General elections were held in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

on 25 June 2000 to elect the 480 members of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) remained the largest party in the House of Representatives but lost seats, along with its two coalition partners. Two cabinet members, Takashi Fukaya and Tokuichiro Tamazawa, lost their seats. The Democratic Party made major gains under the leadership of Yukio Hatoyama.

Background

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi suffered a stroke in April 2000 and was replaced by Yoshiro Mori. Although the term limit for the House of Representatives would have been reached in October 2000, Mori dissolved the House on June 2 in what became popularly known as the due to a controversial statement by Mori prior to the election, which preceded a slump in government approval ratings from 40% to 20%. The LDP government advocated continued public works spending while the opposition advocated less spending and more governmental reforms. The

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

left the coalition in 1998 and re-join the opposition after years of coalition with the ideologically contrasting LDP. Meanwhile, the Komeito Party, a centrist party with roots from the

Soka Gakkai is a Japanese new religions, Japanese new religion led by Minoru Harada since December 2023 based on the teachings of the 13th-century Buddhist priest Nichiren. It claims the largest membership among Nichiren Buddhism, Nichiren Buddhist group ...

based on the Nichiren Buddhist movement and despite almost decades of opposition against the LDP, shifted from centre towards conservatism. An electoral alliance between the once rivals of the Komeito and the LDP has been in effect since the Japanese General election in 2000. For the LDP, despite not being able to win an absolute majority of votes by itself in further elections (especially for the

House of Councillors The is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives (Japan), House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers (Japan), House of Peers. If the t ...

which the LDP lost majority since 1989), the Komeito party has been counted on since then to ensure a stable governing majority rule.

Results

42nd Japanese General Election Cartogram

The House of Representatives consisted of 480 members, 300 elected from single-member constituencies and 180 elected on a proportional basis from eleven multi-member constituencies known as Block constituencies.

By prefecture

By PR block

Analysis

The further entrenchment of the 1955 System continued, with the

Democratic Party of Japan The was a Centrism, centristThe Democratic Party of Japan was widely described as centrist: * * * * * * * to Centre-left politics, centre-left, Liberalism, liberal or Social liberalism, social-liberal List of political parties in Japan, ...

replacing the New Frontier Party as the primary opposition to the LDP. The

saw a brief resurgence following its near destruction in 1996, but the decline of the party would continue in the following election. The election set the groundwork for the system of politics that would lay how Japanese elections work until the collapse of the

in the mid-2010s.

References

{{Japanese elections

General election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

General elections in Japan

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Election and referendum articles with incomplete results