The is the

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

of the

National Diet , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

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 ...

. 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 ...

is the

upper house An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...

. The composition of the House is established by and of the

Constitution of Japan The Constitution of Japan is the supreme law of Japan. Written primarily by American civilian officials during the occupation of Japan after World War II, it was adopted on 3 November 1946 and came into effect on 3 May 1947, succeeding the Meij ...

. The House of Representatives has 465 members, elected for a four-year term. Of these, 176 members are elected from 11 multi-member constituencies by a

party-list system A party-list system is a type of electoral system that formally involves Political party, political parties in the electoral process, usually to facilitate Multiwinner elections, multi-winner elections. In party-list systems, parties put forward a ...

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

, and 289 are elected from single-member constituencies. The overall voting system used to elect the House of Representatives is a

parallel system In political science, parallel voting or superposition refers to the use of two or more electoral systems to elect different members of a legislature. More precisely, an electoral system is a superposition if it is a mixture of at least two tie ...

, a form of

semi-proportional representation Semi-proportional representation characterizes multi-winner electoral systems which allow representation of minorities, but are not intended to reflect the strength of the competing political forces in close proportion to the votes they receive. Se ...

. Under a parallel system, the allocation of list seats does not take into account the outcome in the single seat constituencies. Therefore, the overall allocation of seats in the House of Representatives is not proportional, to the advantage of larger parties. In contrast, in bodies such as the German ''

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...

'' or the

New Zealand Parliament The New Zealand Parliament () is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the Monarchy of New Zealand, Sovereign and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by his Governor-General of New Zeal ...

the election of single-seat members and party list members is linked, so that the overall result respects proportional representation fully or to some degree. The House of Representatives is the more powerful of the two houses, able to override vetoes on bills imposed by the House of Councillors with a two-thirds majority. The last election for the House of Representatives was held on October 27, 2024, in which the

Liberal Democratic Party Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...

and their coalition partner

Komeito , formerly New Komeito (NKP) and commonly referred to as simply Komei, is a political party in Japan founded by the leader of Soka Gakkai, Daisaku Ikeda, in 1964. It is generally considered centrist and socially conservative. Since 2012, i ...

failed to reach a majority of 233 seats, instead winning 215, 18 short of a majority.

Right to vote and candidature

* Japanese nationals aged 18 years and older may vote (prior to 2016, the voting age was 20). * Japanese nationals aged 25 years and older may run for office in the lower house.

Differences between the Upper and Lower Houses

The House of Representatives has several powers not given to the House of Councillors. If a bill is passed by the

(the House of Representatives) but is voted down by the

(the

) the House of Representatives can override the decision of the House of Councillors by a two-thirds vote in the affirmative. However, in the case of

treaties A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...

, the

budget A budget is a calculation plan, usually but not always financial plan, financial, for a defined accounting period, period, often one year or a month. A budget may include anticipated sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities including tim ...

, and the selection of the prime minister, the House of Councillors can only delay passage, but not block the legislation. As a result, the House of Representatives is considered the more powerful house. Members of the House of Representatives, who are elected to a maximum of four years, sit for a shorter term than members of the House of Councillors, who are elected to full six-year terms. The lower house can also be dissolved by the Prime Minister or the passage of a nonconfidence motion, while the House of Councillors cannot be dissolved. Thus the House of Representatives is considered to be more sensitive to public opinion, and is termed the "lower house". While the legislative term is nominally 4 years, early elections for the lower house are very common, and the median lifespan of postwar legislatures has in practice been around 3 years.

Current composition

For a list of majoritarian members and proportional members from Hokkaidō, see the

List of members of the Diet of Japan This is a list of members of the Diet of Japan. The Diet has two chambers: the House of Councillors (upper house) and the House of Representatives (lower house). Councillors serve six year terms, with half being elected every three years. Represe ...

Latest election result

Historical composition

Before World War II (1890–1942)

After World War II (since 1946)

Election results for major parties since 1958

Shaded * green: Ruling party/coalition before and after the lower house election * red: Ruling party/coalition ''until'' the election = Change of government as a result of the lower house election * blue: Ruling party/coalition ''after'' the election = Change of government as a result of the lower house election * none: Opposition before and after the election ''Note that the composition of the ruling coalition may change between lower house elections, e.g. after upper house elections. Parties who vote with the government in the Diet, but are not part of the cabinet (e.g. SDP & NPH after the 1996 election) are not shaded.''

Parallel electoral system (since 1996)

, - ! style="background:#e9e9e9", Parties ! style="background:#e9e9e9", Segment !

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications The is a Cabinet (government), cabinet-level ministry in the Government of Japan. Its English name was Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications (MPHPT) prior to 2004. It is housed in the 2nd Building of the Centr ...

(MIC/Sōmushō)
第41回衆議院議員総選挙結果
/ref> !!

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

MIC
第42回衆議院議員総選挙結果
/ref> !!

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

MIC
衆議院議員総選挙・最高裁判所裁判官国民審査結果調
/ref> !!

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

MIC
平成17年9月11日執行衆議院議員総選挙・最高裁判所裁判官国民審査結果調
!!

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

MIC
平成21年8月30日執行衆議院議員総選挙・最高裁判所裁判官国民審査結果調
!!

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, - ! colspan="2", Total seats !! 500 !! 480 !! 480 !! 480 !! 480 !! 480 !! 475 !! 465 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="5",

(LDP) ''Jiyū Minshutō'', , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", FPTP , 38.6%, , 41.0%, , 43.9%, , 47.8%, , 38.6%, , 43.0%, , 48.1%, , 48.21% , - , 169, , 177, , 168, , 219, , 64, , 237, , 223, , 226 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", PR , 32.8%, , 28.3%, , 35.0%, , 38.1%, , 26.7%, , 27.6%, , 33.1%, , 33.28% , - , 70, , 56, , 69, , 77, , 55, , 57, , 68, , 66 , - , style="text-align:left;", Total seats, , style="background:#cfc;", 239, , style="background:#cfc;", 233, , style="background:#cfc;", 237, , style="background:#cfc;", 296, , style="background:#fcc;", 119, , style="background:#ccf;", 294, , style="background:#cfc;", 291, , style="background:#cfc;", 284 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="5",

Constitutional Democratic Party The Constitutional Democratic Party (, K-D), also called Constitutional Democrats and formally the Party of People's Freedom (), was a political party in the Russian Empire that promoted Western constitutional monarchy—among other policies� ...

(CDP) ''Rikken Minshutō'', , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", FPTP , colspan="7" rowspan="5", –, , 8.75% , - , 18 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", PR , 19.88% , - , 37 , - , style="text-align:left;", Total seats, , 55 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="5", Party of Hope ''Kibō no Tō'', , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", FPTP , colspan="7" rowspan="5", –, , 20.64% , - , 18 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", PR , 17.36% , - , 32 , - , style="text-align:left;", Total seats, , 50 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="5",

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, ...

(DPJ) ''Minshutō'' (1996–2014)
Democratic Party (DP) ''Minshintō'' (2017), , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", FPTP , 10.6%, , 27.6%, , 36.7%, , 36.4%, , 47.4%, , 22.8%, , 22.5%, , rowspan="5", ''no party
nominations,
≈14 members
elected'' , - , 17, , 80, , 105, , 52, , 221, , 27, , 38 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", PR , 16.1%, , 25.2%, , 37.4%, , 31.0%, , 42.4%, , 15.9%, , 18.3% , - , 35, , 47, , 72, , 61, , 87, , 30, , 35 , - , style="text-align:left;", Total seats, , 52, , 127, , 177, , 113, , style="background:#ccf;", 308, , style="background:#fcc;", 57, , 73 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="5",

Japan Restoration Party The , also referred to in English as the Japan Restoration Association, was a Japanese political party. It was launched on 12 September 2012 and gained official recognition on 28 September 2012. The party grew from the regional Osaka Restoration A ...

(JRP) ''Nippon Ishin no Kai'' (2012)

Japan Innovation Party The is a conservative and centre-right to right-wing populist political party in Japan. Formed as Initiatives from Osaka in October 2015 from a split in the old Japan Innovation Party, the party became the third-biggest opposition party in ...

(JIP) ''Ishin no Tō'' (2014), , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", FPTP , colspan="5" rowspan="5", –, , 11.6%, , 8.2%, , 3.18% , - , 14, , 11, , 3 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", PR , 20.3%, , 15.7%, , 6.07% , - , 40, , 30, , 8 , - , style="text-align:left;", Total seats, , 54, , 41, , 11 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="5", (New) Komeito (K/NK/NKP/CGP/NCGP/etc.) ''Kōmeitō'', , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", FPTP , rowspan="5", –, , 2.0%, , 1.5%, , 1.4%, , 1.1%, , 1.4%, , 1.5%, , 1.5% , - , 7, , 9, , 8, , 0, , 9, , 9, , 8 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", PR , 13.0%, , 14.8%, , 13.3%, , 11.4%, , 11.8%, , 13.7%, , 12.51% , - , 24, , 25, , 23, , 21, , 22, , 26, , 21 , - , style="text-align:left;", Total seats , style="background:#cfc;", 31, , style="background:#cfc;", 34, , style="background:#cfc;", 31, , style="background:#fcc;", 21, , style="background:#ccf;", 31, , style="background:#cfc;", 35, , style="background:#cfc;", 29 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="5",

Japanese Communist Party The is a communist party in Japan. Founded in 1922, it is the oldest political party in the country. It has 250,000 members as of January 2024, making it one of the largest non-governing communist parties in the world. The party is chaired ...

(JCP) ''Nihon Kyōsantō'', , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", FPTP , 12.6%, , 12.1%, , 8.1%, , 7.2%, , 4.2%, , 7.8%, , 13.3%, , 9.02% , - , 2, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 1 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", PR , 13.1%, , 11.2%, , 7.8%, , 7.2%, , 7.0%, , 6.1%, , 11.4%, , 7.9% , - , 24, , 20, , 9, , 9, , 9, , 8, , 20, , 11 , - , style="text-align:left;", Total seats, , 26, , 20, , 9, , 9, , 9, , 8, , 21, , 12 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="5",

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 ...

(SDP) ''Shakai Minshutō'', , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", FPTP , 2.2%, , 3.8%, , 2.9%, , 1.5%, , 1.9%, , 0.7%, , 0.8%, , 1.15% , - , 4, , 4, , 1, , 1, , 3, , 1, , 1, , 1 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", PR , 6.4%, , 9.4%, , 5.1%, , 5.5%, , 4.2%, , 2.3%, , 2.5%, , 1.69% , - , 11, , 15, , 5, , 6, , 4, , 1, , 1, , 1 , - , style="text-align:left;", Total seats, , style="background:#fcc;", 15, , 19, , 6, , 7, , style="background:#ccf;", 7, , 2, , 2, , 2 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="5", New Frontier Party (NFP) ''Shinshintō'' (1996)

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

''Jiyūtō'' (2000)

Tomorrow Party of Japan , also known as the Japan Future Party, was a List of political parties in Japan, Japanese political party, formed on 28 November 2012 by Governor of Shiga Prefecture Yukiko Kada and dissolved in May 2013. Kada created the party as an alternativ ...

(TPJ) ''Nippon Mirai no Tō'' (2012)

People's Life Party The was a political party in Japan that merged with the Democratic Party For the People on 26 April 2019. It had 2 out of the 475 seats in the House of Representatives, and 3 in the 242-member House of Councillors prior to merging. Formed as t ...

(PLP) ''Seikatsu no Tō'' (2014)
Liberal Party (LP) ''Jiyūtō'' (2017), , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", FPTP , 28.0%, , 3.4%, , colspan="3" rowspan="5", –, , 5.0%, , 1.0%, , rowspan="5", ''no party
nominations,
2 members
elected'' , - , 96, , 4, , 2, , 2 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", PR , 28.0%, , 11.0%, , 5.7%, , 1.9% , - , 60, , 18, , 7, , 0 , - , style="text-align:left;", Total seats, , 156, , 22, , 9, , 2 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="5",

Your Party is a Japanese parliamentary caucus consisting of Yoshimi Watanabe and Takashi Tachibana, later Satoshi Hamada after Tachibana forfeited his seat, in the House of Councillors. It was also a political party led by Watanabe from 2009 until its ...

(YP) ''Minna no Tō'', , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", FPTP , colspan="4" rowspan="5", –, , 0.8%, , 4.7%, , colspan="2" rowspan="5", – , - , 2, , 4 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", PR , 4.2%, , 8.7% , - , 3, , 14 , - , style="text-align:left;", Total seats, , 5, , 19 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="5", Conservative Party ''Hoshutō'' (2000)
New Conservative Party ''Hoshu Shintō'' (2003), , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", FPTP , rowspan="5", –, , 2.0%, , 1.3%, , colspan="5" rowspan="5", – , - , 7, , 4 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", PR , 0.4%, , – , - , 0, , – , - , style="text-align:left;", Total seats, , style="background:#cfc;", 7, , style="background:#cfc;", 4 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="5", New Party Harbinger (NPH) ''Shintō Sakigake'', , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", FPTP , 1.3%, , colspan="7" rowspan="5", – , - , 2 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", PR , 1.0% , - , 0 , - , style="text-align:left;", Total seats, , style="background:#fcc;", 2

SNTV multi-member districts (1947–1993)

, - ! style="background:#e9e9e9", Parties !

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

, statistics bureau
衆議院議員総選挙の党派別当選者数及び得票数（昭和33年～平成5年）
!!

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

, - ! Total seats !! 467 !! 467 !! 467 !! 486 !! 486 !! 491 !! 511 !! 511 !! 511 !! 511 !! 512 !! 512 !! 511 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2",

(LDP) ''Jiyū Minshutō'' , 57.8%, , 57.6%, , 54.7%, , 48.8%, , 47.6%, , 46.8%, , 41.8%, , 44.6%, , 47.9%, , 48.9%, , 49.4%, , 46.1%, , 36.7% , - style="background:#cfc;" , 287, , 296, , 283, , 277, , 288, , 271, , 249, , 248, , 284, , 250, , 300, , 275, , style="background:#fcc;", 223 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2",

Japan Socialist Party The was a major socialist and progressive political party in Japan which existed from 1945 to 1996. The party was the primary representative of the Japanese left and main opponent of the right-wing Liberal Democratic Party for most of its ex ...

(JSP) ''Nippon Shakaitō'' , 32.9%, , 27.6%, , 29.0%, , 27.9%, , 21.4%, , 21.9%, , 20.7%, , 19.7%, , 19.3%, , 19.5%, , 17.2%, , 24.4%, , 15.4% , - , 166, , 145, , 144, , 140, , 90, , 118, , 123, , 107, , 107, , 112, , 85, , 136, , style="background:#ccf;", 70 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2",

Japan Renewal Party The was a Japanese political party that existed in the early 1990s. It was founded in 1993 by 44 members of the Liberal Democratic Party led by Tsutomu Hata and Ichirō Ozawa. It was instrumental in ending the LDP's 38-year dominance of Japanes ...

(JRP) ''Shinseitō'' , colspan="12" rowspan="2", –, , 10.1% , - , style="background:#ccf;", 55 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2",

Kōmeitō , formerly New Komeito (NKP) and commonly referred to as simply Komei, is a political party in Japan founded by the leader of Soka Gakkai, Daisaku Ikeda, in 1964. It is generally considered centrist and socially conservative. Since 2012, ...

(K/KP/CGP/etc.) ''Kōmeitō'' , colspan="3" rowspan="2", –, , 5.4%, , 10.9%, , 8.5%, , 11.0%, , 9.8%, , 9.0%, , 10.1%, , 9.4%, , 8.0%, , 8.1% , - , 25, , 47, , 29, , 55, , 57, , 33, , 58, , 56, , 45, , style="background:#ccf;", 51 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2",

Japan New Party The was a Japanese political party that existed briefly from 1992 to 1994. The party, considered liberal, was founded by Morihiro Hosokawa, a former Diet member and Kumamoto Prefecture governor, who left the Liberal Democratic Party to protest ...

(JNP) ''Nihon Shintō'' , colspan="12" rowspan="2", –, , 8.0% , - , style="background:#ccf;", 35 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", Democratic Socialist Party (DSP) ''Minshatō'' , rowspan="2", –, , 8.8%, , 7.4%, , 7.4%, , 7.7%, , 7.0%, , 6.3%, , 6.8%, , 6.6%, , 7.3%, , 6.4%, , 4.8%, , 3.5% , - , 17, , 23, , 30, , 31, , 19, , 29, , 35, , 32, , 38, , 26, , 14, , style="background:#ccf;", 15 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2",

(JCP) ''Nihon Kyōsantō'' , 2.6%, , 2.9%, , 4.0%, , 4.8%, , 6.8%, , 10.5%, , 10.4%, , 10.4%, , 9.8%, , 9.3%, , 8.8%, , 8.0%, , 7.7% , - , 1, , 3, , 5, , 5, , 14, , 38, , 17, , 39, , 29, , 26, , 26, , 16, , 15 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", New Party Harbinger (NPH) ''Shintō Sakigake'' , colspan="12" rowspan="2", –, , 3.5% , - , style="background:#ccf;", 13

History

Meiji period (1890–1912)

The Japanese parliament, then known as the Imperial Diet, was established in 1890 as a result of the 1889

Meiji Constitution The Constitution of the Empire of Japan ( Kyūjitai: ; Shinjitai: , ), known informally as the Meiji Constitution (, ''Meiji Kenpō''), was the constitution of the Empire of Japan which was proclaimed on February 11, 1889, and remained in ...

. It was modeled on the parliaments of several Western countries, particularly the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

and the United Kingdom, because of the

Emperor Meiji , posthumously honored as , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the List of emperors of Japan, traditional order of succession, reigning from 1867 until his death in 1912. His reign is associated with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, which ...

's westernizing reforms. The Imperial Diet consisted of two chambers, the elected House of Representatives which was the lower house, and the House of Peers which was the upper house. This format was similar to the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

in the

Westminster system The Westminster system, or Westminster model, is a type of parliamentary system, parliamentary government that incorporates a series of Parliamentary procedure, procedures for operating a legislature, first developed in England. Key aspects of ...

, or the Herrenhaus in

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

, where the upper house represented the

aristocracy Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense Economy, economic, Politics, political, and soc ...

. Both houses, and also the Emperor, had to agree on legislation, and even at the height of party-based constitutional government, the House of Peers could simply vote down bills deemed too liberal by the

Meiji oligarchy The Meiji oligarchy was the new ruling class of Meiji period Japan. In Japanese, the Meiji oligarchy is called the . The members of this class were adherents of '' kokugaku'' and believed they were the creators of a new order as grand as that e ...

, such as the introduction of

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

, increases in local autonomy, or trade union rights. The

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

and his government served at the Emperor's pleasure, and could not be removed by the Imperial Diet. However, the right to vote on, and if necessary to block, legislation including the budget, gave the House of Representatives leverage to force the government into negotiations. After an early period of frequent confrontation and temporary alliances between the cabinet and political parties in the lower house, parts of the Meiji oligarchy more sympathetic to political parties around

Itō Hirobumi Kazoku, Prince , born , was a Japanese statesman who served as the first prime minister of Japan from 1885 to 1888, and later from 1892 to 1896, in 1898, and from 1900 to 1901. He was a leading member of the ''genrō'', a group of senior state ...

and parts of the liberal parties eventually formed a more permanent alliance, in the form of the

Rikken Seiyūkai The was one of the main political party, political parties in the pre-war Empire of Japan. It was also known simply as the ''Seiyūkai''. Founded on September 15, 1900, by Itō Hirobumi,David S. Spencer, "Some Thoughts on the Political Devel ...

in 1900. The confidence of the House of Representatives was never a formal requirement to govern, but between 1905 and 1918, only one cabinet took office that did not enjoy majority support in the House of Representatives.

Taisho and early Showa periods (1912–1937)

During the

Taishō political crisis The was a period of political upheaval in Japan that occurred after the death of Emperor Meiji in 1912. During the twelve-month period following the emperor's death, the Japanese government was led by three different prime ministers as the gove ...

in 1913, a

no-confidence vote A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fit ...

against the third Katsura government, accompanied by major demonstrations outside the Diet, was followed shortly by resignation. Subsequently, in the period often referred to as

Taishō democracy Taishō Democracy was a liberal and democratic trend across the political, economic, and cultural fields in Japan that began roughly after the Russo-Japanese War and continued until the end of the Taishō era (19121926). This trend was most eviden ...

, it became increasingly customary to appoint many ministers, including several prime ministers, from the House of Representatives –

Hara Takashi was a Japanese politician who served as the Prime Minister of Japan from 1918 until his assassination. Hara held several minor ambassadorial roles before rising through the ranks of the Rikken Seiyūkai and being elected to the House of Repr ...

was the first commoner to become prime minister in 1918. In the same year, the Rice Riots had confronted the government with an unprecedented scale of domestic unrest, and a

German Revolution German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

brought the Prusso-German monarchy to an end, the very system Meiji oligarchs had used as the main model for the Meiji constitution to consolidate and preserve Imperial power. Even

Yamagata Aritomo Prince was a Japanese politician and general who served as prime minister of Japan from 1889 to 1891, and from 1898 to 1900. He was also a leading member of the '' genrō'', a group of senior courtiers and statesmen who dominated the politics ...

and other oligarchs that had been fundamentally opposed to political parties, became more inclined to cooperate with the still mainly

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and aristocracy. They are traditionally contrasted wi ...

parties, to prevent a rise of socialism or other movements that might threaten Imperial rule. Socialist parties would not be represented in significant numbers in the lower house until the 1930s. The initially very high

census suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to vo ...

requirement was reduced several times, until the introduction of

universal male suffrage Universal manhood suffrage is a form of voting rights in which all adult male citizens within a political system are allowed to vote, regardless of income, property, religion, race, or any other qualification. It is sometimes summarized by the sl ...

in 1925. The electoral system to the House of Representatives was also fundamentally changed several times: between systems of "small" mostly single- and few multi-member electoral districts (1890s, 1920, 1924), "medium" mostly multi-member districts (1928–1942) and "large" electoral districts (usually only one, rarely two city and one counties district per prefecture; 1900s and 1910s), using

first-past-the-post First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or First-preference votes, first-preference, and the cand ...

in single-member districts,

plurality-at-large voting Plurality block voting is a type of block voting method for multi-winner elections. Each voter may cast as many votes as the number of seats to be filled. The candidates with the most votes are elected. The usual result when the candidates div ...

(1890s) or

single non-transferable vote Single non-transferable vote or SNTV is a multi-winner electoral system in which each voter casts a single vote. Being a semi-proportional variant of first-past-the-post voting, under SNTV small parties, as well as large parties, have a chance t ...

in the multi-member districts. Influence of the House of Representatives on the government increased, and the party cabinets of the 1920s brought Japan apparently closer to a

parliamentary system A parliamentary system, or parliamentary democracy, is a form of government where the head of government (chief executive) derives their Election, democratic legitimacy from their ability to command the support ("confidence") of a majority of t ...

of government, and there were several reforms to the upper house in 1925. However, the balance of powers between the two houses and the influential role of extra-constitutional actors such as the

Genrō was an unofficial designation given to a generation of elder Japanese statesmen, all born in the 1830s and 1840s, who served as informal extraconstitutional advisors to the emperor during the Meiji, Taishō, and early Shōwa eras of Japan ...

(who still selected the prime minister) or the military (that had brought down several cabinets) remained in essence untouched. Within a year of the

Japanese invasion of Manchuria The Empire of Japan's Kwantung Army invaded the Manchuria region of the Republic of China on 18 September 1931, immediately following the Mukden incident, a false flag event staged by Japanese military personnel as a pretext to invade. At the ...

in September 1931, a series of assassinations and coup attempts followed. Party governments were replaced by governments of "national unity" (''kyokoku itchi'') which were dominated by nobles, bureaucrats and increasingly the military.

World War II and aftermath (1937–1947)

After the Marco Polo Bridge Incident and the start of war in 1937, the influence of the Imperial Diet was further diminished, though never eliminated, by special laws such as the

National Mobilization Law The , also known as the National Mobilization Law, was legislated in the Diet of Japan by Prime Minister of Japan, Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe on 24 March 1938 to put the national economy of the Empire of Japan on War economy, war-time footing ...

and expanded powers for cabinet agencies such as the Planning Board. The House of Representatives in the Empire had a four-year term and could be dissolved by the

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

. In contrast, members of the House of Peers had either

life tenure A life tenure or service during good behaviour is a term of office that lasts for the office holder's lifetime, unless the office holder decides personally to resign or is removed from office because of misbehaving in office or due to extraordina ...

(subject to revocation by the Emperor) or a seven-year term in the case of members elected in mutual peerage elections among the three lower peerage ranks, top taxpayer and academic peerage elections. During the war, the term of the members of the House of Representatives elected in the last pre-war election of 1937 was extended by one year. In the 1946 election to the House of Representatives, held under the U.S.-led

Allied occupation of Japan Japan was occupied and administered by the Allies of World War II from the surrender of the Empire of Japan on September 2, 1945, at the war's end until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect on April 28, 1952. The occupation, led by the ...

was introduced, and a system of "large" electoral districts (one or two per prefecture) with

limited voting Limited voting (also known as partial block voting) is a voting system in which electors have fewer votes than there are positions available. The positions are awarded to the candidates who receive the most votes. In the special case in which th ...

was used. A change in the electoral law in April 1945 had for the first time allocated 30 seats to the established colonies of the Empire: Karafuto (

Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, p=səxɐˈlʲin) is an island in Northeast Asia. Its north coast lies off the southeastern coast of Khabarovsk Krai in Russia, while its southern tip lies north of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. An islan ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, and Chōsen (

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

); but this change was never implemented. Similarly, Korea and Taiwan were granted several appointed members of the House of Peers in 1945. In 1946, both houses of the Imperial Diet (together with the Emperor) passed the postwar constitutional amendment which took effect in 1947. The Imperial Diet was renamed the National Diet, the House of Peers was replaced by an elected upper house called the

, and the House of Representatives would now be able to override the upper house in important matters. The constitution also gave the Diet exclusive legislative authority, without involvement of the Emperor, and explicitly made the cabinet responsible to the Diet and requires that the

has the support of a majority in the House of Representatives.

Late Showa period (1947–1989)

The Diet first met under the new constitution on May 20, 1947. Four days later,

Tetsu Katayama was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1947 to 1948. He was the first socialist to serve as Japanese prime minister, and the last non-member of the Liberal Democratic Party or its forerunners to serve until 1993. ...

of the Democratic Socialist Party became Japan's first socialist prime minister and the first since the introduction of parliamentarianism. Since the end of US rule in 1952, it has been the norm that the prime minister dissolves the House of Representatives before its 4-year term expires. Only once, in 1976, did the House last a full 4 years. It has become tradition to give nicknames to each dissolution, usually referencing a major political issue or controversy. One infamous example was on March 14, 1953, when

Shigeru Yoshida was a Japanese diplomat and politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1946 to 1947 and again from 1948 to 1954, serving through most of the country's occupation after World War II. Yoshida played a major role in determining the cour ...

dissolved the House and called for new election, after he name called people during a meeting of the budget committee. This came to be known as the '. In 1955, prime minister

Ichirō Hatoyama was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan, prime minister of Japan from 1954 to 1956. During his tenure he oversaw the formation of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and restored official ...

oversaw the creation of the

(LDP), which since his third government has dominated Japanese politics under the

1955 System The , also known as the one-and-a-half party system, is a term used by scholars to describe the dominant-party system that has existed in Japan since 1955, in which the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has successfully held by itself or in coalit ...

. The LDP would govern without interruption for nearly 40 years until the 1993 election, alone save for a three-year coalition government with the

New Liberal Club was a political party in Japan that was founded on 25 June 1976 as a breakaway from the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). The New Liberal Club formed a coalition government with the LDP in December 1983, with the New Liberal's president, Seiichi Ta ...

after the 1983 election. Hatoyama planned to change the electoral system to

first past the post First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or First-preference votes, first-preference, and the cand ...

, introducing a bill to that effect in March 1956. This was met with opposition from the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

, who criticized Hatoyama's plan as a " Hatomander". The bill passed the House of Representatives in May 1956, but was never voted on by the House of Councillors. Electoral reform came into vogue again in the 1970s, but

Kakuei Tanaka was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan, prime minister of Japan from 1972 to 1974. Known for his background in construction and earthy and tenacious political style, Tanaka is the only modern Japanese prime minister who ...

's plan met opposition internally in the LDP and never came to a vote in either chamber of the Diet.

Heisei and Reiwa periods (since 1989)

Japan entered a lengthy recession in the 1990s (see

Lost Decades The Lost Decades are a lengthy period of economic stagnation in Japan precipitated by the asset price bubble's collapse beginning in 1990. The singular term originally referred to the 1990s, but the 2000s (Lost 20 Years, ) and the 2010s (Lost ...

), which many people blamed on the LDP. In the 1993 election, the party lost power for the first time under the 1955 System, when an eight-party coalition led by

Morihiro Hosokawa is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan, prime minister of Japan from 1993 to 1994. He led an eight-party coalition government which was the first Japanese government not headed by a Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), Libera ...

of the

were able to form a government. This government fell apart after nine months, and was succeeded by the Hata Cabinet, another short-lived non-LDP government. The LDP returned to power in 1994 with the

Murayama Cabinet The governed Japan under the leadership of Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama from 1994 until a 1995 Cabinet Reshuffle. Murayama was elected prime minister by the National Diet on 29 June 1994 after the threat of a no-confidence vote had brought d ...

, this time in a coalition with their old rivals the Socialists, whose leader

Tomiichi Murayama is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1994 to 1996. He was the country's first socialist premier since Tetsu Katayama in 1948, and is best remembered for the Murayama Statement on the 50th anniversary of the end of ...

became prime minister. As with party colleagues

and

before him, prime minister

Toshiki Kaifu was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1989 to 1991. Born in Nagoya, Kaifu graduated from Waseda University and was first elected to the Diet in 1960 as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. He served as educ ...

of the LDP unsuccessfully tried to reform the electoral system in 1991. However, the Morihiro Hosokawa government got the

1994 Japanese electoral reform The 1994 electoral reform in Japan was a change from the previous single non-transferable vote (SNTV) system of multi-member districts (MMD) to a mixed electoral system of single-member districts (SMD) with plurality voting and a Party-list proporti ...

through the Diet, introducing a

parallel voting In political science, parallel voting or superposition refers to the use of two or more Electoral system, electoral systems to elect different members of a legislature. More precisely, an electoral system is a superposition if it is a mixture o ...

system which went into effect at the next election in 1996. Under this system, which remains in effect as of 2022, 300 (since reduced to 289) members of the House of Representatives are elected using

in single-member constituencies, while 200 (since reduced to 176) members are elected in regional blocs using

party-list proportional representation Party-list proportional representation (list-PR) is a system of proportional representation based on preregistered Political party, political parties, with each party being Apportionment (politics), allocated a certain number of seats Apportionm ...

. Prime minister

Junichiro Koizumi Junichiro Koizumi ( ; , ''Koizumi Jun'ichirō'' ; born 8 January 1942) is a Japanese retired politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) ...

introduced a bill to the House of Representatives in 2006 on changing the

Imperial Household Law is a Japanese law that governs the line of imperial succession, the membership of the imperial family, and several other matters pertaining to the administration of the Imperial Household. In 2017, the National Diet changed the law to enable ...

to allow a woman to ascend the

Chrysanthemum Throne The is the throne of the Emperor of Japan. The term also can refer to very specific seating, such as the throne in the Shishin-den at Kyoto Imperial Palace. Various other thrones or seats that are used by the Emperor during official functions ...

(see

Japanese imperial succession debate From 2001 to 2006, Japan discussed the possibility of changing the laws of succession to the Chrysanthemum Throne, which is currently limited to males in the male line of the Japanese imperial family. As of June 2025, there are three people ...

), but he withdrew the bill after the birth of

Prince Hisahito of Akishino is the youngest child and only son of Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko of Japan. He is the nephew of Emperor Naruhito and second in line to the throne after his father, Fumihito. Preceding his birth, the paucity of male hei ...

the same year. The LDP once again lost power at the 2009 election, when the Democratic Party-led

Hatoyama Cabinet The Yukio Hatoyama Cabinet governed Japan from September 2009 to June 2010, following the landslide victory of the Democratic Party of Japan in the general election on 30 August 2009. The election marked the first time in Japanese post-war histo ...

took over, followed in rapid succession by the

Kan Cabinet The Kan Cabinet was the cabinet governing Japan from June 2010 to September 2011 under the leadership of Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who came into power after winning the DPJ leadership election in June 2010. The Kan Cabinet oversaw the response to ...

and

Noda Cabinet Noda may refer to: Places * Noda, Azerbaijan, a village in Azerbaijan *Noda, Chiba, a city in Chiba Prefecture, Japan * Noda, Iwate, a village in Iwate Prefecture, Japan * Noda, Kagoshima, a former town in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan *NoDa (neighbo ...

. The LDP and

, who had formed a two-party government between 2003 and 2009, came to power again after the 2012 election.

Shinzo Abe Shinzo Abe (21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020. ...

, who had previously led the First Abe Cabinet, was prime minister for another stint lasting eight years, stepping down for health reasons in 2020. When the Emperor

Akihito Akihito (born 23 December 1933) is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 1989 until 2019 Japanese imperial transition, his abdication in 2019. The era of his rule was named the Heisei era, Hei ...

expressed interest in abdicating, the Diet passed the

Emperor Abdication Law The Law for Special Exception of the Imperial House Law concerning Abdication, etc. of Emperor , or in short Emperor Abdication Law , is a Japanese law enacted for the abdication of Akihito, the 125th emperor of Japan. The special law was enacte ...

in 2017, allowing for the

2019 Japanese imperial transition The 2019 Japanese imperial transition occurred on 30 April 2019 when the then 85-year-old Akihito, Emperor Akihito of Japan Abdication, abdicated from the Chrysanthemum Throne after reigning for 30 years, becoming the first Emperor of Japan to d ...

and the succession to the throne of

Naruhito Naruhito (born 23 February 1960) is Emperor of Japan. He acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne following 2019 Japanese imperial transition, the abdication of his father, Akihito, on 1 May 2019, beginning the Reiwa era. He is the 126th monarch, ...

. In December 2022, in light of the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

and increased military cooperation between China and Russia, prime minister

Fumio Kishida Fumio Kishida (born 29 July 1957) is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party ( LDP) from 2021 to 2024. He has been a member of the House of Representatives in the National Diet ...

announced plans to significantly increase funding for the

Japan Self-Defense Forces The are the military forces of Japan. Established in 1954, the JSDF comprises the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. They are controlled by the Ministry of Defense ...

List of House of Representatives general elections

19th century

20th century

21st century

Notes

References

External links

Official website

House of Representatives
on Internet TV {{Coord, 35, 40, 31, N, 139, 44, 42, E, display=title Government of Japan

National Diet