Before World War II (1890–1942)

After World War II (since 1946)

Parallel electoral system (since 1996)

SNTV multi-member districts (1947–1993)

Meiji period (1890–1912)

Kuroda Kiyotaka, Satsuma samurai and prime minister in the late 1880s, coined the term "transcendentalism" (超然主義, chōzen shugi) on the occasion of the promulgation of the Meiji Constitution in 1889. The oligarchs should try to "transcend" electoral politics and govern without partisan majorities the House of Representatives.

Itō Hirobumi, a Chōshū samurai, member of the House of Peers and prime minister of Japan on three non-consecutive occasions between 1885 and 1901. He was a main architect of the Imperial Constitution which created the Imperial Diet. When the oligarchs attempts to govern "transcendentally" mostly failed in the 1890s, he saw the necessity for permanent allies among elected political parties.

Hara Takashi, although actually himself born a Morioka noble, made his career as commoner-politician and became the first and one of only three prime ministers from the House of Representatives in the Empire.

The Japanese parliament, then known as the Imperial Diet, was established in 1890 as a result of the 1889 Meiji Constitution. It was modeled on the parliaments of several Western countries, particularly the German Empire and the United Kingdom, because of the Emperor Meiji's westernizing reforms. The Imperial Diet consisted of two chambers, the elected House of Representatives which was the lower house, and the House of Peers which was the upper house. This format was similar to the House of Lords in the Westminster system, or the Herrenhaus in Prussia, where the upper house represented the aristocracy.

Both houses, and also the Emperor, had to agree on legislation, and even at the height of party-based constitutional government, the House of Peers could simply vote down bills deemed too liberal by the Meiji oligarchy, such as the introduction of women's suffrage, increases in local autonomy, or trade union rights. The prime minister and his government served at the Emperor's pleasure, and could not be removed by the Imperial Diet. However, the right to vote on, and if necessary to block, legislation including the budget, gave the House of Representatives leverage to force the government into negotiations. After an early period of frequent confrontation and temporary alliances between the cabinet and political parties in the lower house, parts of the Meiji oligarchy more sympathetic to political parties around Itō Hirobumi and parts of the liberal parties eventually formed a more permanent alliance, in the form of the Rikken Seiyūkai in 1900. The confidence of the House of Representatives was never a formal requirement to govern, but between 1905 and 1918, only one cabinet took office that did not enjoy majority support in the House of Representatives.^[15]

Taisho and early Showa periods (1912–1937)

During the Taishō political crisis in 1913, a no-confidence vote^[16] against the third Katsura government, accompanied by major demonstrations outside the Diet, was followed shortly by resignation. Subsequently, in the period often referred to as Taishō democracy, it became increasingly customary to appoint many ministers, including several prime ministers, from the House of Representatives – Hara Takashi was the first commoner to become prime minister in 1918.

In the same year, the Rice Riots had confronted the government with an unprecedented scale of domestic unrest, and a German Revolution brought the Prusso-German monarchy to an end, the very system Meiji oligarchs had used as the main model for the Meiji constitution to consolidate and preserve Imperial power. Even Yamagata Aritomo and other oligarchs that had been fundamentally opposed to political parties, became more inclined to cooperate with the still mainly bourgeoisie parties, to prevent a rise of socialism or other movements that might threaten Imperial rule. Socialist parties would not be represented in significant numbers in the lower house until the 1930s.

The initially very high census suffrage requirement was reduced several times, until the introduction of universal male suffrage in 1925. The electoral system to the House of Representatives was also fundamentally changed several times: between systems of "small" mostly single- and few multi-member electoral districts (1890s, 1920, 1924), "medium" mostly multi-member districts (1928–1942) and "large" electoral districts (usually only one, rarely two city and one counties district per prefecture; 1900s and 1910s), using first-past-the-post in single-member districts, plurality-at-large voting (1890s) or single non-transferable vote in the multi-member districts.

Influence of the House of Representatives on the government increased, and the party cabinets of the 1920s brought Japan apparently closer to a parliamentary system of government, and there were several reforms to the upper house in 1925. However, the balance of powers between the two houses and the influential role of extra-constitutional actors such as the Genrō (who still selected the prime minister) or the military (that had brought down several cabinets) remained in essence untouched. Within a year of the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in September 1931, a series of assassinations and coup attempts followed. Party governments were replaced by governments of "national unity" (kyokoku itchi) which were dominated by nobles, bureaucrats and increasingly the military.

World War II and aftermath (1937–1947)

After the Marco Polo Bridge Incident and the start of war in 1937, the influence of the Imperial Diet was further diminished, though never fully eliminated, by special laws such as the National Mobilization Law and expanded powers for cabinet agencies such as the Planning Board.^[17] The House of Representatives in the Empire had a four-year term and could be dissolved by the Emperor. In contrast, members of the House of Peers had either life tenure (subject to revocation by the Emperor) or a seven-year term in the case of members elected in mutual peerage elections among the three lower peerage ranks, top taxpayer and academic peerage elections. During the war, the term of the members of the House of Representatives elected in the last pre-war election of 1937 was extended by one year.

In the 1946 election to the House of Representatives, held under the U.S.-led Allied occupation of Japan, women's suffrage was introduced, and a system of "large" electoral districts (one or two per prefecture) with limited voting was used. A change in the electoral law in April 1945 had for the first time allocated 30 seats to the established colonies of the Empire: Karafuto (Sakhalin), Taiwan, and Chōsen (Korea); but this change was never implemented. Similarly, Korea and Taiwan were granted several appointed members of the House of Peers in 1945.

In 1946, both houses of the Imperial Diet (together with the Emperor) passed the postwar constitution which took effect in 1947. The Imperial Diet was renamed the National Diet, the House of Peers was replaced by an elected upper house called the House of Councillors, and the House of Representatives would now be able to override the upper house in important matters. The constitution also gave the Diet exclusive legislative authority, without involvement of the Emperor, and explicitly made the cabinet responsible to the Diet and requires that the prime minister has the support of a majority in the House of Representatives.

Late Showa period (1947–1989)

Shigeru Yoshida, prime minister 1946–1947 as a member of the House of Peers and 1948–1954 as a member of the House of Representatives, oversaw the end of the American-led occupation and the beginning of the Japanese economic miracle.

The Diet first met under the new constitution on 20 May 1947.^[18] Four days later, Tetsu Katayama of the Democratic Socialist Party became Japan's first socialist prime minister and the first since the introduction of parliamentarianism.

Since the end of US rule in 1952, it has been the norm that the prime minister dissolves the House of Representatives before its 4-year term expires. Only once, in 1976, did the House last a full 4 years. It has become tradition to give nicknames to each dissolution, usually referencing a major political issue or controversy. One infamous example was on 14 March 1953, when Shigeru Yoshida dissolved the House and called for new election, after he name called people during a meeting of the budget committee. This came to be known as the "you idiot" dissolution.^[19]

In 1955, prime minister Ichirō Hatoyama oversaw the creation of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which since his third government has dominated Japanese politics under the 1955 System. The LDP would govern without interruption for nearly 40 years until the 1993 election, alone save for a three-year coalition government with the New Liberal Club after the 1983 election.

Hatoyama planned to change the electoral system to first past the post, introducing a bill to that effect in March 1956. This was met with opposition from the Socialist Party, who criticized Hatoyama's plan as a "Hatomander". The bill passed the House of Representatives in May 1956, but was never voted on by the House of Councillors. Electoral reform came into vogue again in the 1970s, but Kakuei Tanaka's plan met opposition internally in the LDP and never came to a vote in either chamber of the Diet.

Heisei and Reiwa periods (since 1989)

Shinzo Abe, prime minister 2006-2007 and again 2012-2020, was the longest-serving PM in Japanese history.

Japan entered a lengthy recession in the 1990s (see Lost Decades), which many people blamed on the LDP. In the 1993 election, the party lost power for the first time under the 1955 System, when an eight-party coalition led by Morihiro Hosokawa of the Japan New Party were able to form a government. This government fell apart after nine months, and was succeeded by the Hata Cabinet, another short-lived non-LDP government. The LDP returned to power in 1994 with the Murayama Cabinet, this time in a coalition with their old rivals the Socialists, whose leader Tomiichi Murayama became prime minister.

As with party colleagues Ichirō Hatoyama and Kakuei Tanaka before him, prime minister Toshiki Kaifu of the LDP unsuccessfully tried to reform the electoral system in 1991. However, the Morihiro Hosokawa government got the 1994 Japanese electoral reform through the Diet, introducing a parallel voting system which went into effect at the next election in 1996. Under this system, which remains in effect as of 2022, 300 (since reduced to 289) members of the House of Representatives are elected using first past the post in single-member constituencies, while 200 (since reduced to 176) members are elected in regional blocs using party-list proportional representation.

Prime minister Junichiro Koizumi introduced a bill to the House of Representatives in 2006 on changing the Imperial Household Law to allow a woman to ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne (see Japanese imperial succession debate), but he withdrew the bill after the birth of Prince Hisahito of Akishino the same year. The LDP once again lost power at the 2009 election, when the Democratic Party-led Hatoyama Cabinet took over, followed in rapid succession by the Kan Cabinet and Noda Cabinet. The LDP and Komeito, who had formed a two-party government between 2003 and 2009, came to power again after the 2012 election. Shinzo Abe, who had previously led the First Abe Cabinet, was prime minister for another stint lasting eight years, stepping down for health reasons in 2020.

When the Emperor Akihito expressed interest in abdicating, the Diet passed the Emperor Abdication Law in 2017, allowing for the 2019 Japanese imperial transition and the succession to the throne of Naruhito. In December 2022, in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and increased military cooperation between China and Russia, prime minister Fumio Kishida announced plans to significantly increase funding for the Japan Self-Defense Forces.

19th century

Election	Date	Elected prime minister (during term)	Turnout	Seats	Date of dissolution (D) / expiration of term (E)	Registered voters	Majority party	Seats Share		Emperor (Reign)
Imperial Diet (1890-1947); upper house: House of Peers										Meiji (1867–1912)
1st	1 July 1890	Yamagata Aritomo	93.91%	300		450,872	Constitutional Liberal	130	43.33%
		(Matsukata Masayoshi)
2nd	15 February 1892	Matsukata Masayoshi	91.59%		(D) 25 December 1891	434,594		094	31.33%
		(Itō Hirobumi)
3rd	1 March 1894	Itō Hirobumi	88.76%		(D) 30 December 1893	440,113		120	40.00%
4th	1 September 1894	Itō Hirobumi	84.84%		(D) 2 June 1894	460,483		107	35.66%
		(Matsukata Masayoshi)
		(Itō Hirobumi)
5th	15 March 1898	Itō Hirobumi	87.50%		(D) 25 December 1897	452,637		105	35.00%
		(Ōkuma Shigenobu)
6th	10 August 1898	Ōkuma Shigenobu	79.91%		(D) 10 June 1898	502,292	Kensei Hontō	124	41.33%
		(Yamagata Aritomo)
		(Itō Hirobumi)
		(Katsura Tarō)
Election	Date	Elected prime minister (during term)	Turnout	Seats	Date of dissolution (D) / expiration of term (E)	Registered voters	Majority party	Seats Share		Emperor (Reign)

20th century

Election	Date	Elected prime minister (during term)	Turnout	Seats	Date of dissolution (D) / expiration of term (E)	Registered voters	Majority party	Seats Share		Emperor (Reign)
7th	10 August 1902	Katsura Tarō	88.39%	376	(E) 9 August 1902	982,868	Rikken Seiyūkai	191	50.79%	Meiji (1867–1912)
8th	1 March 1903		86.17%		(D) 28 December 1902	958,322		175	46.54%
9th	1 March 1904	Katsura Tarō	86.06%	379	(D) 11 December 1903	762,445		133	35.09%
		(Saionji Kinmochi)
10th	15 May 1908	Saionji Kinmochi	85.29%		(E) 27 March 1908	1,590,045		187	49.34%
		(Katsura Tarō)
		(Saionji Kinmochi)
11th	15 May 1912	Saionji Kinmochi	89.58%	381	(E) 14 May 1912	1,506,143		209	54.85%
		(Katsura Tarō)								Taishō (1912–1926)
		(Yamamoto Gonnohyōe)
		(Ōkuma Shigenobu)
12th	25 March 1915	Ōkuma Shigenobu	92.13%		(D) 25 December 1914	1,546,411	Rikken Dōshikai	153	40.15%
		(Terauchi Masatake)
13th	20 April 1917	Terauchi Masatake	91.92%		(D) 25 January 1917	1,422,126	Rikken Seiyūkai	165	43.30%
		(Hara Takashi)
14th	10 May 1920	Hara Takashi	86.73%	464	(D) 26 February 1920	3,069,148		278	59.91%
		(Takahashi Korekiyo)
		(Katō Tomosaburō)
		(Yamamoto Gonnohyōe)
		(Kiyoura Keigo)
15th	10 May 1924	Katō Takaaki	91.18%		(D) 31 January 1924	3,288,405	Kenseikai	151	32.54%
		(Wakatsuki Reijirō)
		(Tanaka Giichi)								Shōwa (1926–1989)
16th	20 February 1928	Tanaka Giichi	80.36%	466	(D) 21 January 1928	12,408,678	Rikken Seiyūkai	218	46.78%
		(Hamaguchi Osachi)
17th	20 February 1930	Hamaguchi Osachi	83.34%		(D) 21 January 1930	12,812,895	Rikken Minseitō	273	58.58%
		(Wakatsuki Reijirō)
		(Inukai Tsuyoshi)
18th	20 February 1932	Inukai Tsuyoshi	81.68%		(D) 21 January 1932	13,237,841	Rikken Seiyukai	301	64.59%
		(Saitō Makoto)
		(Keisuke Okada)
19th	20 February 1936	Kōki Hirota	78.65%		(D) 21 January 1936	14,479,553	Rikken Minseitō	205	43.99%
		(Senjūrō Hayashi)
20th	30 April 1937	Senjūrō Hayashi	73.31%		(D) 31 March 1937	14,618,298		179	38.41%
		(Fumimaro Konoe)
		(Hiranuma Kiichirō)
		(Nobuyuki Abe)
		(Mitsumasa Yonai)
		(Fumimaro Konoe)
		(Fumimaro Konoe)
		(Hideki Tojo)
21st	30 April 1942	Hideki Tojo	83.16%		(E) 29 April 1942	14,594,287	Imperial Rule Assistance Association	381	81.75%
		(Kuniaki Koiso)
		(Kantarō Suzuki)
		(Kantarō Suzuki)
		(Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni)
		(Kijūrō Shidehara)
22nd	10 April 1946	Shigeru Yoshida	72.08%		(D) 18 December 1945	36,878,420	Liberal	141	30.25%
23rd	25 April 1947	Tetsu Katayama	67.95%		(D) 31 March 1947	40,907,493	Socialist	143	30.68%
		(Hitoshi Ashida)
		(Shigeru Yoshida)
National Diet (1947-present); upper house: House of Councillors
24th	23 January 1949	Shigeru Yoshida	74.04%	466	(D) 23 December 1948	42,105,300	Democratic Liberal	264	56.65%
		(Shigeru Yoshida)
25th	1 October 1952	Shigeru Yoshida	76.43%		(D) 28 August 1952	46,772,584	Liberal	240	51.50%
26th	19 April 1953	Shigeru Yoshida	74.22%		(D) 14 March 1953	47,090,167	Liberal Yoshida faction	199	42.70%
		(Ichirō Hatoyama)
27th	27 February 1955	Ichirō Hatoyama	75.84%	467	(D) 24 January 1955	49,235,375	Democratic	185	39.61%
		(Ichirō Hatoyama)
		(Tanzan Ishibashi)
		(Nobusuke Kishi)
28th	22 May 1958	Nobusuke Kishi	76.99%		(D) 25 April 1958	52,013,529	Liberal Democratic	287	61.45%
		(Hayato Ikeda)
29th	20 November 1960	Hayato Ikeda	73.51%		(D) 24 October 1960	54,312,993		296	63.38%
30th	21 November 1963	Hayato Ikeda	71.14%		(D) 23 October 1963	58,281,678		283	60.59%
		(Eisaku Satō)
31st	29 January 1967	Eisaku Satō	73.99%	486	(D) 27 December 1966	62,992,796		277	56.99%
32nd	27 December 1969	Eisaku Satō	68.51%		(D) 2 December 1969	69,260,424		288	59.25%
		(Kakuei Tanaka)
33rd	10 December 1972	Kakuei Tanaka	71.76%	491	(D) 13 November 1972	73,769,636		271	55.19%
		(Takeo Miki)
34th	5 December 1976	Takeo Fukuda	73.45%	511	(E) 9 December 1976	77,926,588		249	48.72%
		(Masayoshi Ōhira)
35th	7 October 1979	Masayoshi Ōhira	68.01%		(D) 7 September 1979	80,169,924		248	48.53%
36th	22 June 1980	Zenkō Suzuki	74.57%		(D) 19 May 1980	80,925,034		284	55.57%
		(Yasuhiro Nakasone)
37th	18 December 1983	Yasuhiro Nakasone	67.94%		(D) 28 November 1983	84,252,608		250	48.92%
38th	2 June 1986	Yasuhiro Nakasone	71.40%	512	(D) 2 June 1986	86,426,845		300	58.59%
		(Noboru Takeshita)
		(Sōsuke Uno)								Akihito (Heisei) (1989–2019)
		(Toshiki Kaifu)
39th	18 February 1990	Toshiki Kaifu	73.31%		(D) 24 January 1990	90,322,908		275	53.71%
		(Kiichi Miyazawa)
40th	18 July 1993	Morihiro Hosokawa	67.26%	511	(D) 18 June 1993	94,477,816		223	43.63%
		(Tsutomu Hata)
		(Tomiichi Murayama)
		(Ryūtarō Hashimoto)
41st	20 October 1996	Ryūtarō Hashimoto	59.65%	500	(D) 27 September 1996	97,680,719		239	47.80%
		(Keizō Obuchi)
		(Yoshirō Mori)
42nd	25 June 2000	Yoshirō Mori	62.49%	480	(D) 2 June 2000	100,492,328		233	48.54%
		(Junichiro Koizumi)
Election	Date	Elected prime minister (during term)	Turnout	Seats	Date of dissolution (D) / expiration of term (E)	Registered voters	Majority party	Seats Share		Emperor (Reign)

21st century

Election	Date	Elected prime minister (during term)	Turnout	Seats	Date of dissolution (D) / expiration of term (E)	Registered voters	Majority party	Seats Share		Emperor (Reign)
43rd	9 November 2003	Junichiro Koizumi	59.86%	480	(D) 10 October 2003	102,306,684	Liberal Democratic	237	49.37%	Akihito (Heisei) (1989–2019)
44th	11 September 2005	Junichiro Koizumi	67.51%		(D) 8 August 2005	103,067,966		296	61.66%
		(Shinzo Abe)
		(Yasuo Fukuda)
		(Tarō Asō)
45th	30 August 2009	Yukio Hatoyama	69.28%		(D) 21 July 2009	104,057,361	Democratic	308	64.16%
		(Naoto Kan)
		(Yoshihiko Noda)
46th	16 December 2012	Shinzo Abe	59.32%		(D) 16 November 2012	103,959,866	Liberal Democratic	294	61.25%
47th	14 December 2014		52.66%	475	(D) 21 November 2014	104,067,104		291	61.26%
48th	22 October 2017	Shinzo Abe	53.68%	465	(D) 28 September 2017	106,091,229		284	61.08%
		(Yoshihide Suga)								Naruhito (Reiwa) (2019–present)
		(Fumio Kishida)
49th	31 October 2021	Fumio Kishida	55.93%		(D) 14 October 2021	105,622,758		261	56.12%
Election	Date	Elected prime minister (during term)	Turnout	Seats	Date of dissolution (D) / expiration of term (E)	Registered voters	Majority party	Seats Share		Emperor (Reign)