1932 Japanese general election

General elections were held in Japan on 20 February 1932.[1] They were the last elections before the May 15 Incident, which marked the temporary end of party politics in Japan. Rikken Seiyūkai won 301 of the 466 seats in the House of Representatives.

1932 Japanese general election

20 February 1932

All 466 seats to the House of Representatives
234 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
 
Leader Tsuyoshi Inukai Reijiro Wakatsuki
Party Seiyūkai Minseitō
Leader's seat Okayama-2nd Peers
Last election 174 seats 273 seats
Seats won 301 146
Seat change 127 127
Popular vote 5,683,137 3,442,326
Percentage 58.20% 35.25%

House of Representatives conformation

Prime Minister before election

Tsuyoshi Inukai
Seiyūkai

Prime Minister-designate

Tsuyoshi Inukai
Seiyūkai

Background

In 1931, the ruling Rikken Minseitō opposed the Mukden Incident, which was engineered by the military. The anti-war Foreign Minister Kijuro Shidehara and Prime Minister Wakatsuki Reijirō were criticized for their intervention in military and was accused of "serious corruption". After the resignation of the Reijirō Cabinet, some right-wing members of the ruling party formed a coalition with the opposition Rikken Seiyūkai and elected Inukai Tsuyoshi as prime minister.

Before the elections, some businessmen and candidates were assassinated by the right-wing.

Results

Despite assassinations of anti-war politicians, Rikken Minseitō was unpopular because of its mishandling of the economic crisis. The ruling right-wing Rikken Seiyūkai led by Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi won a landslide victory.

Party Votes % Seats +/–
Rikken Seiyūkai5,683,13758.20301+127
Rikken Minseitō3,442,32635.25146–127
Social Democratic Party125,7581.293+1
Shakai Taishūtō127,4591.312New
Kakushintō36,8390.382–1
Other parties1,4450.010
Independents347,6683.5612+7
Invalid/blank votes49,036
Total9,813,6681004660
Registered voters/turnout13,103,67974.89
Source: Voice Japan

References

  1. Bernd Martin (2006) Japan and Germany in the Modern World, Berghahn Books, p136
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