electionstracker

Japan 1949 general election

What was the result of the 1949 general election in Japan?

Liberal Party won 264 of 466 seats with 43.9% of the vote. 74.0% of registered voters cast a ballot.

  • Japan
  • Held:
  • Final result
  • ParlGov, read 5 October 2026

Which party won the most seats?

Final results from ParlGov, read : Liberal Party won 264 of 466 seats with 43.9% of the vote; 74.0% of registered voters cast a ballot, up 6.1 points on 1947.

  • Liberal Party 264 +133 seats 43.9% +17.2 points
  • Democratic Party 69 −55 seats 15.7% −9.7 points
  • Japan Socialist Party 48 −95 seats 13.5% −12.7 points
  • Japanese Communist Party 35 +31 seats 9.8% +6.1 points
  • National Cooperative Party 14 −17 seats 3.4% −3.6 points
  • Labourers and Farmers Party 7 2.0%
  • Social Reform Party 5 1.3%
  • Seats won
  • Change on the previous election at the right
  • Share of the vote
  • Share at the previous election
  • Change in points at the right

Changes are against the Japan 1947 general election, party by party.

234 of 466 seats make a majority

Key numbers

  1. 43.9%

    Share of the vote won by Liberal Party

    Liberal Party won 264 of 466 seats. A majority needs 234.

  2. +133 seats

    Seats gained by Liberal Party

    The largest gain in seats compared with 1947. Japan Socialist Party lost 95 seats.

  3. 74.0%

    Voter turnout

    Up 6.1 points on 1947.

Seats and votes by party

PartySeats± seats%± pointsVotes
Liberal Party264+13343.9+17.213,420,269
Democratic Party69−5515.7−9.74,798,352
Japan Socialist Party48−9513.5−12.74,129,794
Japanese Communist Party35+319.8+6.12,984,780
National Cooperative Party14−173.4−3.61,041,879
Labourers and Farmers Party72.0606,840
Social Reform Party51.3387,214
Other parties (seats only)24−9

± is the change against the Japan 1947 general election, party by party.

Votes by party
  • Liberal Party 13,420,269
  • Democratic Party 4,798,352
  • Japan Socialist Party 4,129,794
  • Japanese Communist Party 2,984,780
  • National Cooperative Party 1,041,879
  • Labourers and Farmers Party 606,840
  • Social Reform Party 387,214
  • Other parties (seats only)

ParlGov lists parties with at least 1 percent of the vote or 2 seats, so the rows do not add up to the valid votes.

How many people voted?

74.0% of the 42,105,300 registered voters cast a ballot (31,174,957 ballots), up 6.1 points on 1947. 30,592,519 of them were valid votes.

How do the votes compare with the seats?

  • Liberal Party43.9% of votes56.7% of seats
  • Democratic Party15.7% of votes14.8% of seats
  • Japan Socialist Party13.5% of votes10.3% of seats
  • Japanese Communist Party9.8% of votes7.5% of seats
  • National Cooperative Party3.4% of votes3.0% of seats
  • Labourers and Farmers Party2.0% of votes1.5% of seats
  • Social Reform Party1.3% of votes1.1% of seats
Each party's share of the vote (outlined) and of the seats (filled)

Liberal Party led Democratic Party by 28.2 points of the vote.

Time and source Data as of