Documenting Hiroshima of 1946: April 10, Voting in first post-war House of Representatives election
Apr. 10, 2025
by Maho Yamamoto, Staff Writer
Voters cast their ballots for the first post-war House of Representatives election on April 10, 1946. Across the country, 2,770 candidates ran for the membership of 466. In Hiroshima Prefecture, 50 candidates competed for the 12 seats allocated to the entire prefecture.
This was the first election after amendments were made to the election law, which extended the suffrage to women and lowered the voting age to 20 for both men and women. The April 10, 1946, edition of the Chugoku Shimbun encouraged readers to turn out to vote with a big headline: Today’s vote to let Japan bloom.
Though the deep scars of the atomic bomb attack remained in the city of Hiroshima, 30 polling stations were set up at schools, temples, and other locations, according to the city’s newsletter. “Some voters had painful scars from burns, and others with disabilities staggered relying on canes. They represent the piteous condition of war-devastated Hiroshima. Yet the great hope they had laid on their vote was shining in their eyes,” said the April 11, 1946, edition of the newspaper. A nursery was set up at the Hakushima polling station.
According to the election administration commissions of Hiroshima Prefecture and Hiroshima City, there were 995,676 voters in the prefecture and 76,913 in the city. The electoral register was made based on the November 1, 1945, census, but there were many cases of people not being registered. Meanwhile, some municipalities distributed admission tickets to prevent overcrowding at polling stations.
Following the announcement of the election, the Chugoku Shimbun carried a series titled “Election Classroom,” starting on March 15, 1946, to disseminate knowledge concerning election among women and young people. It explained the voting process and advised voters to write the full names of candidates, as there might be candidates with the same surname or given name. It also urged voters not to accept money or goods in exchange for votes, as this constituted vote buying.
The election adopted the multiple-choice ballot system, in which voters could vote for plural candidates. In Hiroshima Prefecture, first-time independent candidate Tokuo Hirakawa was the top vote-getter. The party breakdown of successful candidates in the prefecture was as follows: Liberal Party 3, Progressive Party 1, Socialist Party 3, Cooperative Democratic Party 2, and independents 3. The voter turnout was 74.29%. Thirty-nine female lawmakers, including Kiyo Takeda of Hiroshima, were elected nationwide.
(Originally published on April 10, 2025)
Voters cast their ballots for the first post-war House of Representatives election on April 10, 1946. Across the country, 2,770 candidates ran for the membership of 466. In Hiroshima Prefecture, 50 candidates competed for the 12 seats allocated to the entire prefecture.
This was the first election after amendments were made to the election law, which extended the suffrage to women and lowered the voting age to 20 for both men and women. The April 10, 1946, edition of the Chugoku Shimbun encouraged readers to turn out to vote with a big headline: Today’s vote to let Japan bloom.
Though the deep scars of the atomic bomb attack remained in the city of Hiroshima, 30 polling stations were set up at schools, temples, and other locations, according to the city’s newsletter. “Some voters had painful scars from burns, and others with disabilities staggered relying on canes. They represent the piteous condition of war-devastated Hiroshima. Yet the great hope they had laid on their vote was shining in their eyes,” said the April 11, 1946, edition of the newspaper. A nursery was set up at the Hakushima polling station.
According to the election administration commissions of Hiroshima Prefecture and Hiroshima City, there were 995,676 voters in the prefecture and 76,913 in the city. The electoral register was made based on the November 1, 1945, census, but there were many cases of people not being registered. Meanwhile, some municipalities distributed admission tickets to prevent overcrowding at polling stations.
Following the announcement of the election, the Chugoku Shimbun carried a series titled “Election Classroom,” starting on March 15, 1946, to disseminate knowledge concerning election among women and young people. It explained the voting process and advised voters to write the full names of candidates, as there might be candidates with the same surname or given name. It also urged voters not to accept money or goods in exchange for votes, as this constituted vote buying.
The election adopted the multiple-choice ballot system, in which voters could vote for plural candidates. In Hiroshima Prefecture, first-time independent candidate Tokuo Hirakawa was the top vote-getter. The party breakdown of successful candidates in the prefecture was as follows: Liberal Party 3, Progressive Party 1, Socialist Party 3, Cooperative Democratic Party 2, and independents 3. The voter turnout was 74.29%. Thirty-nine female lawmakers, including Kiyo Takeda of Hiroshima, were elected nationwide.
(Originally published on April 10, 2025)
