The Effects of the Number of Voters on Voter Turnout in the Prewar General Elections in Japan Held by Restricted Suffrage

While there are studies on elections in prewar Japan, only a few have analyzed the relationship between voter turnout and electoral district attributes, such as the number of voters. In contrast, this paper examines the effects of the number of voters and other factors on voter turnout in the first through the fifteenth House of Representatives elections. The results revealed that the number of voters is negatively correlated with voter turnout in the first through the fifteenth elections, as expected. Closeness is robustly positively correlated with it. The other factors included, such as the number of candidates and parties, are not robustly associated with it.