The House of Councillors Election in Japan: The LDP Hangs in There

Abstract

JAPAN'S VOTING PUBLIC dutifully trooped to the polls on July 10, 1977 to participate in the eleventh triennial House of Councillors election.1 Early forecasts had indicated that the governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) might actually not be able to retain its majority status in the Diet's second chamber, often referred to as the upper house. That appellation is misleading if it is interpreted to mean that the Councillors are more powerful than the House of Representatives. They are not, especially with respect to such crucial issues as electing the Prime Minister, having the final say on the nation's budget, and approving treaties. Nonetheless, the possibility that the LDP, which has governed Japan for over twenty years, might actually lose its majority status in the House of Councillors was the issue in the election. To be sure, each of the parties solemnly propounded its policy proposals and some candidates actually referred to them in their campaign speeches, but no one seemed to take them terribly seriously. Several underlying factors have played a role in ushering in the age of transition or close balance between the 'conservatives' and 'progressives' (hokaku hakuchu) that has characterized Japanese politics in the mid-1970s. Possibly most crucial among these is the emergence of the postwar generation of voters whose political allegiances seem to be far less predictable than those of their elders. This generation is the product of the manifold social changes that were ushered in by defeat and