2003 Japanese general election
The Japan general election of 2003 took place on November 9, 2003. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi won the election in Japan but with a reduced majority. The opposition Democratic Party made a big gain, reaching nearly 180 seats, the largest number ever. Other traditional parties like Japan Communist Party and Japan Socialist Party lost significant numbers of seats, making a two-party system realistic in the politics of Japan.
Background
On October 11, 2003, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi dissolved the House of Representatives of the Diet after he was re-elected as the Liberal Democratic Party chief on September 20. The dissolution was based on the article 7 of the Constitution of Japan, which can be interpreted as saying that the Prime Minister has the ability to dissolve the lower house by advising the Emperor of Japan. The election was the first time since Koizumi was named as Prime Minister in April 2001. The major participants were the Liberal Democratic Party and the Democratic Party of Japan. LDP has a strong support in rural areas and among aged voters due to heavy subsidiary in agriculture industry while DPJ has had greater supports among the youth and in urban areas.
Some issues facing candidates are: the ongoing economic recession; the reform of the public pension system; the extent of Japan's support of the U.S. in Iraq; Japan's relationship with North Korea; and the privatization of postal services and Tokyo-area highways.
The last general election of the Lower House took place in June 2000 when Yoshiro Mori was in office.
Results
Although LDP failed to secure a simple majority, the ruling bloc is expected to stay in power, Koizumi is expected to be re-elected as Prime Minister in the special session of the Diet in October.
A big gain of DPJ is due to swing voters, which accounts for 18% of entire votes. According to Asahi Shimbun, the more than half of swing voters voted for DPJ.
| Party | Single-member constituencies |
Proportional representation |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| LDP | 168 | 69 | 237 (247) |
| DPJ | 105 | 72 | 177 (137) |
| Komeito | 9 | 25 | 34 (31) |
| JCP | 0 | 9 | 9 (20) |
| JSP | 1 | 5 | 6 (18) |
| CP | 4 | 0 | 4 (9) |
| Independents Party | 1 | 0 | 1 (5) |
| Jiyuu-rengo | 1 | 0 | 1 (1) |
| Shoha | 0 | 0 | 0 (2) |
| Independents | 11 | - | 11 (6) |
The number within () is the number of previous seats.