General elections were held in Japan on 31 March 1937.

Rikken Minseitō was one of the main political parties in pre-war Empire of Japan. It was commonly known as the ''Minseitō''. History The ''Minseitō'' was founded on 1 June 1927, by a merger of the ''Kenseikai'' and the ''Seiyu Hontō'' political parties. I ...

emerged as the largest in Parliament, with 179 of the 466 seats. The election was a major victory for the

Shakai Taishūtō The was a moderate leftist political party in early Shōwa period Empire of Japan. The ''Shakai Taishūtō'' was founded by Abe Isoo in July 1932, as a merger of the '' Shakai Minshūtō'' (Socialist Mass Party) with the '' Zenkoku Rōnō Tais ...

, which became the third-largest party in the Diet. It was the first socialist party to do so in Japanese history. In contrast, the mildly pro-military

lost several seats and fascist groups such as Tōhōkai remained minor forces in the House. A month after the election, the Emperor replaced Hayashi with Fumimaro Konoe. Voter turnout was 73.3%.The 20th House of Representatives election

Background

In February 1937, General

Senjūrō Hayashi was a Japanese politician and general. He served as Imperial Japanese Army Commander of the Japanese Korean Army during the Mukden Incident and the invasion of Manchuria. He briefly served as Prime Minister of Japan in 1937. Early life Haya ...

was appointed prime minister. Just days after taking office and having the Diet enact a budget bill, he ordered a dissolution of the House of Representatives, hoping to weaken the major political parties. The act was opposed by the major political parties as well as by the general public, and quickly became known as the . In 1941, the Diet under the Konoe government passed a law extending the term of the Representatives from four years to five ( 衆議院議員任期延長ニ関スル法律). This allowed time to solidify the control of the

Imperial Rule Assistance Association The , or Imperial Aid Association, was the Empire of Japan's ruling organization during much of World War II. It was created by Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe on 12 October 1940, to promote the goals of his ("New Order") movement. It evolved i ...

over Japanese politics. The Association effectively replaced all political parties in Japan and subsequently dominated the 1942 general election, although numerous factions developed within the Association's caucus in the House. The term extension was effectively repealed by the

Constitution of Japan The Constitution of Japan ( Shinjitai: , Kyūjitai: , Hepburn: ) is the constitution of Japan and the supreme law in the state. Written primarily by American civilian officials working under the Allied occupation of Japan, the constitutio ...

in 1947, which returned the representatives' term of office to 4 years.

Results

By prefecture

References

General elections in Japan Japan 1937 elections in Japan Politics of the Empire of Japan April 1937 events Election and referendum articles with incomplete results {{Japan-gov-stub