Sangiin election 2007

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Share of votes in%
 %
50
40
30th
20th
10
0
40.5
31.4
8.7
8.6
6.0
2.3
2.7
Independent
Otherwise.
Gains and losses
compared to 2004
 % p
   4th
   2
   0
  -2
  -4
+1.4
-3.7
-1.1
-1.6
+2.1
+0.5
+2.5
Independent
Otherwise.
2007 proportional representation (48 seats)
Share of votes in%
 %
40
30th
20th
10
0
39.5
28.1
13.2
7.5
4.5
3.0
2.2
2.2
NPJ
Otherwise.
Gains and losses
compared to 2004
 % p
   4th
   2
   0
  -2
  -4
+1.7
-1.9
-2.2
-0.3
-0.9
+3.0
+2.2
-1.4
NPJ
Otherwise.
Distribution of seats after the election

The 2007 Sangiin election , formally the “21st Ordinary election of Sangiin MPs “( Japanese 第 21 回 参議院 議員 通常 選 挙 , dai-nijūik-kai Sangiin giin tsūjōotenyo ), to the Japanese council house ( Sangiin ) , the upper house (jōin) of the national parliament ( Kokkai ) took place on July 29th 2007. The main topics in the election campaign were Prime Minister Shinzō Abe's weak leadership after several resignations and suicides by ministers and senior officials, as well as a scandal over lost records of pension entitlements.

Starting position

The governing coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Kōmeitō had already done poorly in the 2004 election : At that time, the opposition Democratic Party (DPJ) won one more seat than the LDP for the first time. In the half of the Sangiin now standing for election (elected in 2001), the LDP held an absolute majority of the seats before the election.

Result

The turnout was 58.64% for direct elections and 58.63% for proportional representation.

Political party Composition before the election Constituencies Proportional representation Elected in 2007 Composition according to the choice
total not an option for optional be right proportion of Seats be right proportion of Seats
Liberal Democratic Party 110 46 64 18.606.193 31.35% 23 16,544,671 28.08% 14th 37 83
Kōmeitō 23 11 12 3,534,672 5.96% 2 7,765,329 13.18% 7th 9 20th
Democratic Party 81 49 32 24.006.817 40.45% 40 23.256.247 39.48% 20th 60 109
Communist Party of Japan 9 4th 5 5,164,572 8.70% 0 4,407,932 7.48% 3 3 7th
Social Democratic Party 6th 3 3 1,352,018 2.28% 0 2,634,713 4.47% 2 2 5
New People's Party 4th 2 2 1,111,005 1.87% 1 1,269,209 2.15% 1 2 4th
New Japan Party 0 0 0 - 1,770,707 3.01% 1 1 1
Others 0 0 0 477.182 0.80% 0 1,264,799 2.15% 0 0 0
Independent (*) 7th 6th 1 5,095,168 8.59% 7th - 7th 13
total 240
(2 vacancies) 		121 119
(2 vacancies) 		59,347,628 100% 73 58,913,700 100% 48 121 242

(*) Including Keiko Itokazu of the Okinawa Shakai Taishūtō ("Okinawa Mass Socialist Party"), which formally ran for independence, and Aiko Shimajiri , who was not eligible for election in a by-election in April .

Constituencies

Because of the electoral system, the two major parties usually share the seats in the majority, especially the two-mandate constituencies. The single-mandate constituencies, of which the opposition won 23 in 2007 and the government only 6, are particularly competitive. In the multi-mandate constituencies, the opposition received 23 seats and the government 20. In the six largest constituencies (three or five seats), the Democratic Party was able to achieve its result easily improve. In all two-mandate constituencies with the exception of Niigata and Gifu, the respective DPJ candidate won more votes than the LDP candidate.

According to an adjustment of the number of seats to the population distribution, the prefectures Gunma and Tochigi elected one less representative than before, Tokyo and Chiba one more. According to this, the greatest imbalance in 2007 was between Kanagawa (1,190,583 eligible voters per MP) and the Tottori (246,572 eligible voters for one MP), i.e. 4.8 times the voting weight.

2007 constituency results
Party affiliation of the election winners (status: election day) :
  • Liberal Democratic Party
  • Kōmeitō
  • Independent

  • Democratic Party
  • New People's Party
  • Independent (opposition)
    		•  Hokkaidō
    !!!
    Aomori
    !
    Akita
    !     		Iwate
    !
    Niigata
    !!!     		Yamagata
    !     		Miyagi
    !!!
    Ishikawa
    !     		Toyama
    !     		Tochigi
    !     		Fukushima
    !!!
    Fukui
    !     		Nagano
    !!!     		Gunma
    !     		Saitama
    !!!!!     		Ibaraki
    !!!
    Shimane
    !     		Tottori
    !     		Hyogo
    !!!     		Kyoto
    !!!     		Shiga
    !     		Gifu
    !!!     		Yamanashi
    !     		Tokyo
    !!!!!!!!!     		Chiba
    !!!!!
    Yamaguchi
    !     		Hiroshima
    !!!     		Okayama
    !     		Osaka
    !!!!!     		Nara
    !     		Aichi
    !!!!!     		Shizuoka
    !!!     		Kanagawa
    !!!!!
    saga
    !     		Fukuoka
    !!!     		Wakayama
    !     		Mie
    !
    Nagasaki
    !     		Kumamoto
    !     		Ōita
    !     		Ehime
    !     		Kagawa
    !
    Kagoshima
    !     		Miyazaki
    !     		Kochi
    !     		Tokushima
    !
    Okinawa
    !

    Proportional representation

    In the national proportional representation, the governing coalition won 21 seats, the opposition parties 27. The most preferential votes in the LDP received Yōichi Masuzoe (470,571 votes), who had criticized the Abe government for handling the pension scandal , before the first-time candidate Toshio Yamada (449,182 votes) , a former member of the Association of Agricultural Cooperatives ( Nōkyō ). The most preference votes in the Kōmeitō and among all list candidates received Kanae Yamamoto (1,027,546,325 votes).

    The majority of the votes on the Democratic Party's list received Kumiko Aihara (507,787), previously a board member of the Union of Prefectural and Municipal Employees ( Jichirō ). Former Nagano Governor Yasuo Tanaka received 458,211 votes, winning the only seat for his New Party Japan. The Social Democratic Party fell from three to two seats in 2001, with General Secretary Seiji Mataichi receiving the most preferential votes (218,850) .

    Effects

    By the election, the coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Kōmeitō lost the majority in the Sangiin. Because of her two-thirds majority in the Shūgiin she remained able to act, but within the LDP, the election was seen as a vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Abe; even in the Kōmeitō there was resentment at the election losses. A cabinet reshuffle after the election did not calm the scandal-ridden government. A few weeks later, Abe resigned as party leader of the LDP and Prime Minister of Japan and was replaced by Yasuo Fukuda .

    The fact that the two houses of parliament are controlled by competing parties is known in Japan as Nejire Kokkai ("twisted parliament"). This made Yasuo Fukuda the fourth prime minister (after Keizo Obuchi 1998, Toshiki Kaifu 1989, Ashida Hitoshi 1948), who was not confirmed by the Sangiin in the election of the prime minister in parliament . Important government projects such as the extension of the anti-terrorism law and the reform of transport-related taxes in parliament have been delayed, and personnel decisions such as the appointment of governor of the Bank of Japan , which depend on the approval of both chambers, have been blocked by the opposition.

    See also

    Web links

    Individual evidence

    1. ↑ http://www2.asahi.com/senkyo2007/chart/070730b.html
    2. ↑ http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/election/sangiin2007/feature/data/09.htm
    3. ↑ http://www2.asahi.com/senkyo2007/chart/070730c.html
    4. ↑ Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication : 平 成 １８ 年 ９ 月 ２ 日 現在 選 挙 人 名簿 及 び 在外 選 挙 人 名簿 登録 者 数  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.soumu.go.jp