1979 Japanese General Election
7 October 1979 · The 1955 system · 511 seats, 256 for a majority
General elections were held in Japan on 7 October 1979 to elect the 511 members of the House of Representatives. Prime Minister Ōhira Masayoshi's announcement that a consumption (sales) tax would be imposed was a hot-button issue in the run-up to the election.
Prime Minister before
Masayoshi Ōhira
LDP
Prime Minister (continued)
Masayoshi Ōhira
LDP
Largest force
Liberal Democratic Party
248 of 511 seats
Turnout
68.0%
The result
Liberal Democratic Party
Masayoshi Ōhira · 44.6% of votes · -1 seats
248
seats
Japan Socialist Party
Ichio Asukata · 19.7% of votes · -16 seats
107
seats
Kōmeitō
Yoshikatsu Takeiri · 9.8% of votes · +2 seats
57
seats
Japanese Communist Party
Kenji Miyamoto · 10.4% of votes · +22 seats
39
seats
Democratic Socialist Party
Sasaki Ryōsaku · 6.8% of votes · +6 seats
35
seats
Independents
4.9% of votes · -2 seats
19
seats
New Liberal Club
Yōhei Kōno · 3.0% of votes · -13 seats
4
seats
Socialist Democratic Federation
Ichio Asukata · 0.7% of votes
2
seats