1908 Japanese general election

General elections were held in Japan on 15 May 1908.[1] The result was a victory for the Rikken Seiyūkai party, which won 187 of the 379 seats.

1908 Japanese general election

← 1904 15 May 1908 1912 →

All 379 seats in the House of Representatives
190 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
 
Leader Saionji Kinmochi
Party Rikken Seiyūkai Kensei Hontō
Last election 33.47%, 33 seats 26.19%, 90 seats
Seats won 187 70
Seat change Increase54 Decrease20
Popular vote 649,858 288,243
Percentage 48.40% 21.47%
Swing Increase14.93pp Decrease4.72pp

  Third party Fourth party
 
Leader Collective leadership
Party Yūkōkai Daidō Club
Last election  – 12.76%, 58 seats[a]
Seats won 29 29
Seat change New Decrease29
Popular vote 99,690 92,477
Percentage 7.42% 6.89%
Swing New Decrease5.87pp

Prime Minister before election

Saionji Kinmochi
Rikken Seiyūkai

Prime Minister after election

Saionji Kinmochi
Rikken Seiyūkai

Electoral system

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The 379 members of the House of Representatives were elected in 51 multi-member constituencies based on prefectures and cities. Voting was restricted to men aged over 25 who paid at least 10 yen a year in direct taxation.[2]

Campaign

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A total of 900 candidates contested the 379 seats.

Results

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PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Rikken Seiyūkai649,85848.40187+54
Kensei Hontō288,24321.4770–20
Yūkōkai99,6907.4229New
Daidō Club92,4776.8929–29
Others212,37715.8264+9
Total1,342,645100.003790
Valid votes1,342,64599.00
Invalid/blank votes13,5341.00
Total votes1,356,179100.00
Registered voters/turnout1,590,04585.29
Source: Mackie & Rose

Notes

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References

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  1. ^ Thomas T Mackie & Richard Rose (1991) The International Almanac of Electoral History, Macmillan, p281
  2. ^ Mackie & Rose, p276