Local and Regional Elections: Tokyo, Japan, 1963

This study was conducted in Japan in 1963 with respondents from the metropolitan Tokyo area, the five largest cities in Japan, other smaller cities, and Japanese towns and villages. The study investigated Japanese awareness of four different types of recently held elections: gubernatorial, prefectural assembly, mayoral, and city (ward, town, or village) assembly. Respondents' voting patterns were ascertained, as well as factors that had influenced their votes. Further questions probed awareness of the election campaigns through official campaign bulletins, speeches, radio and television broadcasts, and newspaper advertisements. Respondents' knowledge of the candidates for whom they had voted was also explored. A final section of the study posed questions about politics in general, including respondents' awareness of bribery, collusion, or violation of election laws, and their opinions of the trend toward party-affiliated, rather than independent, candidates in local politics. Demographic data include respondents' occupations.