Akashian general election, 1978

Akashian general election, 1978

24 June 1978
200 seats in the National Assembly 101 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	89,5%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Yumiko Nagatsuki Seiji Okada Naoko Nemoto Party SP CP NCP Last election 45 seats 20,4% PR 29,0% STV 28 seats 11,4% PR 16,0% STV 27 seats 12,0% PR 10,5% STV Seats won 35 25 24 Seat change 10 3 3 PR vote 1.107.620 609.191 636.881 % and swing 20,0% 0,4% 11,0% 0,4% 11,5% 0,5% STV vote 1.401.838 890.056 611.913 % and swing 25,2% 3,8% 16,0% 11,0% 0,5%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Hikaru Katayama Fumiaki Nonaka Michio Nara Party AP LP NU Last election 18 seats 7,2% PR 8,0% STV 23 seats 7,5% PR 7,2% STV 15 seats 7,0% PR 7,4% STV Seats won 18 18 14 Seat change 5 1 PR vote 376.591 332.286 354.438 % and swing 6,8% 0,4% 6,0% 1,5% 6,4% 0,6% STV vote 383.837 344.897 350.459 % and swing 6,9% 1,1% 6,2% 1,0% 6,3% 1,1%
Most voted party by province
Prime Minister before election Yumiko Nagatsuki SP Prime Minister after election Yumiko Nagatsuki SP

A general election was held in Akashi on 24 June 1978. The incumbent Yumiko Nagatsuki government was re-elected with a minority.

The "black budget" of 1977 had caused turmoil in the government: Kasumi Kuroki resigned, Yumiko Nagatsuki became leader of the Socialist Party, and one faction that had voted against the "black budget" had split off to form the Justice Party. The Green Party also made its first appearance in a general election.

During the campaign, Yuna sought to project a more attentive and pragmatic image than her successor, promising more conventional policies to combat the "siege economy". This upset some SP supporters who saw it as a betrayal, but she hoped to win more support from floating voters who were unconvinced by both the left and the right.

While the centre-right parties continued to attack government "mismanagement" of the economy, their campaign was hampered by a continued need to separate themselves from the dark blue bloc, particularly the Tax Cuts Party and Freedom League's increasingly strident attacks on the Sōhyō and redistributionist taxation policies.

Results

General election, 24 June 1978
Party		Party list			Constituency			Total seats	+/-
		PR	%	+/−	STV	%	+/−
	Socialist Party	1.107.620	20,0%	-0,4%	1.401.838	25,2%	-3,8%	35	-10
	National Cooperative Party	636.881	11,5%	-0,5%	611.913	11,0%	+0,5%	24	-3
	Communist Party	609.191	11,0%	-0,4%	890.056	16,0%	±0,0%	25	-3
	Agrarian Party	376.591	6,8%	-0,4%	383.837	6,9%	-1,1%	18	-2
	National Union	354.438	6,4%	-0,6%	350.459	6,3%	-1,1%	14	-1
	Liberal Party	332.286	6,0%	-1,5%	344.897	6,2%	-1,0%	18	-5
	National Democratic Party	304.595	5,5%	-1,3%	166.885	3,0%	-0,1%	10	±0
	United Akashi	287.981	5,2%	-0,3%	161.323	2,9%	+0,2%	9	+2
	Reform Party	276.905	5,0%	-0,9%	155.760	2,8%	-0,1%	9	+1
	Conservative National Party	265.829	4,8%	+1,3%	233.640	4,2%	+1,7%	13	+9
	Social Credit Party	243.676	4,4%	-0,6%	89.006	1,6%	+0,1%	4	-1
	Green Party	188.295	3,4%	+3,4%	166.885	3,0%	+3,0%	6	+6
	Justice Party	177.219	3,2%	+3,2%	150.197	2,7%	+2,7%	5	+5
	Akashi Renewal Party	83.071	1,5%	-1,3%	61.191	1,1%	-0,1%	2	-1
	Freedom League	77.533	1,4%	-0,4%	94.568	1,7%	+0,7%	1	-1
	Tax Cuts Party	66.457	1,2%	-0,3%	166.885	3,0%	-1,5%	1	±0
	Independents	149.529	2,7%	+1,0%	133.508	2,4%	-0,1%	6	+2
Total		5.538.098	100%	—	5.562.849	100%	—	200	—
Registered voters and turnout		6.187.819	89,5%	—	6.187.819	89,9%

Bloc strength
Bloc	Parties	Seats
Crimson bloc	CP, SCP, GP	35
Pale crimson bloc	SP, NU, JP	54
Light yellow bloc	NCP, AP	42
Light blue bloc	LP, NDP, RP, UA	46
Dark blue bloc	CNP, ARP, FL, TCP	17

• Government: Socialist Party–National Cooperative Party–Justice Party–National Union–Agrarian Party coalition.

Despite a loss of 10 seats, the SP remained the largest party in the National Assembly. The pale crimson bloc also remained the largest, but now the difference between it and the light blue bloc had narrowed to 8 seats.

The Conservative National Party managed to channel a significant protest vote, leaping ahead of its dark blue bloc colleagues. Its rise alarmed the light blue bloc, setting the stage for heightened conflict over who would have the leading role on the right.

While Yuna added the JP to the coalition, the government now fell short of a majority, with 96 seats out of 200. In order to retain confidence, it would have to rely on either independent support, or outside support from the crimson bloc. This placed Yuna in a conundrum, as her own instinct was to retreat from the strict course that Kasuko had charted, fearing public backlash.

Ultimately, Yuna lasted less than 2 years in office: she resigned after a parliamentary defeat in 1979, and was succeeded by her agriculture minister Hikaru Katayama. In turn, Hikaru's loss of a budget vote caused a snap election in 1980, which brought Akashi to its deepest political crisis since the Summer of Freedom.