1979 Japanese general election

General elections were held in Japan on 7 October 1979 to elect the 511 members of the House of Representatives. 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. The prime minister's party, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), ended up losing one seat, while the Japan Communist Party experienced a surge in voter support and its best ever electoral result, which mostly came at the expense of the Japan Socialist Party and the LDP-breakaway New Liberal Club.

1979 Japanese general election

7 October 1979
All 511 seats in the House of Representatives 256 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	68.01% ( 5.44pp)
First party Second party Third party   Leader Masayoshi Ōhira Ichio Asukata Yoshikatsu Takeiri Party LDP Socialist Kōmeitō Last election 41.78%, 249 seats 20.69%, 123 seats 10.91%, 55 seats Seats won 248 107 57 Seat change 1 16 2 Popular vote 24,084,131 10,643,450 5,282,683 Percentage 44.59% 19.71% 9.78% Swing 2.81pp 0.98pp 1.13pp   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Kenji Miyamoto Sasaki Ryōsaku Yōhei Kōno Party JCP Democratic Socialist New Liberal Club Last election 10.38%, 17 seats 6.28%, 29 seats 4.18%, 17 seats Seats won 39 35 4 Seat change 22 6 13 Popular vote 5,625,528 3,663,692 1,631,812 Percentage 10.42% 6.78% 3.02% Swing 0.04pp 0.50pp 1.16pp   Seventh party   Leader Hideo Den Party Socialist Democratic Last election – Seats won 2 Seat change New Popular vote 368,660 Percentage 0.68% Swing New
Districts shaded according to winners' vote strength
Prime Minister before election Masayoshi Ōhira LDP Elected Prime Minister Masayoshi Ōhira LDP

This was the first election in the LDP's history in which the party increased its share of the popular vote compared to the previous election.

Results

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Liberal Democratic Party	24,084,131	44.59	248	–1
	Japan Socialist Party	10,643,450	19.71	107	–16
	Japanese Communist Party	5,625,528	10.42	39	+22
	Kōmeitō	5,282,683	9.78	57	+2
	Democratic Socialist Party	3,663,692	6.78	35	+6
	New Liberal Club	1,631,812	3.02	4	–13
	Socialist Democratic Federation	368,660	0.68	2	New
	Other parties	69,101	0.13	0	–
	Independents	2,641,064	4.89	19	–2
Total		54,010,121	100.00	511	0
Valid votes		54,010,121	99.06
Invalid/blank votes		511,892	0.94
Total votes		54,522,013	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		80,169,924	68.01
Source: Statistics Bureau of Japan, National Diet

By prefecture

Prefecture	Total seats	Seats won
		LDP	JSP	Kōmeitō	JCP	DSP	NLC	SDF	Ind.
Aichi	22	10	2	2	1	4			3
Akita	8	4	3		1
Aomori	7	5	1		1
Chiba	16	6	3	2	1				4
Ehime	9	7	2
Fukui	4	2	1			1
Fukuoka	19	7	4	4	1	2		1
Fukushima	12	9	2						1
Gifu	9	6	2	1
Gunma	10	7	3
Hiroshima	12	8	2	1		1
Hokkaido	22	10	8	1	1	1			1
Hyōgo	20	6	5	4	2	3
Ibaraki	12	7	3	1					1
Ishikawa	6	5	1
Iwate	8	6	2
Kagawa	6	4	2
Kagoshima	11	8	3
Kanagawa	19	5	4	4	1	3	2
Kōchi	5	2	1	1	1
Kumamoto	10	5	2	1					2
Kyoto	10	2	1	2	3	2
Mie	9	5	2	1		1
Miyagi	9	5	1	1	1				1
Miyazaki	6	3	2			1
Nagano	13	7	3		1	1			1
Nagasaki	9	4	2	1		1			1
Nara	5	2		1	1	1
Niigata	15	8	5						2
Ōita	7	3	2			1			1
Okayama	10	5	1	2	1	1
Okinawa	5	2	1	1	1
Osaka	26	6	3	7	7	3
Saga	5	4	1
Saitama	15	7	2	3	1	1	1
Shiga	5	2	1		1	1
Shimane	5	3	1		1
Shizuoka	14	7	2	2	1	2
Tochigi	10	5	3	1		1
Tokushima	5	4	1
Tokyo	43	13	8	11	8	2	1
Tottori	4	2	2
Toyama	6	4	2
Wakayama	6	3		1	2
Yamagata	8	4	2					1	1
Yamaguchi	9	5	2	1		1
Yamanashi	5	4	1
Total	511	248	107	57	39	35	4	2	19