1976 General Elections
The 1976 General elections were the first (and to date, only) lower house elections to occur at the expiration of a diet term. They were held on December 5th, 1976.
This election is known generally as the Lockheed Election.
Contents
History
The last lower house elections were held in 1972.
In the United States, the Senate Subcommittee on Multinational Corporations led by Church investigated and subpoenaed the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. It was revealed that approximately $22 million USD was paid in bribes to foreign governments to negotiate purchase orders of Lockheed aircraft, of which $8.3 million USD was spent in Japan. In particular, Tanaka is believed to have accepted approximately $3 million USD personally.
Results
The LDP lost seats, leading to Miki's resignation.