General elections were held in Japan for the first time on 1 July 1890. Voters elected 300 members of the House of Representatives of the Diet of Japan in what was the first example of a popularly elected national assembly in Asia (as the Ottoman Chamber of Deputies was elected indirectly).The First Japanese Election The New York Times, 31 July 1890
Background The elections for the lower house of the Diet were held in accordance with provisions of the new Meiji Constitution, which had been promulgated in 1889.Jansen. Cambridge History of Japan Vol. 5: The Nineteenth Century. Page 670.
The elections had limited suffrage, with only male citizens 25 years of age and over, who had paid 15 Japanese Yen or more in national taxes, and who had been resident in their prefecture for at least a year, qualified to vote. The number of eligible voters who met this requirement was 450,872 people out of a total Japanese population of 39,933,478 (1.13%). The high tax requirement meant that voter roles were heavily weighed towards rural landlords and urban entrepreneurs. In terms of social class, 91% were commoners, and 9% were ex-samurai.Meyer. Japan: A Concise History. Page 144 Residents of the prefectures in Honshū, Kyūshū and Shikoku participated; residents in Hokkaidō and Okinawa (as “territories”) were excluded from this election. About 95% of those eligible to vote actually cast ballots, although there was no penalty for not doing so.Keane. Emperor of Japan:Meiji and his World. Page 435.
Only male citizens 30 years of age and over, who were not members of the kazoku peerage or of the imperial family or its branches were allowed to become candidates for office in the lower house. The number of seats in the lower house was 300, divided into 214 single-seat districts and 43 two-seat districts, which were contested by 1,243 candidates. The election went smoothly and without violence reported.Mason. Japan's First General Election, 1890.
Results
Post-election composition by prefecture PrefectureTotalseatsSeats wonLiberalTaiseikaiRikken KaishintōKokumin JiyutōInd.Aichi1129000Akita532000Aomori440000Chiba940302Ehime750200Fukui440000Fukuoka925002Fukushima725000Gifu715001Gunma541000Hiroshima1012205Hyōgo1260501Ibaraki821302Ishikawa620211Iwate541000Kagawa530101Kagoshima770000Kanagawa760100Kōchi440000Kumamoto821041Kyoto715001Mie731201Miyagi514000Miyazaki330000Nagano852001Nagasaki751001Nara420101Niigata1390301Ōita614100Okayama834100Osaka1064000Saga410300Saitama841201Shiga514000Shimane605001Shizuoka824200Tochigi540100Tokushima510301Tokyo1224303Tottori302001Toyama510301Wakayama500005Yamagata640002Yamaguchi700007Yamanashi301002Total3001277844546Note: Party affiliation after the general election.
Aftermath In August, all progressive parties (mintō) that won seats(Kaishintō, Kyūshū Dōshikai, Daidō Club, Jiyutō and Aikoku Kōtō) tried to negotiate a merge, but Kaishintō withdrew after Daidō Club, Jiyūtō and Aikoku Kōtō voiced against its participation. The 4 remaining parties then merged to form the Rikken Jiyutō, which in turn formed a parliamentary bloc called Yayoi Club (). Kaishintō formed its own parliamentary bloc Giin Shūkaisho () as well. On the other hand, a group of 79 deputies who called for political neutrality formed Taiseikai () in August, and 5 nationalist-liberal deputies formed Kokumin Jiyutō () in December, a few days after the first session summoned.
Parliamentary bloc members
SessionYayoi ClubGiin ShūkaishoTaiseikaiKokumin JiyutōJiyu ClubTomoe ClubDokuritsu ClubNon-AffiliatedTotal1st29 November 1890 - 7 March 189113040795000422962nd26 November - 25 December 1891 92 44 52 0 25 17 19 51300
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