December 16, 2014
In the December Lower House election, the ruling Liberal Democratic and Komei parties obtained a total of 326 seats, more than two-thirds of the 475-seat chamber. Japan’s media unanimously reported that the ruling force won a “landslide victory”. Let’s check if this is true.
Looking at the results of the proportional representation blocs, which properly mirror the voters’ will, the number of votes garnered by the LDP decreased by 800,000 from the Upper House election held last year. The number of ballots cast for the Komei Party also declined by 250,000. The percentage of votes gained by the LDP went down by 1.57 percentage points to 33.1% from the previous year. That of the Komei Party decreased by 0.51 percentage points to 13.7%.
The 475 seats in the lower chamber are composed of 295 from the single-seat constituencies and 180 from proportional representation blocs. Due to the single-seat constituency system, which favors only one dominant party, the LDP was able to hold its majority.
Compared to the previous general election two years ago, the number of votes the LDP obtained in single-seat districts declined by 180,000. The party’s share of the vote was 48.1%. Nevertheless, it commanded more than three quarters of all seats in single-seat constituencies. Meanwhile, the absolute proportion of votes received by the LDP stood at only 16.99% in proportional representation blocs and 24.49% in single-member districts.
In the election campaign, Prime Minister Abe Shinzo adopted a strategy of narrowing the campaign issue down to his economic policy called “Abenomics”. An opinion poll conducted by Kyodo News during the campaign period showed that 51.8% of the respondents have a low opinion of Abenomics.
It could hardly be said that the Abe government gained credit with the general public.
Past related article:
> JCP Standing Executive Committee issues statement on general election results [December 16, 2014]
Looking at the results of the proportional representation blocs, which properly mirror the voters’ will, the number of votes garnered by the LDP decreased by 800,000 from the Upper House election held last year. The number of ballots cast for the Komei Party also declined by 250,000. The percentage of votes gained by the LDP went down by 1.57 percentage points to 33.1% from the previous year. That of the Komei Party decreased by 0.51 percentage points to 13.7%.
The 475 seats in the lower chamber are composed of 295 from the single-seat constituencies and 180 from proportional representation blocs. Due to the single-seat constituency system, which favors only one dominant party, the LDP was able to hold its majority.
Compared to the previous general election two years ago, the number of votes the LDP obtained in single-seat districts declined by 180,000. The party’s share of the vote was 48.1%. Nevertheless, it commanded more than three quarters of all seats in single-seat constituencies. Meanwhile, the absolute proportion of votes received by the LDP stood at only 16.99% in proportional representation blocs and 24.49% in single-member districts.
In the election campaign, Prime Minister Abe Shinzo adopted a strategy of narrowing the campaign issue down to his economic policy called “Abenomics”. An opinion poll conducted by Kyodo News during the campaign period showed that 51.8% of the respondents have a low opinion of Abenomics.
It could hardly be said that the Abe government gained credit with the general public.
Past related article:
> JCP Standing Executive Committee issues statement on general election results [December 16, 2014]
