January 2014

LDP’s Landslide Victory: Background and Reactions of Voters

From the 2013 Survey on Japanese Political Awareness after the House of Councillors Election

Kei Kono / Toshiyuki Kobayashi

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) won a landslide victory in the 23rd House of Councillors Election, and the ruling coalition parties achieved a majority, with contested and non-contested seats combined, to end the “divided” government, in which the House of Representatives and the House of Councillers are ruled by different parties, for the first time in three years. The authors analyze the results of a public opinion survey conducted two months after the election to explore the background of LDP’s major victory as well as voters’ reactions.

-The survey revealed that LDP’s victory was largely attributed to the positive evaluation by the public on the party’s economic policy, with 84% of those who voted for LDP in the proportional representation section answering that they “appreciate” Abe administration’s economic policy.

-When asked about the Internet campaigning, which had been allowed for the first time in Japan’s election history, more than half of people said that they did not contact with such campaign information, and, on top of this, only 23% of those who did used the Internet campaign information when deciding who to vote for.

-Regarding the constitutional reform, those who find the reform necessary accounted for more than half of those surveyed but have decreased from the previous survey, and only a little less than 30% find the revision of Article 96 and Article 9 “necessary,” respectively.

-As to party support ratings, LDP overwhelmed the other parties. All parties except for LDP had far more people who “do not support” the party than those who “support” it.

-Although a large number of people answered they “support” LDP, but it was found that the level of the support is ‘weak’ for most of the supporters. Besides, when asked to choose the aspects of LDP they could positively evaluate, those who chose “none” have increased to 32% from 28% in the previous survey. Thus, it is revealed that support for LDP is not necessarily solid.

-Those who “do not expect” political realignment has decreased to 33% from 42% in the previous survey, which is probably due to the fact that LDP’s predominance has become more evident after the ruling parties’ securing a majority in the House of Councillors as well as the House of Representatives while those who expect political realignment have increased.

The NHK Monthly Report on Broadcast Research