Big Two

Vote counting after the Japanese general election, last week, revealed at first glance only a disheartening deadlock between the two chief parties. Upon closer inspection a healthy trend was observed, away from the multiple bloc system which has been the curse of Japanese politics, and toward a two-party line up.

After the election of 1924 there were three principal parties, holding respectively 160 and 114 and 109 seats out of a House of 464. Thus onetime Prime Minister Reijiro Wakatsuki was obliged to carry on with a coalition in which his party was but little larger than its chief supporting bloc.

Last week Prime Minister Baron Guechi Tanaka of the Seiyukai party obtained 221 seats. There appeared only one other party of comparable size, the Minseito, with 214. Definitely inferior are the 16 Independents, the 8 Laborites, the 4 Business Party deputies, and the 3 members of the Kakushin Club.

Though neither of the Big Two has of itself a majority, Premier Baron Tanaka professed and was generally conceded the ability to obtain the few minority votes which he needs to carry on, according to the official returns. The great facts are two: 1) This was the first Japanese election under the new suffrage law which increased the number of the electorate from 3,000,000 to some 12,000,000; 2) Of this new electorate 81% went to the polls and returned only two predominating parties.