The effects of uncontested elections on legislative speechmaking: An analysis of legislative performance in Japan's prefectural assemblies*,**

This study reconsiders the effects of uncontested elections on legislative behavior, based on a large dataset for 2002-2021 that was newly put together for Japan's prefectural assemblies. As uncontested politicians do not need to engage in as much constituency effort in vying for re-election, they may have additional time for intraparliamentary work. However, although these incumbents were once elected without facing any rivals, they have some electoral vulnerability, as their seats may be challenged in future elections. I show that among those uncontested incumbents, the legislative performance is higher (lower) for those elected from districts of smaller (larger) magnitudes, as they are more (less) confident in their chances of re-election. My findings highlight the primacy of re-election motivations among uncontested politicians.