In contrast, the mildly pro-military Rikken Minseitō lost several seats and fascist groups such as Tōhōkai remained minor forces in the House.

Just days after taking office and having the Diet enact a budget bill, he ordered a dissolution of the House of Representatives, hoping to weaken the major political parties.

The act was opposed by the major political parties as well as by the general public, and quickly became known as the "dine and dash dissolution" (食い逃げ解散, kui-nige kaisan).

In 1941 the Diet under the Konoe government passed a law extending the term of the Representatives from four years to five (衆議院議員任期延長ニ関スル法律).

This allowed time to solidify the control of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association over Japanese politics.