Evening star., 1946-04-13
Jap Premier Insists
On Retaining Office
Despite Vote Results
Leader Of Liberal Purty
Calls for Coalition
To Gust Shidehuro
BY the Assoeiofsd Press

final, unofficial returns from ia
pans general election empha-
sized tonight that heavy
conservative bloc would domi-
nate the House of Representa-
tives which meets May 10 to
consider new constitution.
Meantime. japanese were prom
ised a lively fight between Premier
Shidehara, who is determined to re-
tain his cabinet until the constitu-
ton has been adopted, and Liberal
Party Leader Ichiro Hatoyama, who
wants to form coalition govern
ment.
With only one seat of the 1885,
member House to be filed, news
paper figures gave the Liberals-who
actually are conservative-141 seats,
a lead of 48 over their nearest rivals,
the Progressives, who also are con-
servative. The Progressive member
ship was reduced by tonight's figures
to 80.
House to Meet With 465.
With their total of 234 votes, the
two parties hold bare majority,
but may get support from many of
the 30 independents and some of the
90 Social Democrats elected. The
latter has both right and left fac
tions. Other seats went to: Minor
parties, 80; Co-operatives, IA, and
Communists, S.
The House will meet with 465
members. A last-minute change in
the election law eliminated two
seats previously scheduled to be
added to the 466 House membership.
One seat will remain vacant because
the leading candidate in Fukui Pre-
lecture failed to obtain the mini
mum total necessary for election
A special election next month may
fill that vacancy.
Since the japanese normally have
been politically conservative, the
results had been anticipated, al
though it was expected that the
newly enfranchised women and
young men would give some support
to left wing Socialists and Commu
nistS.
Calls for Custer Coalition.
Hatoyama, vino recently acknowl-
edged he wrote book praising Hit
ler and Mussolini but said he later
disavowed it, called for a coalition
to oust the aging Shidehara's cabi-
net.
However, Chief Cabinet Secretary
Wataru Narahashi said tonight that
Shidehara is determined to continue
his administration to the close of the
special Diet session. He wants to
complete drafting Japan's new con-
stitution. The special Diet will con-
sist of members elected Wednesday
Narahashi said the elections die
not seek a vote of confidence from
the people. but were held because
a new election law had been en-
acted. Therefore, it is not neces-
sary that the government resign en-
bloc and it would not have beer
even had one party emerged with
an overwhelming majority, he rea-
Soned.
/ Mayor of Sendai Resigns.
| Meantime, Kyodo news agency
reported that the Mayor of Sendai
resigned and an election official at
Yahata village was reported by po-
lice to have committed suicide tc
accept responsibility for alleged
mass disqualification of voters.
Eight thousand were reported tc
have been denied the right to vote
in Sendai for various reasons.
Assessing the results of the elec-
ton, in which women voted for the
first time and chose at least IS oi
their sex to the Diet, the inf1uentia.
newspaper Asahi said:
THE fact many votes were cast fol
old influences, such as the progres.
sive and liberal parties, demon.
strates that realities do not chang'
at a jump. We must remem.
Der that old spheres of influenc,
still continue to be strong ane
that these feudalistic, conservativ,
spheres constitute the greatest i'm
pediment to freedom on progress il
the democratic revolution of Japan
/ Warning Seen in Results.
/ Yomiuri Hochi commented, 81
the people do not maintain stric
vigilance the results may be-
come the start of a big offensive fol
treactiOnary influences"
i Mainichi noted the successes O
the women, of leftist candidates ant
Of unknown men," they said: 'Ths
government should honestly recog
nize that fearful warning candid!
was given in the results ="
?,