1942 Japanese general election

Japanese general election, 1942
All 466 seats to the House of Representatives of Japan; 234 seats needed for a majority
Prime Minister before election; Hideki Tōjō; Taisei Yokusankai	Prime Minister ; Hideki Tōjō; Taisei Yokusankai

The 21st General Election of Japan of the House of Representatives took place in Japan on April 30, 1942. It was the only election in wartime Japan. At this time, the lower house no longer had any significant executive and legislative power, and power had increasingly gone to the military since the "Manchurian Incident", the invasion of Manchuria by the Imperial Army without regard to the (then still civilian) cabinet in 1931. Since 1932 when the Saitō Cabinet of Admiral Viscount Saitō Makoto was appointed, the first so-called "national unity cabinet", few members of the political parties in the House of Representatives had any significant role in government.

Overview

In 1940, all political parties were forced to merge into the Taisei Yokusankai, a pro-military political organization headed by former prime minister Nobuyuki Abe. The likewise fascist Touhou Party broke away from the Taisei Yokusankai and turned against prime minister Hideki Tōjō. Among those running against the Taisei Yokunsakai, only the Touhou Party was allowed to run in the election as non-partisans. Among those anti-war and neutral politicians, the comparatively mild politicians successfully ran as non-partisans too. Some of those "independents" who failed to gain a seat were expelled. Those "independents" and expelled politicians were mainly the ruling class after the war. As communist groups, left-wing groups, and anti-war groups were illegal since 1940, they were unable to name a candidate in the election. Communists, left-wing politicians and radical anti-military politicians were arrested and not even allowed to run as independents. Besides, anti-war politician Saito Takao(斎藤隆夫) who was expelled from the diet in 1941 was re-elected again.

The Tojo Cabinet marked those independent congressmen elected who were not Taisei Yokusankai members as "Non-Taisei Yokusankai" in the official result.

The turnout of the election was strangely high, with a turnout of 83.16%. Suffrage had not yet been extended to women in Japan at this time, and many citizens were forced to vote.^{[citation needed]}

Results

The Taisei Yokusankai won 381 seats out of the total 466. In some districts, the Taisei Yokusankai candidates won uncontested. However, while the Imperial Army had gained a victory in almost every battle as of the election, public support for the war was still quite high, which was the main reason for the landslide victory of the Taisei Yokusankai. Turnout in the election was 83.16%.