1956 Japanese House of Councillors election

1956 Japanese House of Councillors election

← 1953 8 July 1956 1959 →
127 of the 250 seats in the House of Councillors 126 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Ichirō Hatoyama Mosaburō Suzuki Party Liberal Democratic Socialist Seats after 122 80 Seat change 12 14 Popular vote 11,356,874 8,549,940 Percentage 36.7% 29.9% Swing N/A N/A   Third party Fourth party   Leader Sanzō Nosaka Party Ryokufūkai Communist Seats after 31 2 Seat change 3 2 Popular vote 2,877,102 599,254 Percentage 10.1% 2.1% Swing 2.1pp 1.0pp
President of the House of Councillors before election Yūzō Shigemune Liberal Democratic President of the House of Councillors-designate Yutaka Terao Liberal Democratic

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House of Councillors elections were held in Japan on 8 July 1956,^[1] electing half the seats in the House plus two vacant seats in the other half. The Liberal Democratic Party won the most seats, but failed to win a majority. It was the first national election under the 1955 System, approximately a two party system of Ichirō Hatoyama's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) that was created in the "conservative merger" of 1955 and Suzuki Mosaburō's reunified Japan Socialist Party (JSP). The later dominant LDP failed to win a majority.

A key campaign issue was Prime Minister Ichirō Hatoyama's plan to revise Article 9 of the constitution – any change of the constitution requires a two-thirds majority in both chambers of the Diet. The left parties aimed to win at least a third of seats to prevent any constitutional change. Another issue was the government's plan to replace the elected prefectural boards of education with appointed ones, a plan fiercely opposed by the left: In June 1956, on the LDP's request the police intervened in the "deliberations" in the Diet when Socialist Councillors resorted to violence.