Akashian general election, 1986

Akashian general election, 1986

28 June 1986
400 seats in the National Assembly 201 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	90,5%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Ran Tsukuda Kagehisa Ueki Toshizaku Imai Party CNP SP NCP Last election 86 seats 15,0% PR 21,9% STV 71 seats 11,6% PR 12,0% STV 28 seats 9,0% PR 10,2% STV Seats won 200 41 34 Seat change 114 30 6 PR vote 2.415.642 624.735 594.986 % and swing 40,6% 25,6% 10,5% 1,1% 10,0% 1,0% STV vote 2.471.919 595.643 577.774 % and swing 41,5% 19,6% 10,0% 2,0% 9,7% 0,5%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Yoshihiro Sera Tomohiko Saito Akeno Izuhara Party CP GP NDP Last election 32 seats 8,4% PR 10,0% STV 31 seats 8,2% PR 7,0% STV 25 seats 7,5% PR 6,3% STV Seats won 34 27 13 Seat change 2 4 12 PR vote 529.537 297.493 220.145 % and swing 8,9% 0,5% 5,0% 3,2% 3,7% 3,8% STV vote 524.166 297.822 202.519 % and swing 8,8% 1,2% 5,0% 2,0% 3,4% 2,9%
Most voted party by province
Prime Minister before election Ran Tsukuda CNP Prime Minister after election Ran Tsukuda CNP

A general election was held in Akashi on 28 June 1986. The Ran Tsukuda government was re-elected in a landslide, with the Conservative National Party coming one seat short of a majority alone. The scale of the victory led to the election being nicknamed the "blue wave" (Miranian: 青い波 aoi nami).

Over the course of her first term, Ran won broad popularity and respect for her consensual governance and negotiating talent. The centre-right coalition she led scored notable successes: revitalising the economy, restoring industrial peace after the turbulence of the "siege economy", and the Constitution of 1984. The elegant, paternalistic conservative image projected by her and her sanyoi allies proved greatly appealing to the public during the neondai.

The government was further advantaged by disunity among the opposition. The Socialist Party under Kagehisa Uegi's leadership attempted to move to the centre. However, this moderation was unsuccessful, demoralising party supporters and incurring the wrath of the left, particularly the Communist Party and Green Party. With no prospect of a left-wing government as an alternative, SP supporters approached the election with apathy.

The CNP ran an energetic, "feel-good" campaign, centred around Ran and her sanyoi colleagues. Policy was de-emphasised, and the party manifesto essentially promised a continuation of existing policies. The tone was summed up in one of Ran's famous campaign speeches: "Things haven't been this good for a long time!" (物事は長い間これほど良くはありませんでした！Monogoto wa nagaiai kore hodo yoku wa arimasendeshita!).

Results

General election, 28 June 1986
Party		Party list			Constituency			Total seats	+/-
		PR	%	+/−	STV	%	+/−
	Conservative National Party	2.415.642	40,6%	+25,6%	2.471.919	41,5%	+19,6%	200	+114
	Socialist Party	624.735	10,5%	-1,1%	595.643	10,0%	-2,0%	41	-30
	National Cooperative Party	594.986	10,0%	+1,0%	577.774	9,7%	-0,5%	34	+6
	Communist Party	529.537	8,9%	+0,5%	524.166	8,8%	-1,2%	34	+2
	Green Party	297.493	5,0%	-3,2%	297.822	5,0%	-2,0%	27	-4
	National Democratic Party	220.145	3,7%	-3,8%	202.519	3,4%	-2,9%	13	-12
	United Akashi	208.245	3,5%	-3,7%	190.606	3,2%	-2,9%	13	-10
	Liberal Party	196.345	3,3%	-4,4%	166.780	2,8%	-3,8%	11	-16
	Reform Party	190.395	3,2%	-3,8%	178.693	3,0%	-3,0%	11	-11
	National Union	178.496	3,0%	-2,0%	107.216	1,8%	-0,9%	10	-7
	Justice Party	148.746	2,5%	-0,8%	83.390	1,4%	-0,9%	1	-11
	Social Credit Party	142.797	2,4%	-0,9%	119.129	2,0%	+0,2%	0	-7
	Freedom League	107.097	1,8%	-1,4%	154.867	2,6%	+0,5%	2	-6
	Akashi Renewal Party	95.198	1,6%	-1,4%	136.998	2,3%	+0,3%	1	-6
	Independents	N/A			161.153	2,5%	-0,3%	2	-2
Total		5.949.857	100%	—	5.956.432	100%	—	400	—
Registered voters and turnout		6.574.428	90,5%	—	6.574.428	90,6%

Bloc strength
Bloc	Parties	Seats
Crimson bloc	CP, SCP, GP	61
Pale crimson bloc	SP, NU, JP	52
Light yellow bloc	NCP	34
Light blue bloc	LP, NDP, RP, UA, CNP	248
Dark blue bloc	ARP, FL	3

• Government: Conservative National Party minority.

The CNP won a landslide victory. It surpassed 40% in both PR and STV votes, and won 200 seats, one short of a majority alone. This was the closest Akashi had come to single-party government since 1970. The SP turned a minor reduction of 1–2% in its vote into a 30 seat loss, leaving it second with only 41 seats, its worst result since the days of National Union domination.

While the CP's vote held steady and it increased its seat tally by 2, it also suffered a humiliation in being overtaken by the CNP in its stronghold of Kobi. The CNP succeeded in sweeping all provinces.

Analysts noted that the CNP largely obtained its victory by "cannibalising" the vote of its light blue allies: the NDP, LP, RP, and UA all lost 3–4% of their votes and 10–16 seats. Four parties fell beneath the 3% electoral threshold, including the Social Credit Party, which was ejected from the legislature for the first time since 1970.

The light blue bloc won a majority by itself. The leftist infighting was reflected in the crimson bloc winning more seats than the pale crimson bloc. The improved economy and atmosphere of optimism during the neondai devastated the dark blue bloc, which was now reduced to only 3 seats in total.

Due to previous tensions over cabinet allocation, Ran decided to continue with a CNP minority government, with outside support from its light blue allies. Although this worked well for most of her new term, it also provided an opening for the hardline kibi faction to plot her overthrow and join in with the neoliberal conspiracy. Her sudden overthrow through an internal coup on 25 December 1989 brought Ichirō Kondō to the premiership, and caused a new round of political turbulence and public unrest that reached heights unseen since the Summer of Freedom.