General elections were held in Japan on 20 February 1928,^[1][2] the first after the introduction of universal male suffrage.^[3] The ruling Rikken Seiyūkai led by Prime Minister Tanaka Giichi won one more seat than the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party led by Hamaguchi Osachi, although the Constitutional Democratic Party had received slightly more votes. The hung parliament led to the Tanaka government continuing in office.

Quick Facts All 466 seats in the House of Representatives 234 seats needed for a majority, First party ...

1928 Japanese general election

← 1924 20 February 1928 1930 →
All 466 seats in the House of Representatives 234 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Tanaka Giichi Hamaguchi Osachi Mutou Sanji Party Rikken Seiyūkai Rikken Minseitō Jitsugyo Doshikai Last election 103 seats – 8 Seats won 217 216 4 Seat change 114 New 4 Popular vote 4,244,385 4,251,771 166,250 Percentage 43.06% 43.14% 1.69% Swing 20.86pp New   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   KST Leader Abe Isoo Oyama Ikuo Party SDP Kakushintō L-FP Last election – – – Seats won 4 3 2 Seat change New New New Popular vote 120,044 81,324 184,040 Percentage 1.22% 0.83% 1.87% Swing New New New
Prime Minister before election Tanaka Giichi Rikken Seiyūkai Prime Minister after election Tanaka Giichi Rikken Seiyūkai

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Following electoral reforms in 1925, the 466 members of the House of Representatives were elected from multi-member constituencies with between three and five seats. Voting had previously been restricted to men aged over 25 who paid at least 3 yen a year in direct taxation, but the reforms had also abolished the taxation requirement.^[4] As a result, the electorate increased from 3.3 million in the 1924 elections to 12.4 million.

The Manchurian warlord Zhang Zuolin was assassinated by the Japanese army in June 1928. Tanaka denounced the army for this, but lost support and was forced to resign in July 1929. Opposition leader Hamaguchi became Prime Minister and formed a new government.