2003 Japanese general election

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "2003 Japanese general election" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

2003 Japanese general election

← 2000 November 9, 2003 2005 →
← Representatives elected in the Japanese general election, 2000 elected members →
All 480 seats in the House of Representatives of Japan 241 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	59.85% (2.64pp; Const. votes) 59.80% (2.64pp; PR votes)
First party Second party Third party   Leader Junichiro Koizumi Naoto Kan Takenori Kanzaki Party Liberal Democratic Democratic Komeito Last election 233 seats 127 seats 31 seats Seats won 237 177 34 Seat change 4 50 3 Constituency vote 26,089,327 21,814,154 886,507 % and swing 43.85% (4.31pp) 36.66% (5.68pp) 1.49% (0.53pp) Regional vote 20,660,185 22,095,636 8,733,444 % and swing 34.96% (6.65pp) 37.39% (1.20pp) 14.78% (1.81pp)   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader Kazuo Shii Takako Doi Party Communist Social Democratic Last election 20 seats 19 seats Seats won 9 6 Seat change 11 13 Constituency vote 4,837,953 1,708,672 % and swing 8.13% (3.95pp) 2.87% (0.93pp) Regional vote 4,586,172 3,027,390 % and swing 7.76% (3.47pp) 5.12% (4.24pp)
Districts and PR districts, shaded according to winners' vote strength
Prime Minister before election Junichiro Koizumi Liberal Democratic Elected Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi Liberal Democratic

This article is part of a series on
Politics of Japan
Constitution and Laws Constitution of Japan (1947–present) Meiji Constitution (1890–1947) Laws
The Monarchy The Emperor (List) Naruhito Crown Prince Fumihito Imperial House Chrysanthemum Throne Imperial Succession Imperial Household Agency
Executive Government Prime Minister (List) Fumio Kishida (LDP) Cabinet (List) Second Kishida Cabinet (Second Reshuffle) (LDP-Komeito coalition) Ministries Administrative Agencies
Legislature National Diet House of Representatives Speaker Fukushiro Nukaga Vice Speaker Banri Kaieda House of Councillors President Hidehisa Otsuji Vice President Hiroyuki Nagahama
Judiciary Supreme Court Chief Justice Saburo Tokura Justices of the Supreme Court Intellectual Property High Court
Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda Japanese yen Banknotes Coins
Elections List of districts of the House of Representatives of Japan List of districts of the House of Councillors of Japan Japanese House of Councillors national proportional representation block Political parties Japanese general elections 1890 1892 1894 (Mar) 1894 (Sep) 1898 (Mar) 1898 (Aug) 1902 1903 1904 1908 1912 1915 1917 1920 1924 1928 1930 1932 1936 1937 1942 1946 1947 1949 1952 1953 1955 1958 1960 1963 1967 1969 1972 1976 1979 1980 1983 1986 1990 1993 1996 2000 2003 2005 2009 2012 2014 2017 2021 Next Japanese House of Councillors elections 1947 1950 1953 1956 1959 1962 1965 1968 1971 1974 1977 1980 1983 1986 1989 1992 1995 1998 2001 2004 2007 2010 2013 2016 2019 2022 Unified local elections 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Administrative divisions Prefectures Governors Subprefectures Districts Municipalities Submunicipalities
Foreign relations Ministry of Foreign Affairs Foreign policy (history) Diplomatic missions of / in Japan Japanese passport Visa requirements Visa policy Algeria Angola Djibouti Egypt Ethiopia Kenya Namibia Nigeria Somalia South Africa Argentina Barbados Bolivia Brazil Canada Chile Colombia Ecuador Mexico Paraguay Peru Trinidad and Tobago United States Uruguay Venezuela Afghanistan Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Cambodia China East Timor Georgia India Indonesia Iran Israel Laos Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Myanmar Nepal North Korea Pakistan Palestine Philippines Qatar Saudi Arabia Singapore South Korea Sri Lanka Taiwan Thailand Turkey Vietnam Albania Austria Belgium Croatia Czech Republic Denmark France Germany Greece Hungary Holy See Iceland Ireland Italy Kosovo Lithuania Malta Montenegro Netherlands Poland Portugal Russia Serbia Spain Sweden Ukraine United Kingdom Australia Fiji New Zealand Palau Tonga Africa Arab world Latin America Oceania Southeast Asia European Union United Nations G20 G7
Japan portal Other countries
v t e

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.