2003 Japanese general election

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2003 Japanese general election

← 2000 November 9, 2003 2005 →
All 480 seats in the House of Representatives of Japan 241 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	59.80%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Junichiro Koizumi Naoto Kan Takenori Kanzaki Party Liberal Democratic Democratic Komeito Last election 28.31%, 233 seats 25.18%, 127 seats 12.97%, 31 seats Seats won 237 177 34 Seat change 4 50 3 Popular vote 20,660,185 22,095,636 8,733,444 Percentage 34.96% 37.39% 14.78% Swing 6.65pp 12.21pp 1.81pp   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Kazuo Shii Takako Doi Hiroshi Kumagai Party Communist Social Democratic New Conservative Last election 11.23%, 20 seats 9.36%, 19 seats 0.41%, 7 seats Seats won 9 6 5 Seat change 11 13 2 Popular vote 4,586,172 3,027,390 - Percentage 7.76% 5.12% - Swing 3.47pp 4.24pp -   Seventh party Eighth party   Leader Masami Tanabu Torao Tokuda Party Independents Liberal League Last election 0.25%, 5 seats 1.10%, 1 seat Seats won 5 1 Seat change 2 Popular vote - - Percentage - - Swing - -
districts and PR districts, shaded according to winners' vote strength.
Prime Minister before election Junichiro Koizumi Liberal Democratic Prime Minister after election Junichiro Koizumi Liberal Democratic

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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.