2022 Japanese House of Councillors election explained

Country:Japan
Election Date:10 July 2022
Next Election:2025
Seats For Election:125 of the 248 seats in the House of Councillors
Majority Seats:125
Turnout:52.05% (3.25pp)
Party1:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)
Percentage1:34.43
Seats1:119
Last Election1:113
Party2:Nippon Ishin no Kai
Percentage2:14.80
Seats2:21
Last Election2:16
Party3:Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan
Percentage3:12.77
Seats3:39
Last Election3:32
Party4:Komeito
Percentage4:11.66
Seats4:27
Last Election4:28
Party5:Japanese Communist Party
Percentage5:6.82
Seats5:11
Last Election5:13
Party6:Democratic Party For the People
Percentage6:5.96
Seats6:10
Last Election6:New
Party7:Reiwa Shinsengumi
Percentage7:4.37
Seats7:5
Last Election7:2
Percentage8:3.33
Seats8:1
Last Election8:New
Party9:Social Democratic Party (Japan)
Percentage9:2.37
Seats9:1
Last Election9:2
Party10:NHK Party
Percentage10:2.36
Seats10:2
Last Election10:1
Party11:Independents
Leader11:
Percentage11:
Seats11:12
Last Election11:17
Map:2022 Japanese House of Councillors election.svg
President
Before Party:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)
After Party:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)

House of Councillors elections were held in Japan on 10 July 2022 to elect 125 of the 248 members of the upper house of the National Diet, for a term of six years.[1] The elections occurred after the assassination of Shinzo Abe, former Prime Minister of Japan on 8 July 2022. The elected candidate with the fewest votes in the Kanagawa prefectural district will serve for three years, as the district combined its regular and byelections.[2]

The elections occurred within the first year of premiership of Fumio Kishida, President of the Liberal Democratic Party and it saw Kenta Izumi debut as the Leader of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party. The election was overshadowed by the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (served 2006–2007 and 2012–2020), which took place two days before ballots were cast.[3] Abe was shot while delivering a campaign speech for Kei Satō, a member of the House of Councillors running for reelection. The assassin, who had previously served in the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force, was arrested at the scene and reportedly confessed to targeting Abe due to a grudge he held against the Unification Church. Prime Minister Kishida denounced the assassination as an attack on Japan's democracy and vowed to defend a "free and fair election at all cost".[4] In a post-election survey, 62.5 percent of the voters said their votes were not swayed by the assassination, while 15.1 percent said they were.[5]

The governing Liberal Democratic Party modestly increased its seats in the chamber.[6] Turnout slightly increased compared to the previous election[7] while a new record was set for women elected to the chamber at 28%.[8] Parties supportive of constitutional revision gained a combined total of 93 seats, thus gaining the two-thirds majority needed to trigger the parliamentary procedure which was lost in the 2019 election.[9]

The disparity in the value of a vote between prefectural districts in the election ranged up to 3.03 times, leading to nationwide legal challenges.[10]

Background

Following the closing of the 208th session of the National Diet on 15 June 2022, the Second Kishida Cabinet held an extraordinary session to schedule an upper house election in which it was determined that the election would be formally announced to the public on June 22 with the vote to be held on 10 July 2022.[11]

In May 2018, the government enacted a revision to the Public Offices Election Law that increased the number of seats in the House of Councillors by six, with three new seats being contested in 2019 and the other three being contested in 2022. As such, three new seats — one in the Saitama at-large district and two in the national PR block — were added to the House of Councillors as a result of the election.[12] [13]

A seat in the Kanagawa at-large district was left vacant following the resignation of Shigefumi Matsuzawa (independent), who was elected to the House of Councillors in the 2019 election. Matsuzawa resigned from his seat in the House of Councillors to run in the 2021 Yokohama mayoral election, for which he came in fifth.[14] [15] [16] Since the seat was not eligible for a by-election, a merger election was held as a part of this election. This was the first time in 30 years - since the Saitama at-large district held one as part of the 1992 election - that a merger election was held. As a result, the Kanagawa at-large district elected five members this election instead of four, with the fifth-place winner serving for only three years instead of six.[17] Furthermore, in October 2021, Kenji Nakanishi (Liberal Democratic), who was elected to the House of Councillors from the Kanagawa at-large district in the 2016 election, resigned his seat to compete in the 2021 Japanese general election for a seat in the House of Representatives, leaving his seat in the House of Councillors vacant prior to this election as well.[18]

The "Special Postal Voting" system - put in place by the Corona Postal Voting Act passed in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic - was still in effect during this election. This system secured voting opportunities for those who could not vote in-person due to the pandemic. It was the first time the "Special Postal Voting" system was used for a House of Councillors election.[19] In addition, a revision to the Public Offices Election Act was passed in April 2022 that allowed for party political broadcasts to be made through FM broadcasting.[20]

On 8 July 2022, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (served 2006–2007 and 2012–2020) was assassinated in Nara City while delivering a campaign speech for Kei Satō, a member of the House of Councillors running for reelection. The assassination took place just two days before the election. In response, some candidates from the Liberal Democratic Party and other political parties canceled their campaign events on that day.[21] [22] Prime Minister Kishida denounced the assassination as an attack on Japan's democracy and vowed to defend a "free and fair election at all cost". In a post-election survey, 62.5 percent of the voters said their votes were not swayed by the assassination, while 15.1 percent said they were.

At 20:00 (8pm) JST on July 10, when the voting ended, various media outlets across Japan - including NHK and Japan's five major commercial broadcasting networks (Nippon TV, TV Asahi, TBS TV, TV Tokyo, and Fuji TV) - all reported the results of the exit poll all at once. It was reported that the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and their coalition partner Komeito won significantly more seats than was needed for a majority, while the opposition parties of the Constitutional Democratic Party, Democratic Party For the People, and the Japanese Communist Party all lost seats. In addition, the Nippon Ishin no Kai (also known as the Innovation Party or the Restoration Party) was also projected to gain seats, and the exit poll projected that several independents would acquire seats as well.[23] [24]

The Democratic Party For the People had been described as "cozying up" to the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).[25] The lack of policy agreements and electoral pacts led to more opposition candidates contesting in single-seat prefectural districts.[26] [27]

Pre-election Composition

393714131214551456
LDP seats upLDP seats not up

Electoral system

75 members were elected by single non-transferable vote (SNTV) and first-past-the-post (FPTP) voting in 45 multi-member and single-member prefectural electoral districts. The nationwide district elected 50 members by D'Hondt proportional representation with optionally open lists; the previous most open list system was modified in 2018 to give parties the option to prioritize certain candidates over the voters' preferences in the proportional election.[28] [29]

Opinion polls

Proportional voting intention

DatePolling firm/sourceLDPCDPKomeitoDPPIshinJCPReiwaSDPNHKOthers/
Lead
bgcolor= bgcolor= bgcolor= bgcolor= bgcolor= bgcolor= bgcolor= bgcolor= bgcolor=
30 MayNikkei5074283200115835
21–22 MayANN35.16.44.11.77.33.61.40.60.11.735.40.3
13–16 MayJiji Press 38.56.15.51.56.32.60.70.50.436.71.8
15 Mar – 25 AprAsahi Shimbun4314531742126
16–17 AprANN33.99.23.31.67.34.80.90.701.334.10.2
8–11 AprJiji Press 37.47.03.82.18.62.41.70.20.534.92.5

Seat projections

Seat projections from analysts (district seats + proportional representation)
Fieldwork datePolling firmGov
LDPKomeitoTotCDPIshinDPPJCPSDPReiwaN-KokuOthers
7JulKaoru Matsuda for Weekly Fuji62(44+18)14(7+7)76 (51+25)16(9+7)13(5+8)4(2+2)5(2+3)1(0+1)3(1+2)07(5+2)
4-5 JulAsahi Shimbun56–6512–1568–8012–2010–162–73–80–11–50–14–11
1-3 JulYomiuri-NNN55–6510–1565–8013–2411–192–53–80–12–40–14–7
23 JunSankei Shimbun70-82
22-23 JunAsahi Shimbun56–6612–1568–8113–229–151–74–80–21–50–24–8
21 JunHiroshi Miura for Sports Hōchi62(43+19)1476

Results

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party modestly increased its seats in the chamber. Turnout slightly increased compared to the previous election while a new record was set for women elected to the chamber at 28%. Parties supportive of constitutional revision (Liberal Democratic Party, Komeito, Nippon Ishin no Kai, and Democratic Party For the People) won a combined total of 93 seats, and maintained the two-thirds majority needed to trigger the parliamentary procedure. Sanseito and NHK Party, with three seats combined, are also in favour of rewriting the Constitution.[30] [31]

The disparity in the value of a vote between prefectural districts in the election ranged up to 3.03 times (with a vote in Kanagawa Prefecture having only one-third the impact of a vote in Fukui Prefecture), leading to nationwide legal challenges. The Supreme Court had previously concluded after Upper House elections in 2010 and 2013 that a maximum vote-weight disparity of around 5 times was in a "state of unconstitutionality", with the current disparity coming somewhat close to that number. Prefectures have been resistant to combining electoral districts within their boundaries.

By constituency

ConstituencyTotal
seats
Seats won
LDPCDPKomeitoIshinDPPJCPReiwaSanseiNHKSDPInd.
Aichi41111
Akita11
Aomori11
Chiba321
Ehime11
Fukui11
Fukuoka3111
Fukushima11
Gifu11
Gunma11
Hiroshima211
Hokkaido321
Hyōgo3111
Ibaraki211
Ishikawa11
Iwate11
Kagawa11
Kagoshima11
Kanagawa52111
Kumamoto11
Kyoto211
Mie11
Miyagi11
Miyazaki11
Nagano11
Nagasaki11
Nara11
Niigata11
Ōita11
Okinawa11
Okayama11
Osaka4112
Saga11
Saitama41111
Shiga11
Shizuoka211
Tochigi11
TokushimaKōchi11
Tokyo621111
TottoriShimane11
Toyama11
Wakayama11
Yamagata11
Yamaguchi11
Yamanashi11
National5018768332111
Total125631713125431115

Notes

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2022-06-15 . 参院選「22日公示、7月10日投開票」で閣議決定 . 2022-06-18 . 産経ニュース . ja.
  2. Web site: 参院選神奈川 県内初の「合併選挙」 改選数4+1、5位当選者は3年後に改選:東京新聞 TOKYO Web . 2022-07-12 . 東京新聞 TOKYO Web . ja.
  3. News: 8 July 2022 . Japan ex-leader Shinzo Abe apparently shot, in heart failure . . 8 July 2022 . 8 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220708032006/https://apnews.com/article/elections-japan-shinzo-abe-22ec2248d92304deb9cc46b2142402d2 . live .
  4. News: Sugiyama . Satoshi . Kim . Chang-Ran . 2022-07-08 . Shinzo Abe's assassin used a handmade firearm . en . Reuters . 2022-07-08.
  5. Web site: Japan Cabinet's approval rating rises to highest 63.2% after vote . 2022-07-12 . Kyodo News+.
  6. Web site: Saric . Ivana . 2022-07-10 . Shinzo Abe's political party wins supermajority in parliamentary elections . 2022-07-10 . Axios . en.
  7. Web site: 【速報】参院選投票率52.05% 前回上回るも 改選対象の6年前には及ばず . 2022-07-11 . FNNプライムオンライン . 11 July 2022 . 2022-07-16 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220716021132/https://www.fnn.jp/articles/-/387491 . dead .
  8. Web site: 参院選 女性当選者が35人で過去最多に 当選者に占める女性比率も過去最高:東京新聞 TOKYO Web . 2022-07-11 . 東京新聞 TOKYO Web . ja.
  9. Web site: 11 July 2022 . (Update 4) Japan LDP Achieves Big Victory in Upper House Poll . 11 July 2022 . Jiji Press.
  10. Web site: Lawsuits filed to contest election results over large vote disparity The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis . 2022-07-12 . The Asahi Shimbun . en.
  11. Web site: 2022-06-15 . 参院選「22日公示、7月10日投開票」で閣議決定 . 2022-07-12 . 産経ニュース . ja.
  12. Web site: Hisanaga . Ryuichi . 29 May 2018 . LDP compiles plan to revise Upper House election system . 30 May 2018 . .
  13. Web site: 選挙について:よくある質問:参議院 . 2022-07-12 . www.sangiin.go.jp . 2022-07-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220714220905/https://www.sangiin.go.jp/japanese/goiken_gositumon/faq/a10.html#A01 . dead .
  14. Web site: 2021-08-06 . 維新、松沢氏の離党承認 横浜市長選に無所属で出馬 . 2022-07-14 . 産経ニュース . ja.
  15. Web site: 前・神奈川県知事の松沢氏が出馬表明「カジノはやめるべき」 横浜市長選 . 2022-07-14 . カナロコ by 神奈川新聞 . ja.
  16. Web site: 横浜市長選挙候補者別得票数 . 31 August 2021 . city.yokohama.lg.jp . ja.
  17. Web site: 参院選・神奈川選挙区は改選4に5人当選…ただし5位なら任期3年で3年後に党内現職と競合も:東京新聞 TOKYO Web . 2022-07-14 . 東京新聞 TOKYO Web . ja.
  18. Web site: 日本放送協会 . 自民 中西健治参議院議員 議員辞職願を提出 衆院選に立候補へ . 2022-07-14 . NHKニュース.
  19. Web site: 総務省|選挙・政治資金制度|特例郵便等投票 . 2022-07-22 . 総務省 . ja.
  20. Web site: 総務省|執行経費基準法及び公職選挙法の一部改正について . 2022-07-22 . 総務省 . ja.
  21. Web site: 8 July 2022 . Some candidates for the House of Councillors canceled street activities, the shooting of Prime Minister Abe, and Kagoshima also affected . TBS NEWS DIG . ja . 22 July 2022 . 8 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220708125225/https://newsdig.tbs.co.jp/articles/-/90482?display=1 . dead .
  22. Web site: 2022-07-08 . 共産の志位委員長は選挙活動継続「暴力に民主主義が屈してはいけない」 . 2022-07-22 . 産経ニュース . ja.
  23. News: Exit polls suggest victory for Japan's ruling party in parliamentary election . en . NPR.org . 2022-07-23.
  24. News: 2022-07-10 . Japan ruling coalition to keep majority in parliamentary vote -exit polls . en . Reuters . 2022-07-23.
  25. News: 11 July 2022 . Japan's LDP wins big in upper house election after ex-PM Abe's death . The Mainichi . 11 July 2022 . 10 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220710183448/https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20220711/p2g/00m/0na/002000c . dead .
  26. Web site: Back to the drawing board (again) for opposition side The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis . 2022-07-12 . The Asahi Shimbun . en.
  27. Web site: 2022-07-11 . 立憲は「惨敗」も光明見えた? 泉代表「敗戦の弁」で連呼したフレーズ . 2022-07-12 . J-CAST ニュース . ja.
  28. [NHK]
  29. [Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications|MIC]
  30. Web site: 2022-06-22 . 参院選当選者 参政比例名簿・候補者 選挙・開票結果 . 2022-07-15 . 読売新聞オンライン . ja.
  31. Web site: 2022-06-22 . 参院選当選者 N党比例名簿・候補者 選挙・開票結果 . 2022-07-15 . 読売新聞オンライン . ja.