1960 Japanese general election

20 November 1960
All 467 seats in the House of Representatives of Japan 234 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	73.5% ( 3.5%)
First party Second party   Leader Hayato Ikeda Saburō Eda Party Liberal Democratic Socialist Leader's seat Hiroshima–2nd Not contesting (Councillor) Seats won 296 145 Seat change 9 21 Popular vote 22,740,272 10,887,134 Percentage 57.6% 27.6% Swing 0.2pp 5.4pp   Third party Fourth party   Leader Suehiro Nishio Kenji Miyamoto Party Democratic Socialist Communist Leader's seat Osaka–2nd Did not contest Seats won 17 3 Seat change New 2 Popular vote 3,464,148 1,156,723 Percentage 8.8% 2.9% Swing New 0.4pp
Prime Minister before election Hayato Ikeda Liberal Democratic Prime Minister after election Hayato Ikeda Liberal Democratic

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) Fumio Kishida (LDP) Cabinet (List) Second Kishida Cabinet (Second Reshuffle) (LDP-Komeito coalition) Ministries Administrative Agencies
Legislature National Diet House of Representatives Speaker Fukushiro Nukaga Vice Speaker Banri Kaieda House of Councillors President Hidehisa Otsuji Vice President Hiroyuki Nagahama
Judiciary Supreme Court Chief Justice Saburo Tokura 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 Next 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 Unified local elections 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Administrative divisions Prefectures Governors 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

General elections were held in Japan on 20 November 1960.^[1] The result was a victory for the Liberal Democratic Party, which won 296 of the 467 seats. Voter turnout was 73.5%, the lowest since the 1947 general elections.^[2]

Background

The elections came near the end of a turbulent year marked by violent labour disputes at Mitsui Miike Coal Mine, the "May 19th Incident" in which Nobusuke Kishi and LDP lawmakers in the Diet forced the revised US-Japan Security Treaty through parliament (causing an upsurge in the Anpo protests), and the assassination of Japan Socialist Party (JSP) leader Inejirō Asanuma by wakizashi-wielding right-wing youth named Otoya Yamaguchi. Prior to the elections there were a number of left-wing street protests and right-wing vigilante actions.

Campaign

As public antipathy was largely towards Kishi and his cabinet, rather than flagship LDP policies, the election was not a setback for the party. Kishi's successor, Hayato Ikeda, was popular for his moderate attitude and public image as a practical finance minister, and LDP candidates focused heavily on issues such as maintaining already-strong economic growth. Ikeda made a splash with his promise to double the national income in ten years, known as the "Income Doubling Plan," which also promised economic benefits such as tax cuts to small businesses, farmers, and consumers.

The LDP also benefitted from factionalism in the JSP, as the more moderate and anti-communist Democratic Socialist Party seceded from the JSP at the beginning of the year, leading to a spoiler effect.^[2]

Results

Although the LDP saw a small reduction in its vote share compared to the 1958 elections and the JSP and DSP collectively received around 1.3 million more votes than the united JSP did in the 1958 elections, the LDP gained nine seats, while the JSP and DSP lost a net four seats.

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Liberal Democratic Party	22,740,272	57.56	296	+9
	Japan Socialist Party	10,887,134	27.56	145	–21
	Democratic Socialist Party	3,464,148	8.77	17	New
	Japanese Communist Party	1,156,723	2.93	3	+2
	Other parties	141,941	0.36	1	–
	Independents	1,118,905	2.83	5	–7
Total		39,509,123	100.00	467	0
Valid votes		39,509,123	98.97
Invalid/blank votes		410,996	1.03
Total votes		39,920,119	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		54,312,993	73.50
Source: Baerwald, Mackie

References