General elections were held in Japan on 30 April 1937 to elect the 466 members of the House of Representatives, after the dissolution of Parliament on 31 March. Rikken Minseitō emerged as the largest party 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. Candidates supporting the ruling Hayashi administration were scarce, as his government only obtained endorsement from Shōwakai, Kokumin Dōmei and a coalition of small ultranationalist groups. Prime Minister Hayashi, in face of a hostile House of Representatives, was forced to resign soon after the election. Voter turnout was 73%.The 20th House of Representatives election
Background In February 1937 General Senjūrō Hayashi was appointed prime minister. Just days after taking office and having the Diet enact a budget bill, he ordered a dissolution of the House of Representatives, hoping to weaken the major political parties. The act was opposed by the major political parties as well as by the general public, and quickly became known as the "". In turn, both Seiyūkai and Minseitō, along with the Socialists and the fascist group led by Nakano Seigō, campaigned against the government. The ministerial parties, namely Shōwakai (one of its leader joined the cabinet as an Independent) and Kokumin Dōmei, were ill-financed and not able to nominate enough candidates for majority. After Hayashi resigned, Saionji Kinmochi called Konoe Fumimaro to form a new cabinet. From then on, Saionji's influence would be gradually sidelined by Konoe.
In 1941 the Diet under the Konoe government passed a from four years to five. This allowed time to solidify the control of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association over Japanese politics. The Association effectively replaced all political parties in Japan and subsequently dominated the 1942 general election, although numerous factions developed within the Association's caucus in the House. The term extension was effectively repealed by the Constitution of Japan in 1947, which returned the representatives' term of office to 4 years.
Results
By prefecture PrefectureTotalseatsSeats wonRikken MinseitōRikken SeiyūkaiShakai TaishūtōShōwakaiKokumin DōmeiTōhōkaiOthersInd.Aichi17741113Akita7421Aomori6321Chiba1165Ehime954Fukui5221Fukuoka18563112Fukushima11641Gifu93411Gunma94311Hiroshima13643Hokkaido201061111Hyōgo197741Ibaraki113422Ishikawa6321Iwate725Kagawa61311Kagoshima1225122Kanagawa11452Kōchi62211Kumamoto10154Kyoto11731Mie9441Miyagi83311Miyazaki511111Nagano1363121Nagasaki93411Nara5221Niigata158412Ōita734Okayama102611Okinawa5221Osaka2185611Saga633Saitama1135111Shiga5221Shimane633Shizuoka135611Tochigi9441Tokushima6222Tokyo31118813Tottori4211Toyama642Wakayama6231Yamagata82411Yamaguchi915111Yamanashi51121Total46618017437191111925
Notes
References