalition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and New Komeito Party in a landslide, winning 221 of the 300 constituency seats and receiving 42.4% of the proportional block votes for another 87 seats, a total of 308 seats to only 119 for the LDP (64 constituency seats and 26.7% of the proportional vote).http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8229368.stm 'Major win' for Japan opposition BBC News 2009-08-30 2009-08-31 2019-06-11 https://web.archive.org/web/20190611110413/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8229368.stm live http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=pol_date1&k=2009083101337 https://web.archive.org/web/20140220083756/http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=pol_date1&k=2009083101337 dead 2014-02-20 衆院党派別得票数・率（比例代表） (in Japanese) Jiji 2009-08-31 http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=pol_date1&k=2009083101336 https://web.archive.org/web/20140220091427/http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=pol_date1&k=2009083101336 dead 2014-02-20 衆院党派別得票数・率（選挙区） (in Japanese) Jiji 2009-08-31 Under the Constitution of Japan, this result virtually assured DPJ leader Yukio Hatoyama would be the next prime minister of Japan. He was formally named to the post on September 16, 2009.http://www.economist.com/opinion/displayStory.cfm?story_id=14363159&source=hptextfeature Japan's election: The vote that changed Japan The Economist 2009-09-03 2009-09-05 2009-09-06 https://web.archive.org/web/20090906232904/http://www.economist.com/opinion/displayStory.cfm?story_id=14363159&source=hptextfeature live Prime Minister Tarō Asō conceded late on the night of August 30, 2009, that the LDP had lost control of the government, and announced his resignation as party president.Kyung Lah http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/08/30/japan.elections/index.html Japanese opposition set for victory; PM quits as party head CNN 2009-08-31 2009-08-31 2009-08-31 https://web.archive.org/web/20090831233030/http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/08/30/japan.elections/index.html live A leadership election was held on September 28, 2009. The 2009 election was the first time since World War II that voters mandated a change in control of the government to an opposition political party.Ikegami Akira 現代日本の足跡に学ぶ（15） 「本格的」政権交代の反省 http://www.nikkei.com/paper/article/?ng=DGKDZO66233140R00C14A2TCP000 3 February 2014 日本経済新聞 3 February 2014 09年総選挙後、「戦後初の本格的な政権交代」と指摘されました。有権者は「自民党の麻生太郎政権を支持し続けるか」「民主党の鳩山由紀夫代表を選ぶのか」という構図の下、1票を投じることができたためです。 22 January 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230122184339/https://www.nikkei.com/pr/paper/ live It marked the worst defeat for a governing party in modern Japanese history, was only the second time that the LDP had not been able to form a government after an election since its formation in 1955, and was the first time that the LDP lost its status as the largest party in the lower house; the only other break in LDP control since 1955 had been for a 3-year period from 1993 to 1996 (first 11 months in opposition, then participating in a coalition government under Tomiichi Murayama).Stockwin, J.A.A. (2011). The rationale for coalition governments In Alisa Gaunder (Ed.) Routledge Handbook of Japanese Politics, Taylor & Francis, p. 36–47. Background The last general election took place in 2005 in which the LDP, led by popular prime minister Junichiro Koizumi, received 38.2% of the proportional block votes and 47.8% of the district votes cast (the next largest party, the DPJ, received 31% in the proportional and 36.4% in the district vote). Due to the characteristics of the Japanese election system, the LDP ended up with 296 seats in the Lower House (61.6%), which enabled Koizumi to complete the privatization of Japan Post. Since then Japan had three further prime ministers (Shinzō Abe, Yasuo Fukuda and Tarō Asō) who came to power without there being a general election. On September 1, 2008, Yasuo Fukuda abruptly announced he was retiring as leader. Taro Aso won the subsequent LDP presidential election, which was held on September 22, 2008.https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/23/world/asia/23japan.html Japanese Party Chooses Aso as Leader 2008-09-22 The New York Times Martin Fackler 2010-05-05 2009-04-10 https://web.archive.org/web/20090410115046/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/23/world/asia/23japan.html live Media sources speculated that, in the wake of a recent change in leadership, Prime Minister Taro Aso might call elections in late October or early November 2008 while his popularity was still high.https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/2983677/Japanese-election-brought-forward.html Japanese election brought forward 2008-09-18 The Daily Telegraph London Julian Ryall 2010-05-05 2009-03-02 https://web.archive.org/web/20090302001131/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/2983677/Japanese-election-brought-forward.html live There were expectations that the steady decline and numerous scandals of the LDP might lead to the complete extinction of the party and the creation of a new political system, with actual ideologically coherent parties emerging instead of the current system of a shared interest in power with stark ideological differences.Japan's governing party faces political extinction https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/20/world/asia/20iht-20japan.20321139.html?scp=7&sq=japan%20scandal%20election%20parties%202009&st=cse The New York Times 2009-02-20 2009-05-11 Martin Fackler 2023-01-22 https://web.archive.org/web/20230122184336/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/20/world/asia/20iht-20japan.20321139.html?scp=7&sq=japan%20scandal%20election%20parties%202009&st=cse live In late June 2009 there were rumours of a planned election date in early August 2009. http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/6687735.html Report: Japan's PM eyes general election in early August – People's Daily Online English.people.com.cn 2009-06-27 2009-08-31 2009-07-03 https://web.archive.org/web/20090703074727/http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/6687735.html live In prefectural elections in Tokyo, the LDP again lost a lot of seats and was for the first time since 1965 not the largest party in the prefectural assembly. The next day, Aso confirmed these rumours by calling for an election on August 30, 2009.Japan PM 'calls August election' http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8147059.stm BBC World News 2009-07-13 2009-07-13 2009-09-30 https://web.archive.org/web/20090930123416/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8147059.stm live As soon as the election was called, a campaign was underway by a group of LDP Diet Members to replace Aso as leader. Fully one-third of the parliamentary party (including finance minister Kaoru Yosano) were reported to have signed a petition calling for an urgent party meeting to discuss the issue. The BBC reported LDP critics of Aso asserting that an election with him still as leader would be "political suicide".http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8153149.stm Party rebels move on Japanese PM BBC News website 2009-07-16 Roland Buerk 2009-07-16 2009-07-16 https://web.archive.org/web/20090716100626/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8153149.stm live Prime Minister Aso dissolved the House of Representatives on July 21, 2009.https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2009/07/21/world/international-us-japan-election.html?ref=global-home Japanese Parliament Is Dissolved 2009-07-21 Reuters 2009-07-21 September 2010 RjwilmsiBot The official campaign started on August 18, 2009.http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14258696 Railing against the wrong enemy The Economist 2009-08-20 2009-08-22 2009-08-26 https://web.archive.org/web/20090826152550/http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14258696 live Former LDP minister Yoshimi Watanabe announced the foundation of a new party, Your Party, on August 8, 2009.http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/6719677.html Japan's former minister to launch party to campaign in election English.people.com.cn 2009-08-31 Campaign The DPJ's policy platforms include: a restructuring of civil service; a monthly allowance for families with children (at 26000 yen per child); a cut in the fuel tax; income support for farmers; free tuition for public high schools; the banning of temporary work in manufacturing;https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/6098808/Japan-election-unemployed-turn-on-the-government.html Japan election: unemployed turn on the government 2009-08-27 The Daily Telegraph London Julian Ryall 2010-05-05 2009-09-05 https://web.archive.org/web/20090905234941/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/6098808/Japan-election-unemployed-turn-on-the-government.html live raising the minimum wage to 1000 yen; and the halting of any increase in sales tax for the next four years.https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/04/business/global/04yen.html Opposition Woos Japan's Voters With Costly Vows The New York Times 2009-08-03 Hiroko Tabuchi Hiroko Tabuchi 2017-02-24 2018-01-01 https://web.archive.org/web/20180101194500/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/04/business/global/04yen.html live https://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE57L08020090822 Japan opposition may score landslide win: media 2009-08-21 Reuters Chisa Fujioka 2017-07-02 2020-11-22 https://web.archive.org/web/20201122141850/https://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE57L08020090822 live The LDP's policy platforms are similar to the DPJ's. A New York Times article on August 28, 2009 noted both platforms offer little on economic policies.https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/29/world/asia/29japan.html?hp Lost in Japan's Election Season: The Economy The New York Times 2009-08-29 Martin Fackler 2010-05-05 2023-01-22 https://web.archive.org/web/20230122184344/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/29/world/asia/29japan.html?hp live Opinion polls Before the dissolution of the lower house, National weekly magazines had been citing analysts predicting a big loss for the ruling coalition which held two-thirds of the seats in the House of Representatives. Some (e.g., Shūkan Gendaihttp://www.j-cast.com/2009/07/13045255.html J-CASTニュース : 未だに「視界不良」麻生政権 党内に不穏な動き J-cast.com 2009-07-13 2009-08-31 2009-07-17 https://web.archive.org/web/20090717000942/http://www.j-cast.com/2009/07/13045255.html live ) warned that the LDP could lose as much as half of that. Many based their predictions on the low approval rating of the Prime Minister Taro Aso and the devastating loss that the LDP suffered in the earlier prefectural election in Tokyo. On August 20 and 21, 2009, Asahi Shimbun and Yomiuri Shimbun, leading national newspapers, and Nikkei Shimbun, a financial daily, reported that the DPJ was poised to win over 300 of the 480 contested seats.http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200908200184.html Analysis: DPJ on pace to win 300 seats 2009-09-20 Asahi Shimbun 2009-08-20 2023-01-22 https://web.archive.org/web/20230122184344/https://www.asahi.com/ajw/ live http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20090821TDY01304.htm Survey: DPJ poised to win over 300 seats 2009-09-21 Yomiuri Shimbunhttp://www.nikkei.co.jp/news/seiji/20090822AT3S2001C20082009.html ja:民主、圧勝の勢い 300議席超が当選圏 衆院選情勢調査 ja 2009-08-21 Nikkei Shimbun 2009-08-22 2009-08-26 https://web.archive.org/web/20090826173930/http://www.nikkei.co.jp/news/seiji/20090822AT3S2001C20082009.html dead On August 22, 2009, Mainichi Shimbun went further to predict that the DPJ could win over 320 seats, meaning almost all DPJ candidates would win.http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20090822p2a00m0na015000c.html DPJ could win over 320 seats in Lower House race: Mainichi poll 2009-08-22 Mainichi Shimbun dead https://web.archive.org/web/20090824135643/http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20090822p2a00m0na015000c.html 2009-08-24 Mainichi noted that the DPJ appeared to be doing well in the western part of Japan, a traditional stronghold of the LDP, and that the LDP could lose all of its single-member constituency seats in 15 prefectures, including Hokkaidō, Aichi, and Saitama.http://mainichi.jp/select/today/news/20090822k0000m010150000c.html ja:揺らぐ自民の牙城 15道県全敗か ja Mainichi Shimbun 2009-08-22 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20090826111320/http://mainichi.jp/select/today/news/20090822k0000m010150000c.html 2009-08-26 Also, according to Mainichi, the Japanese Communist Party would probably retain its previous 9 seats, while the New Komeito Party and the Social Democratic Party might lose some of their shares. According to a poll conducted on August 22, 2009 by the Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan's largest newspaper, 40 percent said they would vote for the DPJ, while 24 percent for the LDP.https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=a.vXXcCG2pu4 DPJ Leader Hatoyama Says Domestic Demand Priority Bloomberg 2009-08-22 2017-03-08 2023-01-22 https://web.archive.org/web/20230122184345/https://www.bloomberg.com/politics?pid=20601101&sid=a.vXXcCG2pu4 live Candidates by party + PartyNumber of CandidatesGender of CandidatesProportional representationHolding seats at dissolutionMaleFemaleConstituenciesProportional representationLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)3262992730637303New Komeito Party (NKP)5147484331Japan Renaissance Party (JRP)110101Democratic Party (DPJ)3302844627159112Social Democratic Party (SDP)3725123167People's New Party (PNP)18171995New Party Nippon (NPN)880260Japanese Communist Party (JCP)17111952152199Your Party (YP)15123141-New Party Daichi (NPD)431041Happiness Realization Party (HRP)33726275288490Essential Party (EP)211020World Economic Community Party (WECP)110100Freeway Club Party (FCP)110100Smile Japan Party (SJP)110100Forest Sea Party (FSP)110100Independent7061970-Seats for proportional representation are only for party rolls.9Total1,3741,1452291,139235478A full House has 480 seats, so two were vacant at the time of dissolution. Results Results of the 2009 Japanese general election thumb|right|350px|Constituency Cartogram thumb|200px|Headlines of Japanese newspapers(August 31, 2009) The DPJ swept the LDP from power in a massive landslide, winning 308 seats (out of a total of 480 seats), while the LDP won only 119 seats - the worst defeat for a sitting government in modern Japanese history. This was a marked contrast to the 1993 election, the only other time the LDP has been forced into opposition status. In that election, the LDP remained by far the largest party in the House with well over 200 seats, despite losing its majority. However, in the 2009 election the LDP was nearly 200 seats behind the DPJ. Of 83 Koizumi Children who became new LDP representatives in 2005, only 10 were reelected. The unprecedented number of urban voters won by Koizumi's 2005 landslide mostly abandoned the LDP in this election.Maeda Ko 2010-10-01 Factors behind the Historic Defeat of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party in 2009 https://online.ucpress.edu/as/article/50/5/888/24396/Factors-behind-the-Historic-Defeat-of-Japans Asian Survey en 50 5 888–907 10.1525/as.2010.50.5.888 0004-4687 2021-05-16 2023-01-22 https://web.archive.org/web/20230122184345/https://online.ucpress.edu/as/article-abstract/50/5/888/24396/Factors-behind-the-Historic-Defeat-of-Japan-s?redirectedFrom=fulltext live subscription The DPJ won a strong majority in the House of Representatives, thus virtually assuring that Hatoyama would be the next prime minister. Under the Constitution, if the House of Representatives and the House of Councilors cannot agree on a choice for prime minister, the choice of the House of Representatives is deemed to be that of the Diet. Hatoyama was nominated as prime minister on September 16 and formally appointed later that day by Emperor Akihito. However, the DPJ was just short of a majority in the House of Councillors, and fell just short of the 320 seats (a two-thirds majority) needed to override negative votes in the upper chamber. Hatoyama was thus forced to form a coalition government with the Social Democratic Party and People's New Party to obtain a majority.http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/news/20090822p2a00m0na013000c.html Hatoyama says DPJ will form coalition even if party performs well in election 2009-08-22 Mainichi January 2017 InternetArchiveBot yes There were a number of factors at play in the DPJ's unprecedented success. In addition to the unpopularity of LDP politicians and some of its policies, such as medical policies and 2000's neoliberal economic reforms, leading to widening income inequality, Japanese politics had seen a declining importance in local support groups (koenkai) which had previously allowed local LDP politicians to stay in power even if the incumbent prime minister or the LDP was suffering from low approval ratings. The DPJ also benefited from being a large and unified opposition party unlike in the past when the opposition tended to be splintered and lead to vote splitting losses for the opposition; in addition, the Japanese Communist Party, which normally fields candidates in every single district, fielded a historically low number of candidates, leading to a slight increase in votes for the DPJ in single-seat constituencies. File:2009 Japanese general election - composition chart.svg Proportional Constituency Democratic Party of Japan 29844799 87 33475335 221 308 +195 Liberal Democratic Party 18810217 55 27301982 64 119 −177 New Komeito Party 8054007 21 782984 0 21 −10 Japanese Communist Party 4943886 9 2978354 0 9 0 Social Democratic Party 3006160 4 1376739 3 7 0 Your Party 3005199 3 615244 2 5 New People's New Party 1219767 0 730570 3 3 −1 New Party Nippon 528171 0 220223 1 1 0 Happiness Realization Party 459387 0 1071958 0 0 New New Party Daichi 433122 1 1 0 Reform Club 58141 0 36650 0 0 New Essential Party 7399 0 0 New Freeway Club ja フリーウェイクラブ Freeway Club Party 2360 0 0 New Forest Sea Party 1520 0 0 New Smile Japan Party 987 0 0 New World Economic Community Party 718 0 0 New Independents 1986056 6 6 −12 0 1628866 1435587 104057361 104057361 Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Tsukada, CLEA By prefecture PrefectureTotalseatsSeats wonDPJLDPSDPPNPYourNPNInd.Aichi1515Akita321Aomori413Chiba13112Ehime413Fukui33Fukuoka1174Fukushima55Gifu532Gunma532Hiroshima7511Hokkaido12111Hyōgo121011Ibaraki7511Ishikawa321Iwate44Kagawa321Kagoshima5131Kanagawa181431Kōchi33Kumamoto523Kyoto651Mie541Miyagi651Miyazaki321Nagano55Nagasaki44Nara431Niigata66Ōita321Okayama5221Okinawa4211Osaka191711Saga321Saitama15141Shiga44Shimane22Shizuoka871Tochigi5311Tokushima321Tokyo25214Tottori22Toyama312Wakayama321Yamagata321Yamaguchi413Yamanashi33Total3002216433216 By PR block PR blockTotalseatsSeats wonDPJLDPNKPJCPSDPYourNPDChūgoku11641Hokkaido84211Hokuriku–Shinetsu 11641Kinki (Kansai)29119531Kyushu2197311Northern Kanto20106211Shikoku6321Southern Kanto221162111Tohoku1474111Tōkai2112621Tokyo1785211Total1808755219431 Had the parties nominated a sufficient number of candidates on their proportional "block" lists, the election result would have given the DPJ two additional seats in Kinki, the YP seat in Kinki, and one in Tōkai. In Kinki, two seats went to the LDP, one to Kōmeitō, and one in Tōkai to the DPJ.Yomiuri Shimbun, August 31, 2009: 民主、比例近畿Bで名簿登載者不足...議席は他党に https://web.archive.org/web/20120608132557/http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/election/shugiin2009/news/20090831-OYT1T00068.htm 2012-06-08 For the same reason, one Democratic Kinki proportional seat that had fallen vacant in 2010 (previously held by Mitsue Kawakami) could not be filled until the next general election. +Notable incumbents defeatedIncumbentsPartyNorihiko AkagiFormer Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries MinisterLiberal Democratic Party (LDP) Tetsuma EsakiFormer Senior Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)Takashi FukayaFormer International Trade and Industry MinisterLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Hajime FunadaFormer Minister of Economic Planning AgencyLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Tetsuzo FuyushibaMinister of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation MinisterNew Komeito Party (NKP)Yoshiaki HaradaForeign Affairs Committee ChairLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Mitsuo HoriuchiFormer International Trade and Industry MinisterLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Yamato InabaAgricultural Committee ChairLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Kiichi InoueDisaster Management MinisterLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Gaku IshizakiFormer Senior Vice-Minister of Internal Affairs and CommunicationsLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Kosuke ItoCommittee on Fundamental National Policies ChairmanLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Shintaro ItoSenior Vice-Minister of Foreign AffairsLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Tatsuya ItoFormer Minister in charge of Financial AffairsLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Yukio JitsukawaFormer Senior Vice Minister of JusticeLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Toshiki KaifuFormer Prime Minister of JapanLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Yōko KamikawaMinister of State for Gender Equality and Social Affairs of JapanLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Kazuo KitagawaFormer Land, Infrastructure and Transportation MinisterNew Komeito Party (NKP)Tomokatsu KitagawaParliamentary Secretary of the EnvironmentLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Kenji KosakaFormer Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology MinisterLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Saburo KomotoSenior Vice Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and TechnologyLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Fumio KyumaFormer Defence MinisterLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Kenichi MizunoFormer Senior Vice-Minister of JusticeLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Nobuhide MinorikawaParliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign AffairsLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Yoichi MiyazawaSenior Vice-Minister of Cabinet OfficeLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Shōichi NakagawaFormer Treasury MinisterLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Taro NakayamaFormer Foreign MinisterLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Kyoko NishikawaFormer Senior Vice-Minister of Health, Labour and WelfareLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Kosaburo NishimeParliamentary Secretary of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and TourismLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Yuya NiwaFormer Health, Labour and Welfare MinisterLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Koji OmiFormer Treasury MinisterLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Akihiro OtaChief Representative of New KomeitoNew Komeito Party (NKP)Seiichi OtaAgriculture, Forestry and Fisheries MinisterLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Toshitsugu SaitoFormer Defence MinisterLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Takashi SasagawaFormer General Council Chairman of LDPLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Yoshinobu ShimamuraFormer Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries MinisterLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Junji SuzukiFormer Vice-Minister for Internal Affairs and CommunicationsLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Shunichi SuzukiFormer Minister of Environment AgencyLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Seiken SugiuraFormer Minister of JusticeLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Minoru TeradaFormer Parliamentary Defense SecretaryLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Tōru ToidaFormer Parliamentary Health SecretaryLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Kisaburo TokaiFormer Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and TechnologyLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Tamisuke WatanukiPresident of the People's New Party, Former Speaker of the House of RepresentativesPeople's New Party (PNP)Akihiko YamamotoFormer Senior Vice Minister of Cabinet OfficeLiberal Democratic PartyAkiko YamanakaVice-Minister of Foreign AffairsLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Taku YamasakiFormer Vice President of LDPLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Hakuo YanagisawaFormer Health, Labour and Welfare MinisterLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Okiharu YasuokaFormer Minister of JusticeLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Yoshio YatsuFormer Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries MinisterLiberal Democratic Party (LDP) +Notable candidates defeated in their own districts but who remained in power through the block systemCandidatesPartyAkira AmariFormer Minister of Economy, Trade and IndustryLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Seishiro EtōFormer Defense MinisterLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Motoo HayashiChairman of the National Commission on Public SafetyLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Bunmei IbukiFormer Secretary General of LDPLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Ichirō KamoshitaMinister for the EnvironmentLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Jirō KawasakiFormer Minister of Health, Labour and WelfareLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Seigo KitamuraSenior Vice-Minister of DefenseLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Yuriko KoikeFormer Minister of DefenseLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Nobutaka MachimuraFormer Chief Cabinet Secretary and former Foreign Affairs MinisterLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Jinen NagaseFormer Minister of JusticeLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Hidenao NakagawaFormer Secretary General of LDPLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Seiko NodaFormer State Minister in charge of Consumer AffairsLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Fukushiro NukagaFormer Finance MinisterLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Hideaki OmuraFormer Vice Minister of Health, Labour and WelfareLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Tsutomu SatoInternal Affairs and Communications and Public Safety MinisterLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Ryu ShionoyaMinister of Education, Science and TechnologyLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Tsutomu TakebeFormer Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and FisheriesLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Naokazu TakemotoSenior Vice-Minister of FinanceLiberal Democratic Party (LDP)Kaoru YosanoFinance MinisterLiberal Democratic Party (LDP) Aftermath In March 2011, the Supreme Court decided that the malapportionment of electoral districts in the 2009 election had been in breach of the Constitution of Japan. As in previous such rulings (as occurred in the aftermath of the elections of 1972, 1980, 1983 and 1990), the election result is not invalidated, but the vote weight disparity must be reduced by the National Diet soon. The 2009 election was the first House of Representatives election ruled unconstitutional since the 1994 electoral reform and the introduction of parallel voting in single-member districts and proportional "blocks".47 News/Kyodo News, March 28, 2011: 2・30倍の格差は「違憲状態」 09年衆院選で最高裁 https://web.archive.org/web/20120525051949/http://www.47news.jp/CN/201103/CN2011032301000724.html 2012-05-25 The two major parties additionally wished to use the reform to significantly reduce the number of proportional seats, as both had promised in their 2009 campaigns, but met resistance from smaller parties that depended on proportional seats to bolster their numbers.The Japan Times, October 17, 2011: Vote disparity reform faces delay over small partiesThomas Ben 2013-05-10 DPJ bends on Lower House Reform https://www.japantimes.co.jp/article-expired/ dead https://web.archive.org/web/20161115014344/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/06/09/world/selling-egypts-wine-world 2016-11-15 2021-04-10 The Japan Times en-US See also List of districts of the House of Representatives of Japan 2009 Tokyo prefectural election 2009 Yokohama mayoral election References External links Yukio Hatoyama named as Japan's new Prime Minister Japanese Voters Oust Conservative Party - video report by Democracy Now! Two-headed Monster - analysis by C.B.Liddell Metropolis Japan Category:General elections in Japan General