Akashian general election, 1974

Akashian general election, 1974

29 June 1974
200 seats in the National Assembly 101 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	88,6%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Kasumi Kuroki Seiji Okada Naoko Nemoto Party SP CP NCP Last election 40 seats 22,5% PR 27,7% STV 26 seats 10,4% PR 15,8% STV 25 seats 11,8% PR 10,0% STV Seats won 45 28 27 Seat change 5 2 2 PR vote 1.053.552 588.750 619.737 % and swing 20,4% 2,1% 11,4% 1,0% 12,0% 0,2% STV vote 1.492.626 823.518 540.434 % and swing 29,0% 1,3% 16,0% 0,2% 10,5% 0,5%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Fumiaki Nonaka Yōichi Tatsuda Masaki Ōshiro Party LP AP NU Last election 24 seats 8,7% PR 8,4% STV 20 seats 7,3% PR 8,5% STV 17 seats 7,0% PR 9,0% STV Seats won 23 18 15 Seat change 1 2 2 PR vote 387.335 371.842 361.513 % and swing 7,5% 1,2% 7,2% 0,1% 7,0% STV vote 370.583 411.759 380.877 % and swing 7,2% 1,2% 8,0% 0,5% 7,4% 1,6%
Most voted party by province
Prime Minister before election Kasumi Kuroki SP Prime Minister after election Kasumi Kuroki SP

A general election was held in Akashi on 29 June 1974. The incumbent Kasumi Kuroki government was re-elected with a majority.

Tarō Yukimura was persuaded to resign a month before the election in favour of Kasumi Kuroki, as senior Socialist Party figures worried his sinking popularity would cause a defeat. Kasuko was one of the cabinet's most popular ministers, and seen as the party's best bet to win re-election.

The SP ran a campaign that emphasised its radical policies during the "siege economy", touting its success at maintaining full employment and expanding the welfare state. It also played up Kasuko's personality heavily, using the slogan "Let Kasuko Lead On" (Miranian: かすこに先導させて Kasuko ni sendō sa sete). Meanwhile, the Communist Party called on voters to support the party so that it had greater leverage to push the government to the left.

The right-wing opposition attacked the government's "mismanagement" of the economy, highlighting industrial unrest. However, the solution to this issue remained a wedge between the light blue and dark blue blocs.

Results

General election, 29 June 1974
Party		Party list			Constituency			Total seats	+/-
		PR	%	+/−	STV	%	+/−
	Socialist Party	1.053.552	20,4%	-2,1%	1.492.626	29,0%	+1,3%	45	+5
	National Cooperative Party	619.737	12,0%	+0,2%	540.434	10,5%	+0,5%	27	+2
	Communist Party	588.750	11,4%	+1,0%	823.518	16,0%	+0,2%	28	+2
	Liberal Party	387.335	7,5%	-1,2%	370.583	7,2%	-1,2%	23	-1
	Agrarian Party	371.842	7,2%	-0,1%	411.759	8,0%	-0,5%	20	-2
	National Union	361.513	7,0%	±0,0%	380.877	7,4%	-1,6%	15	-2
	National Democratic Party	351.184	6,8%	+0,3%	159.557	3,1%	-0,2%	10	-1
	Reform Party	304.704	5,9%	-0,3%	149.263	2,9%	-0,3%	8	-2
	United Akashi	284.046	5,5%	-0,3%	138.969	2,7%	-0,4%	7	-3
	Social Credit Party	258.224	5,0%	+1,0%	77.205	1,5%	-0,2%	5	+1
	Conservative National Party	180.757	3,5%	±0,0%	128.675	2,5%	+0,3%	4	+1
	Akashi Renewal Party	144.605	2,8%	+0,7%	61.764	1,2%	+0,1%	3	+1
	Freedom League	92.961	1,8%	-0,4%	51.470	1,0%	±0,0%	2	±0
	Tax Cuts Party	77.467	1,5%	+1,5%	231.614	4,5%	+4,5%	1	+1
	Independents	87.796	1,7%	-0,3%	128.675	2,5%	-2,5%	4	-2
Total		5.164.473	100%	—	5.146.986	100%	—	200	—
Registered voters and turnout		5.828.976	88,6%	—	5.828.976	88,3%

Bloc strength
Bloc	Parties	Seats
Crimson bloc	CP, SCP	33
Pale crimson bloc	SP, NU	60
Light yellow bloc	NCP, AP	45
Light blue bloc	LP, NDP, RP, UA	48
Dark blue bloc	CNP, ARP, FL, TCP	10

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

The coalition was re-elected easily. Kasuko successfully increased the SP's seat tally by 5 seats, which made up for the minor losses of the AP and NU. The crimson and pale crimson blocs collectively increased their seats by 6, while the light yellow bloc remained steady.

The light blue bloc suffered a setback, with the distance between it and the pale crimson bloc increasing to 10 seats.

Kasuko would remain in office until 1977, when she resigned in a successful ploy to pass the black budget. Naoko Nemoto would take over as interim Prime Minister until the SP chose a new leader, who was Yumiko Nagatsuki.