2013 Japanese House of Councillors election
The '''23rd Elections in Japan for the upper house of the National Diet, the legislature of Japan, was held on July 21, 2013. In the last election in 2010, the Democratic Party of Japan remained the largest party, but the DPJ-led ruling coalition lost its majority. The House of Councillors is elected by halves to six year terms. In 2013, the class of Councillors elected in 2007 was up.
Background
Japan had been in a "twisted parliament" situation since 2007, in which neither major party controlled both houses of the Diet of Japan, leading to political paralysis on a number of issues. Shinzo Abe led the Liberal Democratic Party to victory in the December 2012 general election after several years in the opposition. In campaigning to win control of the House of Councillors, Abe sought to resolve the "twisted parliament" problem for the next three years.Just prior to the election, the U.S. dollar fell against the yen on expectations of more momentum for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's aggressive monetary easing to fight deflation and boost growth for the export-dominant economy of Japan. Abe's LDP and its coalition partner, the New Komeito party, were tipped to win a majority and end years of parliamentary stalemate so as to enable economic reforms. However, his critics suggested that a strong mandate could even make Abe complacent.
Opinion polling
In the run-up to the election, various organizations conducted opinion polls to gauge voting intentions for the 48 proportional seats. Polls are listed in chronological order, showing the oldest first.| Date | Institute | ||||||||
| Date | Institute | LDP | DPJ | JRP | NKP | YP | PLP | JCP | U/O |
| 9–10 March | JNN | 37.5% | 8.1% | 3.6% | 2.2% | 2.7% | - | 2.2% | 43.7% |
| 23–24 March | FNN | 41.8% | 5.3% | 9.6% | - | 4.7% | - | - | - |
| April | Kyodo News | 48.2% | 6.7% | 10.4% | 3.9% | 4.5% | 0.5% | 3.2% | 22.6% |
| 18–19 May | Kyodo News | 44.4% | 6.8% | 5.7% | 4.4% | 5.2% | 0.3% | 3.1% | 30.1% |
| 1–2 June | Kyodo News | 44.6% | 7.9% | 4.5% | 6.4% | 4.0% | 0.3% | 2.6% | 29.7% |
| 8–9 June | Asahi Shimbun | 45% | 7% | 5% | 5% | 6% | - | 4% | 28% |
| 8–10 June | Yomiuri Shimbun | 44% | 7% | 5% | 5% | 4% | - | 3% | 32% |
| 29–30 June | Mainichi Shimbun | 45% | 8% | 5% | 6% | 7% | - | 4% | 25% |
| 29–30 June | Asahi Shimbun | 44% | 7% | 7% | 4% | 7% | - | 5% | 26% |
| 2 July | Yomiuri Shimbun | 42% | 9% | 5% | 6% | 5% | - | 4% | 29% |
| 13–14 July | Asahi Shimbun | 43% | 6% | 6% | 8% | 6% | - | 6% | 25% |
| 13–14 July | Kyodo News | 30.6% | 7.4% | 4.9% | 7.0% | 3.3% | - | 3.8% | 43% |
| 13–14 July | Mainichi Shimbun | 37% | 7% | 8% | 8% | 8% | - | 4% | 28% |
| 17 July | The Nikkei | 39% | 10% | 8% | 8% | 7% | - | 6% | 22% |
Note: U/O - Undecided or other
; Cabinet approval and disapproval ratings
Pre-election composition
Note: Composition as of July 13, 2013.Results
The ruling coalition won 76 seats and now holds a total of 135 seats in the House of Councillors ending the divided Diet.Of the 31 single-member districts the LDP won 29; only in Iwate and Okinawa, opposition incumbents could hold their seats. The ten two-member districts elected ten LDP and ten opposition members; in several prefectures the second seat went to parties other than the DPJ: In Hyōgo to the JRP, in Miyagi to YP and in Kyōto to the JCP. Twelve of the 22 seats in three-, four and five-member districts went to LDP and Kōmeitō candidates. In the nationwide proportional race, the coalition parties won 25 seats, the opposition parties 23.
Results summary
Differences between party and parliamentary group membership in the post-election opening session: Two independents caucus with the NRP, President Masaaki Yamazaki, Vice-President Azuma Koshiishi and Keiko Itokazu are independents in terms of parliamentary group.Results by electoral district
Abbreviations and translations used in this table for parties:- L – Liberal Democratic Party
- D – Democratic Party
- K – Kōmeitō
- C - Japanese Communist Party
- S – Social Democratic Party
- I – Independent
- Ishin – Japan Restoration Association '
- Minna – Your Party '
- PLP – People's Life Party
- Daichi – New Party Daichi
- Mikaze – Green Wind '
- Midori – Green Party Greens Japan '
- OS – Okinawa Socialist Mass Party
- NRP – New Renaissance Party
- HRP – Happiness Realization Party
- LF/TPJ – People's Life First members of the House of Councillors who resigned from or lost their seats in late 2012 to contest the House of Representatives election as candidates for the Tomorrow Party of Japan
| District | Magnitude | Incumbents | Winners & runner-up with vote share | Gains & losses by party |
| Hokkaidō | 2 | Katsuya Ogawa Chūichi Date | Chūichi Date 37.7% Katsuya Ogawa 24.4% Takahiro Asano 14.7% | |
| Aomori | 1 | Kōji Hirayama | Motome Takisawa 51.3% Kōji Hirayama 15.0% | PLP -1 L +1 |
| Iwate | 1 | Tatsuo Hirano | Tatsuo Hirano 39.7% Shin'ichi Tanaka 26.4% | |
| Miyagi | 2 | Tomiko Okazaki Jirō Aichi | Jirō Aichi 44.7% Masamune Wada 23.3% Tomiko Okazaki 22.8% | D -1 Minna +1 |
| Akita | 1 | Daigo Matsuura | Matsuji Nakaizumi 52.3% Daigo Matsuura 39.0% | D -1 L +1 |
| Yamagata | 1 | Yasue Funayama | Mizuho Ōnuma 48.2% Yasue Funayama 44.6% | Mikaze -1 L +1 |
| Fukushima | 1 | Emi Kaneko Masako Mori | Masako Mori 56.6% Emi Kaneko 28.2% | D -1 |
| Ibaraki | 2 | Yukihisa Fujita Tamon Hasegawa | Ryōsuke Kōzuki 48.4% Yukihisa Fujita 17.6% Junko Ishihara 13.3% | |
| Tochigi | 1 | Hiroyuki Tani | Katsunori Takahashi 48.1% Tomomi Oki 25.8% Hiroyuki Tani 20.3% | D -1 L +1 |
| Gunma | 1 | Ichita Yamamoto | Ichita Yamamoto 71.9% Fujiko Kagaya 15.3% | |
| Saitama | 3 | Kuniko Kōda Toshiharu Furukawa Ryūji Yamane | Toshiharu Furukawa 34.1% Katsuo Yakura 20.4% Kuniko Kōda 16.5% Ryūji Yamane 13.3% | D -1 K +1 |
| Chiba | 3 | Hiroyuki Nagahama Jun'ichi Ishii Ken Kagaya | Jun'ichi Ishii 28.5% Toshirō Toyoda 17.5% Hiroyuki Nagahama 16.3% Masahiro Terada 11.9% | D -1 L +1 |
| Tokyo | 5 | Masako Ōkawara Natsuo Yamaguchi Kan Suzuki Ryūhei Kawada Tamayo Marukawa | Tamayo Marukawa 18.9% Natsuo Yamaguchi 14.2% Yoshiko Kira 12.5% Tarō Yamamoto 11.8% Keizō Takemi 10.9% Kan Suzuki 9.8% ... Masako Ōkawara 4.2% | D -1, Minna -1, I -1 L +1, C +1, I +1 |
| Kanagawa | 4 | Hiroe Makiyama Masashi Mito Akira Matsu | Dai Shimomura 28.8% Shigefumi Matsuzawa 18.8% Sayaka Sasaki 16.0% Hiroe Makiyama 11.7% Kimie Hatano 11.3% Masashi Mito 6.2% | Ishin -1 L +1, Minna +1 |
| Niigata | 2 | Ichirō Tsukada Yūko Mori | Ichirō Tsukada 43.3% Naoki Kazama 19.3% Yūko Mori 15.6% | PLP -1 D +1 |
| Toyama | 1 | Takashi Morita | Shigeru Dōkō 77.1% Wataru Takahashi 12.1% | I -1 L +1 |
| Ishikawa | 1 | Yasuo Ichikawa | Shūji Yamada 64.8% Yasuo Ichikawa 23.0% | D -1 L +1 |
| Fukui | 1 | Ryūji Matsumura | Hirofumi Takinami 70.6% Toshikazu Fujino 16.8% | |
| Yamanashi | 1 | Harunobu Yonenaga | Hiroshi Moriya 37.3% Takahiro Sakaguchi 19.8% ... Harunobu Yonenaga 15.4% | Minna -1 L +1 |
| Nagano | 2 | Yūichirō Hata Hiromi Yoshida | Hiromi Yoshida 37.2% Yūichirō Hata 30.0% Chiaki Karasawa 15.8% | |
| Gifu | 1 | vacant Kenji Hirata | Yasutada Ōno 58.8% Rie Yoshida 25.6% | D -1 L +1 |
| Shizuoka | 2 | Kazuya Shinba Takao Makino | Takao Makino 41.5% Kazuya Shinba 30.0% Yukiko Suzuki 12.2% | |
| Aichi | 3 | Kōhei Ōtsuka Seiji Suzuki Kuniko Tanioka | Yasuyuki Sakai 35.4% Kōhei Ōtsukai 24.9% Michiyo Yakushiji 11.6% Nobuko Motomura 9.1% ... Makoto Hirayama 2.1% | Mikaze -1 Minna +1 |
| Mie | 1 | Chiaki Takahshi | Yūmi Yoshikawa 44.2% Chiaki Takahshi 37.6% | D -1 L +1 |
| Shiga | 1 | Hisashi Tokunaga | Takeshi Ninoyu 53.4% Hisashi Tokunaga 29.2% | D -1 L +1 |
| Kyoto | 2 | Kōji Matsui Shōji Nishida | Shōji Nishida 37.0% Akiko Kurabayashi 20.7% Keirō Kitagami 19.0% | D -1 C +1 |
| Osaka | 4 | Satoshi Umemura Kazuyoshi Shirahama Shūzen Tanigawa | Tōru Azuma 28.8% Takuji Yanagimoto 22.3% Hisatake Sugi 19.0% Kōtarō Tatsumi 12.8% Satoshi Umemura 9.2% | D -1 C +1, Ishin +1 |
| Hyōgo | 2 | Yasuhiro Tsuji Yoshitada Kōnoike | Yoshitada Kōnoike 37.8% Takayuki Shimizu 26.1% Yasuhiro Tsuji 15.0% | D -1 Ishin +1 |
| Nara | 1 | vacant | Iwao Horii 58.6% Takanori Ōnishi 23.1% | L +1 |
| Wakayama | 1 | Hiroshige Sekō | Hiroshige Sekō 77.3% Yasuhisa Hara 19.0% | |
| Tottori | 1 | Yoshihiro Kawakami | Shōji Maitachi 58.2% Yoshihiro Kawakami 30.0% | D -1 L +1 |
| Shimane | 1 | Akiko Kamei | Saburō Shimada 57.8% Akiko Kamei 32.9% | Mikaze -1 L +1 |
| Okayama | 1 | vacant | Masahiro Ishii 65.5% Takashi Takai 24.1% | L +1 |
| Hiroshima | 2 | Kōji Satō Kensei Mizote | Kensei Mizote 46.3% Shinji Morimoto 17.2% Kana Haioka 15.4% Kōji Satō 12.2% | PLP -1 D +1 |
| Yamaguchi | 1 | Yoshimasa Hayashi | Yoshimasa Hayashi 79.4% Naoko Fujii 16.6% | |
| Tokushima | 1 | Tomoji Nakatani | Tōru Miki 57.5% Tomoji Nakatani 29.1% | D -1 L +1 |
| Kagawa | 1 | Emiko Uematsu | Shingo Miyake 56.0% Emiko Uematsu 34.2% | I -1 L +1 |
| Ehime | 1 | vacant | Takumi Ihara 66.6% Kayoko Fujioka 18.4% | L +1 |
| Kōchi | 1 | Norio Takeuchi | Kōjirō Takano 52.9% Yuriko Hamakawa 24.1% Norio Takeuchi 21.6% | D -1 L +1 |
| Fukuoka | 2 | Tsukasa Iwamoto Masaji Matsuyama | Masaji Matsuyama 49.2% Kuniyoshi Noda 17.9% Toshiyuki Yoshida 11.4% | |
| Saga | 1 | Minoru Kawasaki | Yūhei Yamashita 64.6% Kazunori Aoki 24.1% | I -1 L +1 |
| Nagasaki | 1 | Yukishige Ōkubo | Yūichirō Koga 59.2% Yukishige Ōkubo 30.7% | D -1 L +1 |
| Kumamoto | 1 | Nobuo Matsuno | Seishi Baba 60.6% Nobuo Matsuno 29.8% | D -1 L +1 |
| Ōita | 1 | Yōsuke Isozaki | Yōsuke Isozaki 50.0% Shintarō Gotō 27.3% | |
| Miyazaki | 1 | vacant | Makoto Nagamine 69.3% Seiichirō Dōkyū 18.6% | L +1 |
| Kagoshima | 1 | Hidehisa Otsuji | Hidehisa Otsuji 59.0% Inao Minayoshi 17.7% | |
| Okinawa | 1 | Keiko Itokazu | Keiko Itokazu 51.1% Masaaki Asato 45.4% | |
| National | 48 | D 16 L 12 K 7 C 3 PLP 3 S 2 Ishin 1 Mikaze 1 Daichi 1 NRP 1 I 1 | L 34.7% of proportional votes→18 seats: Yoshifumi Tsuge 429,002 Toshio Yamada 338,485 Masahisa Satō 326,541 Midori Ishii 294,148 Seiko Hashimoto 279,952 Takashi Hanyūda 249,818 Nobuaki Satō 215,506 Masaaki Akaike 208,319 Akiko Santō 205,779 Seiichi Etō 204,404 Masahiro Ishida 201,109 Haruko Arimura 191,343 Shūji Miyamoto 178,480 Kazuya Maruyama 153,303 Tsuneo Kitamura 142,613 Miki Watanabe 104,176 Yoshio Kimura 98,979 Fusae Ōta 77,173 Masaru Wakasa 76,829 | D -9, PLP -3, S -1, Daichi -1, Mikaze -1 NRP -1, I -1 L +6, C +2, Ishin +5, Minna +4 |
| National | 48 | D 16 L 12 K 7 C 3 PLP 3 S 2 Ishin 1 Mikaze 1 Daichi 1 NRP 1 I 1 | K 14.2% of proportional votes→7 seats: Kanae Yamamoto 996,959 Daisaku Hiraki 770,682 Yoshihiro Kawano 703,637 Hiroshi Yamamoto 592,814 Kaneshige Wakamatsu 577,951 Yūichirō Uozumi 540,817 Hideki Niizuma 26,044 Nobuo Kawashima 7,737 | D -9, PLP -3, S -1, Daichi -1, Mikaze -1 NRP -1, I -1 L +6, C +2, Ishin +5, Minna +4 |
| National | 48 | D 16 L 12 K 7 C 3 PLP 3 S 2 Ishin 1 Mikaze 1 Daichi 1 NRP 1 I 1 | D 13.4% of proportional votes→7 seats: Tetsuji Isozaki 271,553 Yoshifumi Hamano 235,917 Kumiko Aihara 235,636 Kusuo Ōshima 191,167 Mieko Kamimoto 176,248 Saori Yoshikawa 167,437 Toshio Ishigami 152,121 Takanori Kawai 138,830 Hajime Ishii 123,355 ... Toshiharu Todoroki 103,996 Marutei Tsurunen 82,858 ... Yoshikazu Tarui 13,178 | D -9, PLP -3, S -1, Daichi -1, Mikaze -1 NRP -1, I -1 L +6, C +2, Ishin +5, Minna +4 |
| National | 48 | D 16 L 12 K 7 C 3 PLP 3 S 2 Ishin 1 Mikaze 1 Daichi 1 NRP 1 I 1 | Ishin 11.9% of proportional votes→6 seats: Antonio Inoki 356,605 Kyōko Nakayama 306,341 Mitsuo Gima 40,484 Takeshi Fujimaki 33,237 Masashi Nakano 32,926 Kunihiko Muroi 32,107 Hirokazu Tsuchida 28,616 | D -9, PLP -3, S -1, Daichi -1, Mikaze -1 NRP -1, I -1 L +6, C +2, Ishin +5, Minna +4 |
| National | 48 | D 16 L 12 K 7 C 3 PLP 3 S 2 Ishin 1 Mikaze 1 Daichi 1 NRP 1 I 1 | C 9.7% of proportional votes→5 seats: Akira Koike 134,325 Yoshiki Yamashita 129,149 Tomoko Kami 68,729 Satoshi Inoue 50,874 Kōhei Nihi 39,768 Yūko Yamamoto 36,580 | D -9, PLP -3, S -1, Daichi -1, Mikaze -1 NRP -1, I -1 L +6, C +2, Ishin +5, Minna +4 |
| National | 48 | D 16 L 12 K 7 C 3 PLP 3 S 2 Ishin 1 Mikaze 1 Daichi 1 NRP 1 I 1 | Minna 8.9% of proportional votes→4 seats: Ryūhei Kawada 117,389 Kazuyuki Yamaguchi 75,000 Michitarō Watanabe 50,253 Yoshiyuki Inoue 47,756 Jun'ichi Kawai 39,425 | D -9, PLP -3, S -1, Daichi -1, Mikaze -1 NRP -1, I -1 L +6, C +2, Ishin +5, Minna +4 |
| National | 48 | D 16 L 12 K 7 C 3 PLP 3 S 2 Ishin 1 Mikaze 1 Daichi 1 NRP 1 I 1 | S 2.4% of proportional votes→1 seat: Seiji Mataichi 156,1555 Hiroji Yamashiro 112,641 | D -9, PLP -3, S -1, Daichi -1, Mikaze -1 NRP -1, I -1 L +6, C +2, Ishin +5, Minna +4 |
| National | 48 | D 16 L 12 K 7 C 3 PLP 3 S 2 Ishin 1 Mikaze 1 Daichi 1 NRP 1 I 1 | Incumbents on other party lists without seat: PLP : Tadashi Hirono, Yoshinobu Fujiwara Daichi : none Midori : none Mikaze : Kuniko Tanioka HRP : none | D -9, PLP -3, S -1, Daichi -1, Mikaze -1 NRP -1, I -1 L +6, C +2, Ishin +5, Minna +4 |