1928 Japanese general election

General elections were held in Japan on 20 February 1928,[1] the first after the introduction of universal male suffrage. The ruling Rikken Seiyūkai led by Prime Minister Tanaka Giichi won one more seat than the opposition Rikken Minseitō led by Hamaguchi Osachi, although Rikken Minseitō had received slightly more votes. The hung parliament led to the Tanaka government continuing in office.

1928 Japanese general election

20 February 1928
All 466 seats in the House of Representatives 234 seats needed for a majority
Leader Tanaka Giichi Hamaguchi Osachi Party Seiyūkai Minseitō Last election 113 seats – Seats won 217 216 Seat change 114 New
House of Representatives conformation
Prime Minister before election Tanaka Giichi Seiyūkai Prime Minister-designate Tanaka Giichi Seiyūkai

Electoral system

Following electoral reforms in 1925, the 466 members of the House of Representatives were elected from multi-member constituencies with between three and five seats. Voting had previously been restricted to men aged over 25 who paid at least 3 yen a year in direct taxation, but the reforms had also abolished the taxation requirement.[2] As a result, the electorate increased from 3.3 million in the 1924 elections to 12.4 million.

Results

Party	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
Rikken Minseitō	4,251,771	43.1	216	New
Rikken Seiyūkai	4,244,385	43.1	217	+114
Labour-Farmer Party	184,040	1.9	2	New
Jitsugo Doshikai	166,250	1.7	4	New
Social Democratic Party	120,044	1.2	4	New
Japan Labour-Farmer Party	94,626	0.9	1	New
Kakushintō	81,324	0.8	3	New
Japan Farmers Party	44,000	0.5	0	New
Others	669,756	6.8	19	–50
Invalid/blank votes	111,888	–	–	–
Total	9,968,084	100	466	+2
Registered voters/turnout	12,408,678	80.3	–	–
Source: Mackie & Rose, Voice Japan

Aftermath

The Manchurian warlord Zhang Zuolin was assassinated by the Japanese army in June 1928. Tanaka denounced the army for this, but lost support and was forced to resign in July 1929. Opposition leader Hamaguchi became Prime Minister and formed a new government.

References

1. Thomas T Mackie & Richard Rose (1991) The International Almanac of Electoral History, Macmillan, p281
2. Mackie & Rose, p276