1937 Japanese general election

1937 Japanese general election

← 1936 30 April 1937 1942 →

All 466 seats in the House of Representatives
234 seats needed for a majority
Turnout71.64% (Decrease 7.00pp)
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Machida Chūji Various[a] Abe Isoo
Party Rikken Minseitō Rikken Seiyūkai Shakai Taishūtō
Last election 39.92%, 205 seats 37.62%, 174 seats 4.66%, 18 seats
Seats won 179 175 37
Seat change Decrease26 Increase1 Increase19
Popular vote 3,689,355 3,594,863 928,934
Percentage 36.16% 35.23% 9.10%
Swing Decrease3.76pp Increase2.39pp Increase4.44pp

  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
SWK
Leader Vacant Adachi Kenzō Nakano Seigō
Party Shōwakai Kokumin Dōmei Tōhōkai
Last election 4.78%, 20 seats 3.79%, 15 seats
Seats won 18 11 11
Seat change Decrease2 Decrease4 New party
Popular vote 928,934 281,834 221,455
Percentage 4.06% 2.76% 2.17%
Swing Decrease0.72pp Increase1.03pp New party

Districts shaded according to winners' vote strength

Prime Minister before election

Senjūrō Hayashi
Imperial Japanese Army

Prime Minister after election

Senjūrō Hayashi
Imperial Japanese Army

General elections were held in Japan on 30 April 1937 to elect the 466 members of the House of Representatives,[1] after the dissolution of Parliament on 31 March. Rikken Minseitō emerged as the largest in Parliament, with 179 of the 466 seats. The election was a major success for Shakai Taishūtō, which became the third-largest party in the Diet, the first socialist party to do so in Japanese history. In contrast, the mildly pro-military Rikken Minseitō lost several seats and fascist groups such as Tōhōkai remained minor forces in the House. A month after the election, the Emperor replaced Prime Minister Hayashi with Fumimaro Konoe. Voter turnout was 73%.[2]


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  1. ^ Thomas T. Mackie & Richard Rose (1982). The International Almanac of Electoral History (2 ed.). Macmillan. p. 231.
  2. ^ The 20th House of Representatives election Archived 2014-02-16 at the Wayback Machine (in Japanese)