1969 Japanese general election

General elections were held in Japan on 27 December 1969. The result was a victory for the Liberal Democratic Party, which won 288 of the 486 seats.^[1] Voter turnout was 68.51%, the lowest since 1947. This was the first general election in Japanese history in which candidates were allowed limited use of television as a means for campaigning, something that had been formerly proscribed under Japan's strict election campaign laws.^[2]

1969 Japanese general election

← 1967 27 December 1969 1972 →
All 486 seats in the House of Representatives 244 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	68.51% (5.47pp)
First party Second party Third party   Leader Eisaku Satō Tomomi Narita Yoshikatsu Takeiri Party LDP Socialist Kōmeitō Last election 48.80%, 277 seats 27.88%, 140 seats 5.38%, 25 seats Seats won 288 90 47 Seat change 11 50 22 Popular vote 22,381,570 10,074,101 5,124,666 Percentage 47.63% 21.44% 10.91% Swing 1.17pp 6.44pp 5.53pp   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader Eiichi Nishimura Kenji Miyamoto Party Democratic Socialist JCP Last election 7.40%, 30 seats 4.76%, 5 seats Seats won 31 14 Seat change 1 9 Popular vote 3,636,591 3,199,032 Percentage 7.74% 6.81% Swing 0.34pp 2.05pp
Districts shaded according to winners' vote strength
Prime Minister before election Eisaku Satō LDP Elected Prime Minister Eisaku Satō LDP

The main national policy issue at the time was the possibility of reverting Okinawa, which had been under American military occupation since the end of World War II, back over to Japanese control. Nonetheless, as is characteristic of Japanese elections, voters were more interested in pocket book issues, or "livelihood problems" (kurashi mondai), over pressing national and foreign policy questions. The election was marked by relative apathy, especially among young people in urban areas, with voter turnout in Tokyo being the lowest in the country, dropping from 63.12% in the last election to 56.35% in the 1969 election.^[2]

Moreover, old districting laws from the pre-war period were still in effect, and as urban areas increased in population, individual rural voters (who were heavily skewed towards the LDP) were disproportionately more powerful than the average individual urban voter. In any event, the actual popular vote of the LDP had been continuously sliding down since its formation, and the LDP's increase in seats was more attributable to its competent endorsement of only a limited number of local seat candidates when compared to the Japan Socialist Party, which ran too many candidates and thus split votes at a disastrous rate. Ironically, what little increase in support the JSP saw was found primarily in rural areas rather than urban areas, the latter of which were traditionally seen as the base of the JSP's support; the young Kōmeitō and reformed Japanese Communist Party had been gradually making inroads into urban areas, further eating away at the JSP's strength.^[2]

Results

Ichirō Ozawa won a seat in the House of Representatives for the first time, becoming the youngest elected legislator at the time. He went on to become a powerful political figure in the LDP and other parties.^[3][4]

Future prime minister Tsutomu Hata was drafted to run in the election following his father's death, and won a seat for the first time.^[5] Future prime minister Junichiro Koizumi also attempted to win his late father's seat in the election, but lost.^[6]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Liberal Democratic Party	22,381,570	47.63	288	+11
	Japan Socialist Party	10,074,101	21.44	90	–50
	Komeitō	5,124,666	10.91	47	+22
	Democratic Socialist Party	3,636,591	7.74	31	+1
	Japanese Communist Party	3,199,032	6.81	14	+9
	Other parties	81,373	0.17	0	0
	Independents	2,492,560	5.30	16	+7
Total		46,989,893	100.00	486	0
Valid votes		46,989,893	99.03
Invalid/blank votes		459,816	0.97
Total votes		47,449,709	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		69,260,424	68.51
Source: Statistics Bureau of Japan

By prefecture

Prefecture	Total seats	Seats won
		LDP	JSP	Kōmeitō	DSP	JCP	Ind.
Aichi	20	13	4		3
Akita	8	4	3		1
Aomori	7	4		1		1	1
Chiba	13	10	1	2
Ehime	9	6	2				1
Fukui	4	3	1
Fukuoka	19	9	3	4	2	1
Fukushima	12	9	1		1		1
Gifu	9	7	2
Gunma	10	8	2
Hiroshima	12	8	1	1	1		1
Hokkaido	22	12	7	2	1
Hyōgo	19	9	4	3	2	1
Ibaraki	12	9	2	1
Ishikawa	6	5					1
Iwate	8	4	4
Kagawa	6	4	1				1
Kagoshima	11	8	1				2
Kanagawa	14	5	3	3	3
Kōchi	5	3		1		1
Kumamoto	10	8	1	1
Kyoto	10	4	1	2	1	2
Mie	9	7	2
Miyagi	9	6	3
Miyazaki	6	4	1				1
Nagano	13	7	4			1	1
Nagasaki	9	5	2	1	1
Nara	5	3		1	1
Niigata	15	9	6
Ōita	7	5	1				1
Okayama	10	6	2	2
Osaka	23	8	2	6	6	1
Saga	5	4	1
Saitama	13	8	2	1			2
Shiga	5	3	1		1
Shimane	5	4	1
Shizuoka	14	9	3	1	1
Tochigi	10	6	2	1			1
Tokushima	5	3	1	1
Tokyo	39	17	2	10	4	6
Tottori	4	3	1
Toyama	6	4	2
Wakayama	6	3	2	1
Yamagata	8	3	3				2
Yamaguchi	9	6		1	2
Yamanashi	5	3	2
Total	486	288	90	47	31	14	16

References

1. "統計局ホームページ/第27章 公務員・選挙". Archived from the original on 2015-02-15. Retrieved 2012-12-19.
2. Curtis, Gerald L. (1970). "The 1969 General Election in Japan". Asian Survey. 10 (10): 859–871. doi:10.2307/2643097. ISSN 0004-4687. JSTOR 2643097.
3. Hayashi, Yuka (2010-09-09). "Japan's Kingmaker Bids to Seize the Crown". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2020-09-08.
4. Desmond, Edward W. (2010-06-16). "Ichiro Ozawa: Reformer at Bay". ISSN 0015-7120. Retrieved 2020-09-08.
5. "Hata: Japan's Hope to End Paralysis". Los Angeles Times. 1994-04-23. Retrieved 2020-09-08.
6. "Koizumi Urges Constitutional Revision For Direct Election of Japanese Premier". Wall Street Journal. 2001-04-27. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2020-09-08.