Following are Lower House elections over the past 20 years. Prime ministers at the time of dissolution are in brackets.

July 18, 1993: The Liberal Democratic Party lost a majority in the Lower House, bringing to an end 38 uninterrupted years in power. Morihiro Hosokawa is elected prime minister after forming a non-LDP coalition. (Kiichi Miyazawa)

Oct. 20, 1996: The LDP fails to secure a majority but maintains a coalition government with the Social Democratic Party and New Party Sakigake. The current Lower House electoral system — in which some members are elected from single-seat constituencies while others are elected from proportional representation segments — begins. (Ryutaro Hashimoto)

June 25, 2000: The ruling bloc of the LDP, New Komeito and New Conservative Party gains a majority. (Yoshiro Mori)

Nov. 9, 2003: The LDP maintains a majority and the Democratic Party of Japan also advances while smaller parties suffer setbacks. (Junichiro Koizumi)

Sept. 11, 2005: The LDP wins big and secures a two-thirds majority with its coalition partner, New Komeito. Koizumi dissolved the Lower House and called a general election after the Diet blocked bills for the privatization of postal services. (Junichiro Koizumi)

Aug. 30, 2009: The DPJ scores a landslide victory, capturing 308 of the 480 seats in the Lower House, while the LDP, in a historic defeat, fails to become the largest force in the chamber for the first time since its establishment in 1955. (Taro Aso)