The 1976 General Election in Japan

Abstract

T HE DECEMBER 5, 1976, general election for the House of Representatives inJapan produced a number of outstanding results. Most important, it put an end to 21 years of dominance by the LiberalDemocratic Party (LDP) and has thus been hailed as the most significant of the thirteen general elections held since the end of World War II. Though the LDP with 249 seats failed to secure a majority in the 51 i-seat House, twelve conservative independents joined the party almost immediately after the election. With the death of Former Finance Minister Mikio Mizuta on December 22, I976, the LDP held 260 seats, only a four-seat majority. The second notable development was the poor showing of the two leftist parties-the Socialists and the Communists. The Japan Socialist Party (JSP), the largest opposition group, won I23 seats, a gain of just ii seats over its pre-election strength. On December 25 its strength became I24 seats when Mrs. Chiyose Chiba, runner-up to the deceased Mizuta, was declared the winner. The JSP suffered humiliating defeats of former party Chairmen Kozo Sasaki and Seiichi Katsumata and incumbent Vice-Chairman Saburo Eda. The Japan Communist Party (JCP) suffered a major setback, its strength plunging to I7, less than half its preelection strength of 39. Impressive gains by two moderate opposition groups-Komeito and the Democratic Socialist Party (DSP)marked a third salient feature of the election results. Komeito (Clean Government Party) made a spectacular comeback from its I972 election debacle, winning 55 seats compared to its pre-election strength of 30. The Democratic Socialists won 29 seats, an increase of io. The New Liberal Club (NLC), a spin-off of the LDP, also made a striking advance by capturing I7 seats, an increase of I2. There was a heavy turnover of established politicians in favor of a younger generation. It came as a particular shock to the Miki Government that three incumbent Cabinet ministers were ousted. The flexible attitude, clarified by both the JSP and JCP toward the Security Treaty with the U.S., ranks as another notable development of the