1917 Japanese general election

General elections were held in Japan on 20 April 1917.[1] The Rikken Seiyūkai party led by Hara Takashi emerged as the largest party in the House of Representatives, winning 165 of the 381 seats.

1917 Japanese general election

← 1915 20 April 1917 1920 →

All 381 seats in the House of Representatives
191 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Hara Takashi Kato Takaaki Inukai Tsuyoshi
Party Rikken Seiyūkai Kenseikai Rikken Kokumintō
Last election 31.54%, 108 seats 51.63%, 213 seats[a] 7.51%, 27 seats
Seats won 165 121 35
Seat change Increase57 Decrease92 Increase7
Popular vote 504,720 467,518 125,974
Percentage 38.80% 35.94% 9.68%
Swing Increase7.27pp Decrease15.69pp Increase2.17pp

Prime Minister before election

Terauchi Masatake
Independent

Prime Minister after election

Terauchi Masatake
Independent

Electoral system

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The 381 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]

Results

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PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Rikken Seiyūkai504,72038.80165+57
Kenseikai467,51835.94121–92
Rikken Kokumintō125,9749.6835+8
Others202,64015.5860+12
Total1,300,852100.003810
Valid votes1,300,85299.52
Invalid/blank votes6,3210.48
Total votes1,307,173100.00
Registered voters/turnout1,422,12691.92
Source: Mackie & Rose, Statistics Bureau of Japan

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