Akashian general election, 1994

Akashian general election, 1994

25 June 1994
400 seats in the National Assembly 201 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	89,2%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Ran Tsukuda Shinobu Furukawa Kōsaku Ayuzawa Party MPP CP SP Last election 86 seats 15,2% PR 16,8% STV 107 seats 22,7% PR 24,1% STV 40 seats 9,5% PR 11,3% STV Seats won 96 94 44 Seat change 10 7 4 PR vote 1.204.528 1.057.166 653.521 % and swing 18,8% 3,6% 16,5% 6,2% 10,2% 0,7% STV vote 1.097.074 1.326.694 733.509 % and swing 17,2% 0,4% 20,8% 3,3% 11,5% 0,2%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Toshizaku Imai Ei Katsuragi Hatsu Murai Party NCP GP NFP Last election 36 seats 9,1% PR 10,0% STV 37 seats 9,3% PR 8,5% STV 32 seats 8,5% PR 8,1% STV Seats won 39 39 30 Seat change 3 2 2 PR vote 640.707 602.264 525.379 % and swing 10,0% 0,9% 9,4% 0,1% 8,2% 0,3% STV vote 644.212 561.294 484.753 % and swing 10,1% 0,1% 8,8% 0,3% 7,6% 0,5%
Most voted party by province
Prime Minister before election Shinobu Furukawa CP Prime Minister after election Shinobu Furukawa CP

A general election was held in Akashi on 25 June 1994. The incumbent Shinobu Furukawa government was re-elected with a minority.

In power since 1990, the Communist Party pursued the most radical left course since the "siege economy", with emphasis on destroying big business and inequality, strengthening workers' self-management and economic planning. While Shinobu's radicalism was popular in the immediate aftermath of the neoliberal conspiracy, her popularity had slipped from its highs as the general election approached.

Further reorganisation took place on the centre-right, with the National Democratic Party and Reform Party merging into the United Reform Party. Ran Tsukuda's Moderate People's Party increasingly closed the gap with the Communists in opinion polls. Ran was naturally the centrepiece of the light blue bloc's campaign, emphasising her consensual approach to government in an implicit rebuke to Shinobu's more unilateral course.

Although Shinobu's campaign avoided direct attacks on Ran out of mutual respect, it presented the central theme that only 4 years after the neoliberal conspiracy, Akashi was not yet safe from a repeat and more needed to be done to break the power of elites.

The turning point for the campaign came weeks before the vote, when former Prime Minister Ichirō Kondō died in prison. He had been sentenced for his involvement in the neoliberal conspiracy, and Shinobu had advocated a harsh prison regime, denying him any kind of medical treatment. She seized on his death to boast that she'd upheld her promise to ensure "the traitorous bastards rot in prison!".

Ichikon's death had a mixed effect: while Shinobu's response alienated some voters concerned with her unilateral governing style, most of the public agreed with the sentiment, and it boosted enthusiasm among wavering supporters. Ran herself made no comment on the news; she felt that any criticism of Shinobu would lose her votes, and she also despised Ichikon for having toppled her government in 1989.

Results

General election, 25 June 1994
Party		Party list			Constituency			Total seats	+/-
		PR	%	+/−	STV	%	+/−
	Moderate People's Party	1.204.528	18,8%	+3,6%	1.097.074	17,2%	+0,4%	96	+10
	Communist Party	1.057.166	16,5%	-6,2%	1.326.694	20,8%	-3,3%	94	-7
	Socialist Party	653.521	10,2%	+0,7%	733.509	11,5%	+0,2%	44	+4
	National Cooperative Party	640.707	10,0%	+0,9%	644.212	10,1%	+0,1%	39	+3
	Green Party	602.264	9,4%	+0,1%	561.294	8,8%	+0,3%	39	+2
	New Frontier Party	525.379	8,2%	-0,3%	484.753	7,6%	-0,5%	30	-2
	United Reform Party	518.972	8,1%	+8,1%	331.673	5,2%	+5,2%	21	+21
	Liberal Party	320.353	5,0%	+0,6%	210.485	3,3%	+0,5%	14	+2
	National Union	256.283	4,0%	+0,3%	267.890	4,2%	+1,0%	11	+1
	Justice Party	217.840	3,4%	-0,1%	242.377	3,8%	+1,1%	9	±0
	Social Credit Party	172.991	2,7%	-0,5%	255.133	4,0%	+1,0%	1	-6
	Akashi Renewal Party	121.734	1,9%	+1,1%	70.162	1,1%	+0,1%	0	±0
	Conservative National Party	64.071	1,0%	-0,1%	51.027	0,8%	-0,5%	0	±0
	Freedom League	51.257	0,8%	-0,1%	44.648	0,7%	-0,5%	0	±0
	Independents	N/A			57.405	0,9%	-0,2%	2	-1
Total		6.407.066	100%	—	6.378.335	100%	—	400	—
Registered voters and turnout		7.182.810	89,2%	—	7.182.810	88,8%

Bloc strength
Bloc	Parties	Seats
Crimson bloc	CP, SCP, GP	134
Pale crimson bloc	SP, NU, JP, NFP	94
Light yellow bloc	NCP	39
Light blue bloc	MPP, URP, LP	131
Dark blue bloc	CNP, ARP, FL	0

• Government: Communist Party–Socialist Party–Green Party–Social Credit Party–Justice Party coalition.

The final result was a very narrow margin between the CP and MPP. The CP lost its plurality, falling to second place, but compensated for its PR losses by maintaining a larger first preference vote lead in constituencies. The MPP managed to become the largest party in the legislature, but had a lead of only 2 seats over the CP.

Significantly, the CP carried the most populous provinces of Kagi and Matō, with narrower margins. The MPP won Takao, as expected, while the GP reasserted its strength in Shimachi.

The performance of the smaller parties made the crucial difference. In general, they experienced minor changes in seats — even the URP only managed to keep the NDP–RP's existing total from 1990. The SCP fell below the 3% election threshold, losing its party list seats. It would've been ejected from the legislature entirely if it hadn't managed to win a constituency seat for the first time in its history.

The crimson bloc remained the largest in the National Assembly, although its lead over the light blue bloc shrank from 32 seats to merely 3. The combined total of the crimson and pale crimson blocs remained 228 seats — a comfortable majority, even if Shinobu's formal coalition had a minority of 187 seats. The continued outside support of the National Cooperative Party and New Frontier Party allowed the government to continue in office.