2016 Japanese House of Councillors election

2016 Japanese House of Councillors election

10 July 2016
121 of the 242 seats in the House of Councillors 122 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	54.7% 2.6%
First party Second party Third party   130x130px 130x130px 130x130px Leader Shinzō Abe Katsuya Okada Natsuo Yamaguchi Party Liberal Democratic Democratic Party (Japan, 2016) Kōmeitō Leader since 26 September 2012 14 December 2014 8 September 2009 Last election 115 seats, 34.68% – 20 seats, 14.22% Seats after 120 49 25 Seat change 5 New 5 Popular vote 20,114,788 11,751,015 7,572,960 Percentage 35.91% 20.98% 13.52% Swing 1.23pp New 0.70pp   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   130x130px 130x130px Leader Kazuo Shii Ichirō Matsui Kyoko Nakayama Party Communist Nippon Ishin no Kai Party for Japanese Kokoro Leader since 24 November 2000 12 December 2015 21 December 2015 Last election 11 seats, 9.68% – – Seats after 14 12 3 Seat change 3 New New Popular vote 6,016,245 5,153,684 734,024 Percentage 10.74% 9.20% 1.31% Swing 1.06pp New New   Seventh party Eighth party   130x130px 130x130px Leader Tadatomo Yoshida Ichirō Ozawa Party Social Democratic People's Life Leader since 14 October 2013 25 January 2013 Last election 3 seats, 2.36% 2 seats, 1.77% Seats after 2 2 Seat change 1 Popular vote 1,536,239 1,067,301 Percentage 2.74% 1.91% Swing 0.38pp 0.14pp
400px Constituency and proportional representation (bottom right) election result
President of the House of Councillors before election Masaaki Yamazaki Liberal Democratic Elected President of the House of Councillors Masaaki Yamazaki Liberal Democratic

House of Councillors elections were held in Japan on Sunday 10 July 2016 to elect 121 of the 242 members of the House of Councillors, the upper house of the National Diet, for a term of six years. As a result of the election, the Liberal Democratic Party–Komeito coalition gained ten seats for a total of 145 (60% of all seats in the house), the largest coalition achieved since the size of the house was set at 242 seats.

76 members were elected by single non-transferable vote (SNTV) and first-past-the-post (FPTP) voting in 45 multi- and single-member prefectural electoral districts; for the first time, there were two combined (gōku) single-member districts consisting of two prefectures each, Tottori-Shimane and Tokushima-Kōchi. This change and several other reapportionments were part of an electoral reform law passed by the Diet in July 2015 designed to reduce the maximum ratio of malapportionment in the House of Councillors below 3. The nationwide district which elects 48 members by D'Hondt proportional representation with most open lists remained unchanged.

The elections were the first national election after the 2015 change to the Public Offices Election Act, which allowed people from 18 years of age to vote in national, prefectural and municipal elections and in referendums. The legal voting age prior to the change was 20.

Background

The term of members elected in the 2010 regular election (including those elected in subsequent by-elections or as runners-up) ends on July 25, 2016. Under the "Public Offices Election Act" (kōshoku-senkyo-hō), the regular election must be held within 30 days before that date, or under certain conditions if the Diet is in session or scheduled to open at that time, between 24 and 30 days after the closure of the session and thus potentially somewhat after the actual end of term. The election date was July 10 with the deadline for nominations and the start of legal campaigning 18 days before the election (i.e. June 22).

Prior to the election, the Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner Komeito controlled a two-thirds super-majority of seats in the House of Representatives but did not control a similar super-majority of seats in the House of Councillors, necessary to initiate amendments of the Constitution of Japan. In order to deny a super-majority to the LDP and other pro-amendment parties, the parties opposed to amending the constitution (Democratic Party, Japanese Communist Party, Social Democratic Party and People's Life Party) agreed to field a single candidate in each single-seat district, leading to a number of one-on-one races between the LDP and an opposition candidate (most of which the LDP ultimately won). Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, historically a vocal proponent of constitutional revision, generally avoided discussing the constitution during the campaign, instead focusing on his "Abenomics" economic policies.

On the eve of the election, Gerald Curtis described the race as "one of the dullest in recent memory," pointing out that "never in Japan's postwar history has the political opposition been as enfeebled as it is now... That's why widespread public disappointment with the government's economic policies hasn't hurt Mr. Abe politically. The prevailing sentiment is that he has done better than his predecessors, and replacing him with another LDP leader, let alone an opposition coalition government, would only make matters worse—especially now that the global economy is in turmoil."

Pre-election composition

As of the official announcement (kōji, the candidate registration deadline and when the campaign starts) on 22 June (count by Yomiuri Shimbun):

↓
37	59	8	2	1	9	50	11	65
O not up	Main opposition seats up	RO	RO up	V	K up	LDP seats up	K	LDP seats not up

In the class of members facing re-election, the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Kōmeitō had a combined 60 of 121 seats, slightly short of a majority (as of June 2016). The main opposition Democratic Party held 47 seats. As the coalition held 77 seats not being contested at this election, they only needed to retain 44 seats in the election to maintain their majority in the House. The LDP, which held 117 seats alone, had to gain five seats to reach a majority of its own and make the coalition with Kōmeitō unnecessary. In the other direction, the governing coalition would have to lose 16 seats or more to forfeit its overall majority in the House of Councillors and face a technically divided Diet. However, as independents and minor opposition groups might be willing to support the government on a regular basis without inclusion in the cabinet, the losses required to face an actual divided Diet may have been much higher. If the Diet were divided after the election, the coalition's two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives could still override the House of Councillors and pass legislation, but certain Diet decisions, notably the approval of certain nominations by the cabinet such as public safety commission members or Bank of Japan governor, would require the cooperation of at least part of the opposition or an expansion of the ruling coalition.

Among the members facing re-election were House of Councillors President Masaaki Yamazaki (LDP, Fukui), Vice President Azuma Koshiishi (DPJ, Yamanashi), Justice Minister Mitsuhide Iwaki (LDP, Fukushima) and Okinawa and Science Minister Aiko Shimajiri (LDP, Okinawa).

Policy effects

The election gave a two-thirds super-majority in the upper house to the four parties in favor of constitutional revision. After the election, Abe publicly acknowledged that constitutional revision would be "not so easy" and said "I expect the discussion will be deepened." The Chinese government voiced concern about the result, while South Korean newspaper Munhwa Ilbo opined that the election results "opened the door for a Japan that can go to war."

Abe announced a major economic stimulus package following the election, leading to a spike in the Japanese stock markets.

District reapportionment

See also: List of districts of the House of Councillors of Japan

The following districts saw a change in their representation within the House at this election. One set of reforms were introduced in 2012 and first took effect at the 2013 election; the districts affected by the 2015 reforms are shaded.

District	Magnitude	Notes
Hokkaidō	3	Increased from 2
Miyagi	1	Decreased from 2
Fukushima	1	2 incumbents in outgoing class (reapportioned in 2012)
Tokyo	6	Increased from 5
Kanagawa	4	3 incumbents in outgoing class (reapportioned in 2012)
Niigata	1	Decreased from 2
Nagano	1	Decreased from 2
Gifu	1	2 incumbents in outgoing class (reapportioned in 2012)
Aichi	4	Increased from 3
Osaka	4	3 incumbents in outgoing class (reapportioned in 2012)
Hyogo	3	Increased from 2
Tottori-Shimane	1	Created from the merger of the single-member Tottori and Shimane districts
Tokushima-Kōchi	1	Created from the merger of the single-member Tokushima and Kochi districts
Fukuoka	3	Increased from 2

Opinion polls

Seat projections

Date	by	Ruling Coalition		Ruling Coal. total	Opposition									Source
		LDP	KM		DP	JCP	IFO	SDP	PLP	PJK	NRP	Oth.	Ind.
July 5–6	Asahi	56	14	70	30	7	8	1	0	0	0	0	5
July 3–5	Kyodo & Tokyo	58	14	72	27	10	6	1	0	0	0	0	5
July 3–5	Kyodo	60	14	74	27	9	6	1	0	0	0	0	4
July 3–5	Nikkei	49–65	10–15	59–80	19–38	7–15	4–8	0–1	0–1	0	0	2–7
July 3–5	Yomiuri	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
July 1–3	Sankei & FNN	59	12	71	28	10	7	1	0	0	0	0	4
July 1–3	Dwango & Line	55	14	69	27	10	8	1	1	0	0	0	5
July 1–3	Jiji	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
June 22 – July 3	Yahoo!	61	10	71	26	11	8	5
June 22–23	Asahi	57	14	71	30	8	7	1	0	0	0	0	4
June 22–23	Mainichi	58–65	12–14	70–79	22–31	7–12	5–8	0–1	0	0	0	0	2–3
June 22–23	Kyodo	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
June 22–23	Nikkei	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
June 22–23	Yomiuri	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
June 4–21	Yahoo!	57	11	68	24	16	10	3
June 17–19	Dwango & Line	57	14	71	25	10	8	1	1	0	0	0	5

Cabinet approval / disapproval ratings

File:2nd and 3rd Abe Cabinet Approval Disapproval Ratings.png

Approval (blue) and Disapproval (red) Ratings for Second and Third Abe Cabinet

Results

A record 28 women won seats in the compared to 26 in 2007 and 22 in 2013. Among them, actress Junko Mihara won a seat representing Kanagawa Prefecture for the LDP.

Yoshimi Watanabe, former leader of Your Party, returned to the Diet in this election, winning a seat as part of Osaka Ishin no Kai. Justice minister Mitsuhide Iwaki lost his seat in Fukushima Prefecture to an opposition-supported candidate. Aiko Shimajiri, state minister for Okinawan affairs, lost her seat to former Ginowan, Okinawa mayor Yoichi Iha, a critic of the US military presence in Okinawa supported by a coalition of opposition parties. This was viewed by some analysts as a setback for the proposed relocation of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma. Former Olympic volleyball player Kentaro Asahi won a seat representing the Tokyo at-large district for the LDP. On the same day, journalist Satoshi Mitazono defeated incumbent Yuichiro Ito in a gubernatorial election in Kagoshima Prefecture. Mitazono campaigned on a platform focused on suspension of the Sendai Nuclear Power Plant.

By electoral district

Abbreviations and translations used in this table for (nominating – endorsing) parties:

• L – Liberal Democratic Party
• D – Democratic Party
• K – Komeito
• C - Japanese Communist Party
• S – Social Democratic Party
• I – Independent
• Osaka Ishin – Initiatives from Osaka
• PLP – People's Life Party
• Kokoro – Party for Japanese Kokoro
• AEJ – Assembly to Energize Japan
• NRP – New Renaissance Party
• NPD – New Party Daichi
• SSN – Shiji Seitō Nashi
• Angry Voice of the People
• HRP – Happiness Realization Party

District	Magnitude	Incumbents	Winners & runner-up [+incumbents if lower] with vote share (/votes for PR members)	Gains & losses by party
Hokkaidō	3 (+1)	Gaku Hasegawa (L) Eri Tokunaga (D)	Gaku Hasegawa (L – K) 25.5% Eri Tokunaga (D) 22.0% Yoshio Hachiro (D) 19.3% Katsuhiro Kakiki (L – K, NPD) 19.0%	D +1
Aomori	1	Tsutomu Yamazaki (L)	Masayo Tanabu (D – S) 49.2% Tsutomu Yamazaki (L – K) 47.9%	L -1 D +1
Iwate	1	Ryō Shuhama (D)	Eiji Kidoguchi (I – D, C, S, PLP) 53.3% Shin'ichi Tanaka (L – K) 41.0%	D -1 I (opposition) +1
Miyagi	1 (-1)	Yutaka Kumagai (L) Mitsuru Sakurai (D)	Mitsuru Sakurai (D – C, S, PLP) 51.1% Yutaka Kumagai (L – K) 47.0%	L -1
Akita	1	Hiroo Ishii (L)	Hiroo Ishii (L – K) 53.9% Daigo Matsuura (D – C, S) 44.0%
Yamagata	1	Kōichi Kishi (L)	Yasue Funayama (I – D, S) 59.0% Kaoru Tsukino (L – K) 38.3%	L -1 I (opposition) +1
Fukushima	1 (-1)	Teruhiko Mashiko (D) Mitsuhide Iwaki (L)	Teruhiko Mashiko (D – S) 50.5% Mitsuhide Iwaki (L – K) 47.2%	L -1
Ibaraki	2	Hiroshi Okada (L) Akira Gunji (D)	Hiroshi Okada (L – K) 50.3% Akira Gunji (D) 25.3% Kyōko Kobayashi (C) 9.4%
Tochigi	1	Michiko Ueno (L)	Michiko Ueno (L – K) 58.9% Takao Tanobe (I – D, C, S, PLP) 38.3%
Gunma	1	Hirofumi Nakasone (L)	Hirofumi Nakasone (L – K) 66.0% Keinin Horikoshi (D – C, S) 31.1%
Saitama	3	Masakazu Sekiguchi (L) Makoto Nishida (K) Motohiro Ōno (D)	Masakazu Sekiguchi (L) 29.2% Motohiro Ōno (D – PLP) 22.0% Makoto Nishida (K – L) 20.9% Gaku Itō (C – PLP) 15.8%
Chiba	3	Hiroyuki Konishi (D) Kuniko Inoguchi (L) Ken'ichi Mizuno (D)	Kuniko Inoguchi (L – K) 29.2% Taiichirō Motoe (L – K) 22.1% Hiroyuki Konishi (D) 18.1% Fumiko Asano (C) 13.5% Ken'ichi Mizuno (D) 12.1%	D -1 L +1
Tokyo	6 (+1)	Renhō (D) Toshiko Takeya (K) Masaharu Nakagawa (L) Toshio Ogawa (D) Kōta Matsuda (AEJ)	Renhō (D) 18.0% Masaharu Nakagawa (L) 14.2% Toshiko Takeya (K) 12.4% Taku Yamazoe (C) 10.7% Kentarō Asahi (L) 10.4% Toshio Ogawa (D) 8.2% Yasuo Tanaka (Osaka Ishin) 7.5% ... Kazuyuki Hamada (I) 0.5%	AEJ -1 L +1 C +1
Kanagawa	4 (+1)	Akio Koizumi (L) Kenji Nakanishi (I) Yōichi Kaneko (D)	Junko Mihara (L) 24.5% Nobuhiro Miura (K – L) 15.3% Yūichi Mayama (D – PLP) 14.2% Kenji Nakanishi (I – L) 12.8% Yuka Asaka (C – PLP) 11.9% Yōichi Kaneko (D – PLP) 10.9%	K +1 I (government) joins L
Niigata	1 (-1)	Naoki Tanaka (D) Yaichi Nakahara (L)	Yūko Mori (I – D, C, S, PLP) 49.0% Yaichi Nakahara (L – K) 48.8%	L -1 D -1 I (opposition) +1
Toyama	1	Kōtarō Nogami (L)	Kōtarō Nogami (L – K) 69.2% Etsuko Dōyō (I – D, C, S, PLP) 27.4%
Ishikawa	1	Naoki Okada (L)	Naoki Okada (L – K) 61.7% Miki Shibata (I – D, C, S, PLP) 36.0%
Fukui	1	Masaaki Yamazaki (L)	Masaaki Yamazaki (L – K) 60.1% Tatsuhiro Yokoyama (I – D, S) 36.3%
Yamanashi	1	Azuma Koshiishi (D)	Yuka Miyazawa (D – C, S) 43.0% Tsuyoshi Takano (L – K) 37.8%
Nagano	1 (-1)	Kenta Wakabayashi (L) Toshimi Kitazawa (D)	Hideya Sugio (D – C, S) 52.5% Kenta Wakabayashi (L – K) 45.7%	L -1
Gifu	1 (-1)	Takeyuki Watanabe (L) Yoshiharu Komiyama (D)	Takeyuki Watanabe (L – K) 55.8% Yoshiharu Komiyama (D – C, S, PLP) 40.9%	D -1
Shizuoka	2	Shigeki Iwai (L) Yūji Fujimoto (D)	Shigeki Iwai (L – K) 44.3% Sachiko Hirayama (D – S) 41.0% Chika Suzuki (C) 10.2%
Aichi	4 (+1)	Mashito Fujikawa (L) Yoshitaka Saitō (D) Misako Yasui (D)	Masahito Fujikawa (L) 29.3% Yoshitaka Saitō (D) 17.5% Ryūji Satomi (K – L) 16.2% Takae Itō (D) 15.8% Hatsumi Suyama (C) 9.2%	K +1
Mie	1	Hirokazu Shiba (D)	Hirokazu Shiba (D) 49.7% Sachiko Yamamoto (L – K) 47.5%
Shiga	1	Kumiko Hayashi (D)	Takashi Koyari (L – K) 52.2% Kumiko Hayashi (D – C, S) 45.8%	D -1 L +1
Kyoto	2	Tetsurō Fukuyama (D) Satoshi Ninoyu (L)	Satoshi Ninoyu (L – K) 40.0% Tetsurō Fukuyama (D – S) 36.9% Toshitaka Ōkawara (C) 20.0%
Osaka	4 (+1)	Issei Kitagawa (L) Tomoyuki Odachi (D) Hirotaka Ishikawa (K)	Rui Matsukawa (L) 20.4% Hitoshi Asada (Osaka Ishin) 19.5% Hirotaka Ishikawa (K) 18.2% Kaori Takagi (Osaka Ishin) 17.9% Yui Watanabe (C – PLP) 12.2% Tomoyuki Odachi (D – PLP) 9.3%	D -1 Osaka Ishin +2
Hyōgo	3 (+1)	Shinsuke Suematsu (L) Shun'ichi Mizuoka (D)	Shinsuke Suematsu (L) 26.3% Takae Itō (L – K) 22.2% Daisuke Katayama (Osaka Ishin) 21.8% Shun'ichi Mizuoka (D) 17.2%	D -1 L +1 Osaka Ishin +1
Nara	1	Kiyoshige Maekawa (D)	Kei Satō (L – K) 45.5% Kiyoshige Makawa (D – C, S, PLP) 33.7%	D -1 L +1
Wakayama	1	Yōsuke Tsuruho (L)	Yōsuke Tsuruho (L – K) 69.2% Takanobu Yura (I – C, S, PLP) 26.1%
Tottori-Shimane	1 (-1 combined)	From Tottori: Kazuyuki Hamada (I) From Shimane: Kazuhiko Aoki (L)	Kazuhiko Aoki (L – K) 62.7% Hirohiko Fukushima (I – D, C, S, PLP) 34.7%	I -1
Okayama	1	Satsuki Eda (D)	Kimi Onoda (L – K) 55.6% Kentarō Kuroishi (D - C, S) 41.9%	D -1 L +1
Hiroshima	2	Yōichi Miyazawa (L) Minoru Yanagida (D)	Yōichi Miyazawa (L – K) 49.8% Minoru Yanagida (D – S) 23.1% Kana Haioka (Osaka Ishin) 13.8%
Yamaguchi	1	Kiyoshi Ejima (L)	Kiyoshi Ejima (L – K) 64.0% Atsushi Kōketsu (I – D, C, S) 29.8%
Tokushima-Kōchi	1 (-1 combined)	From Tokushima: Yūsuke Nakanishi (L) From Kōchi: Hajime Hirota (D)	Yūsuke Nakanishi (L) 54.1% Sō Ōnishi (I – D, C, S) 42.9%	D -1
Kagawa	1	Yoshihiko Isozaki (L)	Yoshihiko Isozaki (L – K) 65.1% Ken'ichi Tanabe (C – S, PLP) 26.1%
Ehime	1	Junzō Yamamoto (L)	Junzō Yamamoto (L – K) 49.6% Takako Nagae (I – D, S) 48.3%
Fukuoka	3 (+1)	Satoshi Ōie (L) Tsutomu Ōkubo (D)	Yukihito Koga (D) 30.7% Satoshi Ōie (L) 29.3% Hiromi Takase (K – L) 21.4% Masako Shibata (C) 9.0%	K +1
Saga	1	Takamaro Fukuoka (L)	Takamaro Fukuoka (L – K) 65.6% Tetsuji Nakamura (D – S) 31.3%
Nagasaki	1	Genjirō Kaneko (L)	Genjirō Kaneko (L – K) 52.9% Hideko Nishioka (D – S, PLP) 44.9%
Kumamoto	1	Yoshifumi Matsumura (L)	Yoshifumi Matsumura (L – K) 59.1% Hiromi Abe (I – D, C, S) 36.1%
Ōita	1	Shin'ya Adachi (D)	Shin'ya Adachi (D) 48.1 Harutomo Koshō (L – K) 47.9%
Miyazaki	1	Shinpei Matsushita (L)	Shinpei Matsushita (L – K) 62.0% Yōji Yomiyama (I – D, S) 33.5%
Kagoshima	1	Tetsurō Nomura (L)	Tetsurō Nomura (L – K) 59.0% Kazumi Shimomachi (I – D, C, S) 29.2%
Okinawa	1	Aiko Shimajiri (L)	Yōichi Iha (I) 57.8% Aiko Shimajiri (L - K) 40.6%	L -1 I (opposition) +1
National	48	(pre-election by parliamentary group, not by party) D 18 L 12 K 6 C 3 Osaka Ishin 2 S 2 AEJ 1 PLP 1 NRP 1 I 2)	L 35.9% of proportional votes→19 seats: Masayuki Tokushige 521,060 Shigeharu Aoyama 481,890 Satsuki Katayama 393,382 Satoshi Nakanishi 392,433 Eriko Imai 319,359 Toshiyuki Adachi 293,735 Eriko Yamatani 249,844 Shin'ya Fujiki 236,119 Hanako Jimi 210,562 Kanehiko Shindō 182,467 Emiko Takagai 177,810 Hiroshi Yamada 149,833 Toshiyuki Fujii 142,132 Masashi Adachi 139,110 Takashi Uto 137,993 Katsumi Ogawa 130,101 Yoshifumi Miyajima 122,833 Toshiei Mizuochi 114,485 Shūkō Sonoda 101,154 Isao Takeuchi 87,578 ... Tsuneo Horiuchi 84,597	(change from last election 2010) L +7 D (from DPJ) -5 K +1 C +2 Osaka Ishin (new +4) S -1 PLP (new +1) NRP -1 Kokoro (from Sunrise) -1 YP (defunct, now D/OIshin/Kokoro/L/I) -7
			D 21.0% of proportional votes→11 seats: Masao Kobayashi 270,285 Makoto Hamaguchi 266,623 Wakako Yata 215,823 Yoshifu Arita 205,884 Nakanori Kawai 196,023 Shōji Nanba 191,823 Takashi Esaki 184,187 Masayoshi Nataniya 176,683 Michihiro Ishibashi 171,486 Kenzō Fujisue 143,188 Shinkun Haku 138,813 Kaoru Tashiro 113,571 ... Naoki Tanaka 86,596 Takumi Shibata 73,166 ... Takeshi Maeda 59,853 Jirō Ono 46,213 Masami Nishimura 38,899
			K 13.5% of proportional votes→7 seats: Hiroaki Nagasawa 942,266 Kōzō Akino 612,068 Shin'ichi Yokoyama 606,889 Seishi Kumano 605,223 Masaaki Taniai 478,174 Masayoshi Hamada 388,477 Masaru Miyazaki 18,571 Shinji Takeuchi 7,489
			C 10.7% of proportional votes→5 seats: Tadayoshi Ichida 77,348 Tomoko Tamura 49,113 Mikishi Daimon 33,078 Tomo Iwabuchi 31,099 Ryōsuke Takeda 23,938 Tomoko Okuda 23,680
			Osaka Ishin 9.2% of proportional votes→4 seats: Toranosuke Katayama 194,902 Yoshimi Watanabe 143,343 Mitsuko Ishii 68,147 Akira Ishii 50,073 Tsuyoshi Gibu 43,679
			S 2.7% of proportional votes→1 seat: Mizuho Fukushima 254,956 Tadatomo Yoshida 153,197
			PLP 1.9% of proportional votes→1 seat: Ai Aoki 109,050 Yumiko Himei 16,116
			Incumbents on other party lists without seat: Kokoro (1,3%): none SSN (1.2%): none NRP (1.0%): Tarō Yamada, Hiroyuki Arai Angry voice of the people (0.8%): none HRP (0.7%): none

External links

• Major party nominations
  • LDP: Candidate nominations for the 24th Councillors elections: national proportional, prefectural district direct election, endorsed
  • Democratic Party: Candidate nominations for upcoming elections: 24th Councillors election proportional, direct election incl. endorsed 48th Representatives election
  • Kōmeitō: Manifesto and candidates for the 2016 Councillors election
  • Communist Party: Candidate nominations for the 24th Councillors election (both tiers)
  • Initiatives from Osaka: Candidate nominations for the 24th Councillors election (both tiers)