2003 Japanese general election

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2003 Japanese general election

← 2000 November 9, 2003 2005 →
elected members →
All 480 seats in the House of Representatives of Japan 241 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	59.85% (2.64pp; Const. votes) 59.80% (2.64pp; PR votes)
First party Second party Third party   Leader Junichiro Koizumi Naoto Kan Takenori Kanzaki Party LDP Democratic Komeito Last election 233 seats 149 seats[a] 31 seats Seats won 237 177 34 Seat change 4 28 3 Constituency vote 26,089,327 21,814,154 886,507 % and swing 43.85% (2.88pp) 36.66% (9.05pp) 1.49% (0.53pp) Regional vote 20,660,185 22,095,636 8,733,444 % and swing 34.96% (6.65pp) 37.39% (12.21pp) 14.78% (1.81pp)   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader Kazuo Shii Takako Doi Party JCP Social Democratic Last election 20 seats 19 seats Seats won 9 6 Seat change 11 13 Constituency vote 4,837,953 1,708,672 % and swing 8.13% (3.95pp) 2.87% (0.93pp) Regional vote 4,586,172 3,027,390 % and swing 7.76% (3.47pp) 5.12% (4.24pp)
Districts and PR districts, shaded according to winners' vote strength
Prime Minister before election Junichiro Koizumi LDP Elected Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi LDP

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General elections were held in Japan on November 9, 2003. Incumbent Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and the Liberal Democratic Party won the most seats in the House of Representatives but failed to secure a majority. The main opposition Democratic Party made considerable gains, winning 177 of the 480 seats in the House of Representatives, its largest share ever. Other traditional parties like the Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party lost substantial numbers of seats, marking the start of a newly consolidated two-party system in Japanese politics, which would end in 2012 with the emergence of Japan Restoration Party.
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