1979 Japanese general election

Results of the 1979 general election in Japan for the House of Representatives. A total of 511 seats were contested. Prime Minister Ōhira Masayoshi's announcement that a consumption (sales) tax would be imposed was a hot-button issue in the run-up to the election. Facing widespread public disapproval, the prime minister abandoned the tax proposal.[1] The prime minister's party, the Liberal Democratic Party, ended up losing one seat, while the Japan Communist Party experienced a surge in voter support, which mostly came at the expense of the Japan Socialist Party and the LDP-breakaway New Liberal Club.

 Summary of the 7 October 1979 Japanese House of Representatives election results[2][3]

Parties		Candidates	Votes[4]	%	Seats	+/- (last gen. election)
	Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)	322	24,084,130	44.59%	248	1
	Japanese Socialist Party (JSP)	157	10,643,450	19.71%	107	16
	Japanese Communist Party (JCP)	128	5,625,527	10.42%	39	22
	Justice Party	64	5,282,682	9.78%	57	2
	Democratic Socialist Party (DSP)	53	3,663,691	6.78%	35	6
	New Liberal Club (NLC)	31	1,631,811	3.02%	4	13
	Social Democratic Federation (SDF)	7	368,660	0.68%	2	(2)
	Center-left opposition	155	10,946,847	20.25%	98	3
	Others	33	69,101	0.13%	0	0
	Independents	96	2,641,064	4.89%	19	2
Totals (Turnout 68.0%, incl. invalid votes)		891	54,010,120	100.00%	511	0

Vote share LDP   44.59% JSP   19.71% JCP   10.42% KP   9.78% DSP   6.78% NLC   3.02% SDF   0.68% Independents   4.89% Others   0.13%

Parliament seats LDP   48.53% JSP   20.94% KP   11.15% JCP   7.63% DSP   6.85% NLC   0.78% SDF   0.39% Independents   3.72%

1979 Japanese general election

7 October 1979
All 511 seats to the House of Representatives of Japan 256 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	68.01% (5.44%)
Leader Masayoshi Ōhira Ichio Asukata Yoshikatsu Takeiri Party Liberal Democratic Socialist Komeito Leader since 1 December 1978 13 December 1977 13 February 1967 Last election 260 seats, 43.2% 124 seats, 21.9% 55 seats, 10.9% Seats won 248 107 57 Seat change 12 17 2 Popular vote 24,084,130 10,643,450 5,282,682 Percentage 44.59% 19.71% 9.78% Swing 1.4% 2.2% 1.1%   Leader Sanzō Nosaka Sasaki Ryōsaku Yōhei Kōno Party Communist Democratic Socialist New Liberal Leader since 7 July 1970 June 1976 Last election 17 seats, 10.4% 29 seats, 6.3% 17 seats, 4.2% Seats won 39 35 4 Seat change 22 6 13 Popular vote 5,625,527 3,663,691 1,631,811 Percentage 10.4% 6.78% 3.02% Swing 0.5% 1.2%   Leader Hideo Den Party Socialist Democratic Leader since March 1978 Last election New Seats won 2 Seat change 2 Popular vote 368,660 Percentage 0.68% Swing N/A
Prime Minister before election Masayoshi Ōhira Liberal Democratic Prime Minister-designate Masayoshi Ōhira Liberal Democratic

References

1. "The Political History of Japan's Consumption Tax". nippon.com. 2019-10-08. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
2. Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), Statistics Department, Long-term statistics, chapter 27: Public servants and elections, sections 27-7 to 27-10 Elections for the House of Representatives
3. Interparliamentary Union (IPU): 1979 and 1980 Shūgiin elections
4. Decimals from fractional votes (anbunhyō) rounded to full numbers