Japanese House of Councillors election, 2010

The Sangiin 2010 election, formally the " 22 regular election of Sangiinabgeordneten " (Japanese第22回 参议院 议员 通常 选 挙, dai - nijūni -kai Sangiin Giin tsūjō Senkyo ), the Japanese councils House ( Sangiin ), the House of Lords ( join) of the National Parliament ( Kokkai ) took place on 11 July, 2010. The official campaign start was on June 24, 2010. The mandate of the elected MPs in 2004 ends on July 25, 2010.

The choice was between 121 of the 242 MPs for a six -year term. 73 were simple non - transferable vote - elected in the 47 prefectures, 48 were determined by nationwide proportional representation with preferential vote - in the single-member constituencies identical by a simple majority choice.

On the same day as the Sangiin 2010 election, the gubernatorial election took place in the Shiga prefecture and several local elections.

• 2.1 candidates and nomination strategy

• 3.1 Constituencies
• 3.2 of proportional representation

• 6.1 Candidates & Programs

History and campaign

The governing coalition since June 2010, the Cabinet of Prime Minister Naoto Kan of the Democratic Party (DPJ ) and the New People's Party tried their slim majority of (as of June 2010) to increase 123 seats. Kan had the party leader and Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama replaced in June 2010, who resigned over the restructuring of the U.S. military presence in Okinawa Prefecture. The Sangiin Group of the Democratic Party, the New Party Japan also belongs next to the coalition parties had won a standalone majority by the accession of the former LDP member Kotaro Tamura ( Tottori ) in February 2010.

The after years of government work since 2009 opposition Liberal Democratic Party ( LDP) attempted to consolidate. Your poll numbers in 2009 were initially fell further after the severe defeat at the Shūgiin choice. 38 of their 71 seats were 2010 election. Your former coalition partner Kōmeitō defended 11 of his 21 seats, the Communist Party of Japan 4 of total 7 The Social Democratic Party, which had belonged to May 2010 under Prime Minister Hatoyama of the ruling coalition, were three of five seats on the 2010 election.

For the first time in Sangiin elections were the 2009/10 newly founded parties Minna no Tō, Shinto Kaikaku to Tachiagare Nippon and Kōfuku - jitsugen -tō.

The strict regulations for the Internet campaign should be relaxed for the first time for the 2010 Sangiin choice. The ban on websites and blogs to update during the official election campaign period would have been canceled after an agreement between the government and opposition parties; the campaign via email and Twitter should be prohibited, however. However, it was not possible to adopt the amendment in time for the election in parliament.

On 24 June 2010, the campaign was officially opened. Previously, the parties presented their election programs (with the major parties Manifesuto ). Central issues are the economic policies and fiscal consolidation, in particular the Prime Minister Kan asked the prospect of tax increase. The ruling Democratic Party must be justified to move the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from Okinawa also because of the donations scandals Yukio Hatoyama and Ozawa Ichirō and because of the broken promise.

Surveys

• Democratic Party
• Liberal Democratic Party
• Kōmeitō
• Japanese Communist Party
• Social Democratic Party
• Minna no Tō
• Other
• No party / rejection

According to surveys, the Democratic Party was in both of proportional representation as in the constituencies, overall, well ahead of the opposition parties; however, the position of the Liberal Democratic Party in Einmandatswahlkreisen, including traditionally conservative strongholds, significantly more than the national average, so that the government majority nevertheless was considered endangered.

The end of June published survey-based election forecasts big news media, took account of the constituency division said, predicted that the ruling coalition would not be achieved an absolute majority after the election nearly that required for an absolute majority seat number was just below or above the upper edge of the projected seat interval. The attempt by the expansion of the governing coalition to one of the established 2009/2010 new parties of ex- LDP politicians applied to this case as the probable outcome; otherwise threatened as between 2007 and 2009 political standstill by a " twisted parliament" and a new intra-party power struggle at the scheduled election of the DPJ - chairman in the fall of 2010. 's second largest pre-election opposition party Kōmeitō rejects a possible coalition with the Democrats. - After the loss actually occurred majority Kan was challenged in the election for party chairman in September 2010 by Ichirō Ozawa himself. The later run for the 2011 budget deliberations negotiations Kans with other parties ( Tachiagare Nippon, Social Democratic Party ) led to no result.

To select standing mandates

Candidates and nomination strategy

At the opening of the election campaign, there were a total of 438 declared candidates. Of the 251 constituency candidates for the 73 seats in the prefectures, the DPJ 61 LDP 49 Kōmeitō 3, the JCP 46, SDP 8, the New People's Party 2, the Minna no Tō 21, Tachiagare Nippon 4, the Shinto Kaikaku 7 that Kōfuku jitsugen -tō - 19, Nippon Sōshintō 4 and the other parties 27 Among these 55 incumbents, four former deputies and 192 Erstbewerber for a seat in Sangiin. Twelve parties and political groups compete for the 48 seats in the nationwide proportional representation; the DPJ presents 45 candidates, the LDP 35, the other of a total of 187 proportional representation candidates spread over Minna no Tō, CPY, Kōmeitō, Women's Party ( josei -tō ), Tachiagare Nippon, SDP, New People's Party, Nippon Sōshintō, Shinto Kaikaku and Kōfuku - jitsugen -tō.

In most single-member constituencies came to an LDP and DPJ a candidate or formally supported by one of the parties Independent, mostly came to a candidate of the Communist Party, individual, depending on the prefecture candidates of smaller parties or non-party -based Independent.

In all multi- mandate constituencies, with the exception of Miyagi, Chiba and Tokyo, the LDP came with only one candidate, while the Democratic Party had nominated with the exception of Niigata and Fukuoka two candidates. Thus they had in these prefectures the opportunity to win two seats, but at the same time took the risk that the DPJ vote is split unfavorable to both candidates. This planned by ex- DPJ Secretary General Ozawa offensive strategy nomination was confirmed by the resignations Hatoyama and Ozawa's mid-June 2010.

Four DPJ ministers from the Cabinet Kan tried in 2010 to defend their electoral mandate: Justice Minister Keiko Chiba was in three mandate constituency Kanagawa for re-election, government minister Renho the five mandate constituency Tokyo and Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa defended a seat in zweimandatigen Nagano. Economy Minister Masayuki Naoshima candidate as in the 2004 proportional representation; at that time he had reached with around 211,000 preference votes in sixth place on the DPJ list. The Sangiin President Satsuki Eda (DPJ ) tried to defend his seat in einmandatigen Okayama.

Early in the election campaign following the announcement of several parties to nominate prominent athletes or former athletes as candidates for public interest. It stood as a candidate the Judoka Ryoko Tani, the gymnast Yukio Iketani and track cyclists Tomohiro Nagatsuka for the Democratic Party, the Liberal Democratic Party of baseball manager Tsuneo Horiuchi and the baseball player Hiroo Ishii, Kiyoshi Nakahata, also baseball players, for Tachiagare Nippon and the pro-wrestler Osamu Nishimura for the New people's Party. In addition, some " Erbpolitiker " In 2010 a first choice: in Shimane be Kazuhiko Aoki competed for the LDP to the seat of his no longer antretenden father Mikio Aoki, Nagano Kenta Wakabayashi joined in for the succession of his resigning in April father Masatoshi Wakabayashi, in Hiroshima ran Yōichi Miyazawa for the seat, the had kept his father Hiroshi until 1998, and taro Hatoyama, former deputy in the parliament Tokyo Prefecture and son of currently non-party former minister Kunio Hatoyama, stepped in to the proportional representation for the Shinto Kaikaku.

Turnout and result

• Democratic Party
• Liberal Democratic Party
• Kōmeitō
• Minna no Tō
• Japanese Communist Party
• Social Democratic Party
• Tachiagare Nippon
• New People's Party
• Shinto Kaikaku
• Kōfuku - jitsugen -tō
• Okinawa Shakai Taishūtō
• Independent

The possibility of early voting was heavily used at the start of the campaign period: Until June 27, 2010 had voted in three days over 780,000 voters, 15 percent more than the same period in 2007 In total, up to July 10, 2010, over twelve million. voters, or around 11.6% of all eligible voters their vote early, an increase of 11.9% over 2007.

The total turnout was at 57.92 %, which was 0.7 % lower than in 2007.

(*): Nippon Sōshintō; only proportional representation: Josei -tō ( " Women's Party "); only constituency candidates: Shinto Furīwei Kurabu ( " New Party Freeway Club" ), Akitsu Shinto ( " New Party, Dragonfly ' " ), Sumairu -tō ( "Smile Party " ), Shinto Honshitsu ( " New Party, The essence ' " ), Heiwa -tō kakuheiki haizetsu heiwa undo ( " party of peace, the peace movement for the abolition of nuclear weapons " ), Sekai - Kezai - kyōdōtai -tō ( " world economic Community Party")

For explanation of decimal places, see Elections in Japan # " Proportional fraction of votes ".

Constituencies

As in past elections, special attention was placed on the prefectures with only one mandate (一 人 区, ichinin -ku ), since this may result in relatively low votes shifts to a change, while the major parties share the seats often in the multi- mandate constituencies. In the previous majority gains the opposition in Sangiin, which led to a so-called " twisted parliament", the results were in the single-member constituencies usually particularly clear (1989 government 3 - opposition 23 and 2007 6-23; exception was the government defeat in 1998, despite a 16 - 8- victory in the Einmandatswahlkreisen ). 2010 won by the opposition LDP 21 Einmandatswahlkreise the ruling DPJ eight. In the multi- mandate constituencies, the DPJ won 20 seats, the opposition parties 24

In a quest begun in the 2007 election change, the distribution of seats was adjusted to the population of the prefectures: The one additional MEPs ( compared to 2004 ) chose the constituencies Chiba and Tokyo, Tochigi and Gunma one less.

• Democratic Party
• Liberal Democratic Party
• Kōmeitō
• Minna no Tō

In multi- mandate constituencies from left to right in descending order of votes

G gain a mandate from another party

Proportional representation

In the nationwide proportional representation, the Democratic Party fell from 19 to 16 seats back, but remained stronger than the LDP; the Minna no Tō won seven seats from the state and was the Kōmeitō excel as the third strongest party.

The most preferential votes among all proportional representation candidates received Kozo Akino of the Kōmeitō, a former official of the Social and Health Ministry.

List results and best-placed candidates were:

Effects

The governing coalition lost its majority in Sangiin, creating a so-called " twisted parliament " was like between 2007 and 2009: The opposition could block bills the government. Since the coalition in Shūgiin, the lower house, did not have a two-thirds majority, they could not overrule the Sangiin usually. Prime Minister Kan said he wanted to remain in office. Justice Minister Keiko Chiba Kanagawa scored in only the fourth highest share of the vote and lost their parliamentary mandate should, however, retain their ministerial office first. It was replaced in a cabinet reshuffle in September 2010.

The gubernatorial election in Shiga won the independent incumbent Yukiko Kada, with the support of the prefecture associations of Democratic and Social Democratic Party at a high turnout clearly against the former LDP Shūgiin deputies Ken'ichirō Ueno and the CPY -based Hideaki Maruoka.