Japanese House of Councillors election, 2004

The Sangiin 2004 election, formally the "20 regular election of Sangiinabgeordneten " (Japanese第20回 参议院 议员 通常 选 挙, dai - Niju -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 place in 2004. One of the issues in the election campaign was a scandal about politicians of both major parties, which had failed for years to pay contributions to the state pension, and related resignations shortly before the election: the Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda ( the only one of the affected members of the Cabinet ) and of the DPJ Chairman Naoto Kan. In addition to the pension system reforms of Prime Minister Koizumi and Japan's participation Jun'ichirô stood on the Iraq deployment for debate.

Result

The turnout was 56.57 % for the direct election and 56.54 % in the proportional representation.

Constituencies

The Einmandatswahlkreise could decide the government only about 14 to 13 for yourself. In the multi- mandate constituencies government and opposition each received 23 seats.

• Liberal Democratic Party
• Kōmeitō
• Democratic Party
• Independent

Candidates in multi- mandate constituencies from left to right in descending order by vote share

Proportional representation

The proportional representation, however, decided the election in favor of the opposition, which together won 25 seats, the ruling coalition only 23

Most preference votes on the list of the Liberal Democratic Party, namely 722 505, received Heizo Takenaka, Minister for the financial sector and fiscal and economic policies followed by the first candidates Tsukasa Akimoto with 305 613 votes. The most votes on the list of Kōmeitō and also among all candidate list ( 1,822,283 ) received the deputy party leader Toshiko Hamayotsu.

The list of candidates of the Democratic Party led with 301 322 votes Masao Kobayashi, formerly Vice- President of the Union of Electricity Producers ( Denryoku Soren ), was second with 247 917 votes Toshiyuki Katō, a former leading member of the trade union federation Rengo. Mizuho Fukushima, for a year leader of the Social Democratic Party, received 640 832 preference votes and won the first of the two seats of their party. The highest number of votes among the candidates of the Communist Party of Japan Secretary General Tadayoshi Ichida received with 199 930.

Effects

For the first time the Democratic Party won more seats than the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. However, because of not standing for election half of the deputies and the coalition with Kōmeitō the government was able to maintain a majority in the Sangiin. Prime Minister Koizumi rejected sporadic calls for his resignation.