1993 Japanese general election

1993 Japanese general election

← 1990 18 July 1993 1996 →
All 511 seats in the House of Representatives 256 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	66.99% (6.32pp)
Majority party Minority party Third party   Leader Kiichi Miyazawa Sadao Yamahana Tsutomu Hata Party LDP Socialist Shinseito Last election 46.14%, 275 seats 24.35%, 136 seats Did not exist Seats won 223 70 55 Seat change 52 66 New Popular vote 22,999,646 9,687,588 6,341,364 Percentage 36.62% 15.43% 10.10% Swing 9.49pp 8.96pp New   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Koshiro Ishida Morihiro Hosokawa Tetsuzo Fuwa Party Kōmeitō New Party JCP Last election 7.98%, 45 seats Did not exist 7.96%, 16 seats, Seats won 51 35 15 Seat change 6 New 1 Popular vote 5,114,351 5,053,981 4,834,587 Percentage 8.14% 8.05% 7.70% Swing 0.16pp New 0.26pp   Seventh party Eighth party Ninth party   Leader Keigo Ōuchi Masayoshi Takemura Satsuki Eda Party Democratic Socialist NP-Sakigake Socialist Democratic Last election 14 seats, 4.84% Did not exist 4 seats, 0.86% Seats won 15 13 4 Seat change 1 New Popular vote 2,205,682 1,658,097 461,169 Percentage 3.51% 2.64% 0.73% Swing 1.33pp New 0.13pp
Districts shaded according to winners' vote strength
Prime Minister before election Kiichi Miyazawa LDP Elected Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa New Party

This article is part of a series on
Politics of Japan
Constitution and Laws Constitution of Japan (1947–present) Meiji Constitution (1890–1947) Laws
The Monarchy The Emperor (List) Naruhito Crown Prince Fumihito Imperial House Chrysanthemum Throne Imperial Succession Imperial Household Agency
Executive Government Prime Minister (List) Shigeru Ishiba (LDP) Cabinet (List) Second Ishiba Cabinet (LDP–Komeito coalition) Ministries Administrative Agencies
Legislature National Diet House of Representatives Speaker Fukushiro Nukaga Vice Speaker Kōichirō Genba House of Councillors President Masakazu Sekiguchi Vice President Hiroyuki Nagahama
Judiciary Supreme Court Chief Justice Yukihiko Imasaki Justices of the Supreme Court Intellectual Property High Court
Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda Japanese yen Banknotes Coins
Elections List of districts of the House of Representatives of Japan List of districts of the House of Councillors of Japan Japanese House of Councillors national proportional representation block Political parties Japanese general elections 1890 1892 1894 (Mar) 1894 (Sep) 1898 (Mar) 1898 (Aug) 1902 1903 1904 1908 1912 1915 1917 1920 1924 1928 1930 1932 1936 1937 1942 1946 1947 1949 1952 1953 1955 1958 1960 1963 1967 1969 1972 1976 1979 1980 1983 1986 1990 1993 1996 2000 2003 2005 2009 2012 2014 2017 2021 2024 Japanese House of Councillors elections 1947 1950 1953 1956 1959 1962 1965 1968 1971 1974 1977 1980 1983 1986 1989 1992 1995 1998 2001 2004 2007 2010 2013 2016 2019 2022 2025 Unified local elections 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Administrative divisions Prefectures Governors (List) Subprefectures Districts Municipalities Submunicipalities
Foreign relations Ministry of Foreign Affairs Foreign policy (history) Diplomatic missions of / in Japan Japanese passport Visa requirements Visa policy Algeria Angola Djibouti Egypt Ethiopia Kenya Namibia Nigeria Somalia South Africa Argentina Barbados Bolivia Brazil Canada Chile Colombia Ecuador Mexico Paraguay Peru Trinidad and Tobago United States Uruguay Venezuela Afghanistan Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Cambodia China East Timor Georgia India Indonesia Iran Israel Laos Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Myanmar Nepal North Korea Pakistan Palestine Philippines Qatar Saudi Arabia Singapore South Korea Sri Lanka Taiwan Thailand Turkey Vietnam Albania Austria Belgium Croatia Czech Republic Denmark France Germany Greece Hungary Holy See Iceland Ireland Italy Kosovo Lithuania Malta Montenegro Netherlands Poland Portugal Russia Serbia Spain Sweden Ukraine United Kingdom Australia Fiji New Zealand Palau Tonga Africa Arab world Latin America Oceania Southeast Asia European Union United Nations G20 G7
Japan portal Other countries
v t e

General elections were held in Japan on 18 July 1993 to elect the 511 members of the House of Representatives. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which had been in power since 1955, lost their majority in the House. An eight-party coalition government was formed and headed by Morihiro Hosokawa, the leader of the Japan New Party (JNP). The election result was profoundly important to Japan's domestic and foreign affairs.

It marked the first time under the 1955 System that the ruling coalition had been defeated, being replaced by a coalition of liberals, centrists and reformists. The change in government also marked a change in generational politics and political conduct; the election was widely seen as a backlash against corruption, pork-barrel spending and an inflated bureaucracy. Proposed electoral reforms also held much influence over the election.^[1] Eleven months after the election, with the electoral reform legislation that was its raison d'etre passed, the eight-party coalition collapsed.^[2] This was the last general election to use the single non-transferable vote electoral system, with the 1994 electoral reform efforts changing the system to parallel voting starting with the next election.