日本眾議院新選舉制度對政黨體系形成之影響－1996~2005眾議院選舉之分析

Abstract

In 1994, Japan reformed its Lower House's election system and changed the Middle Election District System, which was in place for many years, to the Simple Plurality System and Proportional Representation. The five objectives of the reform were to form a two-party System, to eliminate clique competitions, to lead to policy-based elections, to reduce campaign costs, and to reflect diverse public opinions. The main focus was on forming the two-party system, so parties in power could alternate and party systems and establish responsible offices. From the review of the four Geneval Elections from 1996 to 2005, it was noted that the two-party system was starting to form, with the Liberal Democratic Party still leading. Japan's new election system was a hybrid between the relative majority representation and proportional representation. Since 62.5% of the seats are elected from the Simple Plurality System, other things being equal, the new system facilitates the formation of a Two Party System. However, with 37.5% of the seats elected from Proportional Representation, it is difficult to form a pure two-party system as the US or the UK. Small parties still have room for development. The thesis was based on the Duverger's Rule, L. Lipset's and D. W. Rae's definitions of the two-party system, and Sartori's contents about within competitive party systems. It established Japan's Simple Plurality System and Proportional Representation, a hybrid between the relative majority representation and proportional representation, and tended to form a Semi-Two-Party System instead of a long-term, effective two-party system. The assumption was validated by analyzing and verifying the results of the four General Elections after the adoption of the new election system.