Japanese House of Councillors election, 1989

The Sangiin - election in 1989, formally the "15 regular election of Sangiinabgeordneten " (Japanese第15回 参议院 议员 通常 选 挙, dai - Yugo- kai Sangiin Giin tsūjō Senkyo ), the Japanese councils House ( Sangiin ), the House of Lords ( join) of the National Parliament ( Kokkai ) took place on 23 July place in 1989. At the election was half of the chamber, 126 deputies, in a grave electoral system: 76 were selected by simple non- transferable vote or simple majority vote in the Einmandatswahlkreisen in the prefectures, 50 through nationwide proportional representation.

History and campaigning

Sōsuke Uno had taken over the presidency of the Liberal Democratic Party ( LDP) in June and Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita replaced. The main opposition party, the Socialist Party of Japan ( SPJ ) was chaired by Takako Doi.

Main issues in the election campaign were the liberalization of the agricultural market, the introduction of VAT in the fiscal year 1989, the Recruit scandal from the previous year, which had led to Takeshitas resignation, and a scandal over an extramarital affair, published in June Unos.

The major opposition parties SPJ, Kōmeitō, DSP, and the newly created Rengo no quay of the trade union federation Rengo shared a nomination strategy for constituency candidates.

Result

The turnout was 65.02 % for the direct election and 65.01 % in the proportional representation, thus exceeding six percentage points lower than in 1986.

(*)冲 縄 革新 共 闘 会议from Okinawa Shakai Taishūtō ( " socialist mass party Okinawa " ), SPJ and CPY

Constituencies

Decisive for the outcome of the election was the result in the Einmandatswahlkreisen, of which the LDP won only three, the opposition 23. In proportional representation, which had replaced the 1980 nationwide constituency, the SPJ could start generating more seats than the LDP

• Liberal Democratic Party
• Socialist Party of Japan
• Kōmeitō
• Japanese Communist Party
• Rengō no Kai
• Democratic- Socialist Party
• Zeikintō
• Okinawa Kakushin Kyoto Kaigi
• Independent

Effects

Due to the largest electoral defeat of the LDP since its inception, the party lost the first time the majority of seats in Sangiin, creating a so-called Nejire Kokkai ( " Twisted Parliament " ) was born. Among other things, on the supplementary budget for fiscal 1989 and an introduced by the opposition in Sangiin law abolishing the VAT it came to a conflict between the two chambers. 1990 had for the first time the budget the Conciliation Committee (両 院 协议 会, ryōin - kyōkaigi ) to be convened.

The Cabinet Uno resigned. On August 8, 1989, in force as a reformer Toshiki Kaifu against Yoshirō Hayashi and Shintaro Ishihara was elected LDP chairman and designated a day later in the Parliament as Prime Minister. He was the second Premier by Hitoshi Ashida 1948, which was not confirmed by the Sangiin who voted for the SPJ - chairman Takako Doi.