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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 September 2013
Japan, on October 1, 1952, held the first general election for members of the House of Representatives since the end of the occupation. In that election, the conservative government party, the Jiyūtō (Liberal party), won a clear majority, the Communist party failed to elect a single candidate, and there was a marked advance by the two Socialist parties.
1 Unfortunately, Japanese political party labels often do not describe the ideological nature of the party. Japanese political parties include: Jiyūtō—Liberal party; Kaishintō—Progressive party; Saha Shakaitō—Left-wing Socialist party; Uha Shakaitō—Right-wing Socialist party; Kyōsantō—Communist party; Kyōdōtō—Cooperative party; Rōnōtō—Labor-Farm party; Saiken Renmei—Reconstruction League.
2 There was general grumbling in the newspapers at the time of the dissolution that it was an unconstitutional act because Yoshida's government had not received a vote of no-confidence, nor had it been censured. However, this did not develop into a major campaign issue.
3 Osaka Mainichi, 09 30, 1952, p. 1Google Scholar.
4 Shigemitsu had never taken an active part in politics before this time. Before and during the war, he was a career diplomat. Today, he has considerable popularity, symbolizing what many Japanese consider unjust aspects of the Tokyo trials.
5 In a political rally held at the Uchisange Shōgakkō in Okayama City, the author heard Liberal candidates take the position that American troops in Korea were defending Japan and that Russia and China were aggressive states that must be suppressed eventually.
6 ¥20,000 a month is above the average working man's wage.
7 Nippon Times, Oct. 3, 1952, p. 1.
8 Table based on compilations of statistics from Japan Statistical Yearbook, 1951, Bureau of Statistics, Office of the Prime Minister (Tōkyō, 1952), pp. 360–62Google Scholar; Mainichi Nenkan, Shōwa Nijūshichi, Mainichi Shimbun Sha (Tōkyō, 1952), p. 132Google Scholar; Ōsaka Mainichi (Japanese edition), 10 3, 1952, p. 1Google Scholar; and ibid., Oct. 5, 1952, p. 2.
9 Nippon Times, Oct. 1, 1952 p. 1.
10 Ōsaka Mainichi (Japanese edition), 10 3, 1952, p. 1Google Scholar.
