Opposition Lawmakers Voice Caution on Proposed Lower House Seat Cut

Tokyo, Nov. 18 (Jiji Press)–Many opposition party lawmakers at a meeting held on Tuesday voiced reluctance over a proposal to reduce the number of seats in the House of Representatives. At the meeting of a council on the all-important lower parliamentary chamber’s electoral system, the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan urged that a conclusion be reached at the council to better reflect the opinions of smaller parties. The council, established under Lower House Speaker Fukushiro Nukaga, involves both ruling and opposition parties. “Most participants said that the electoral system and the number of (Lower House) seats should be discussed together, and that the council should make a decision on the matter,” Ichiro Aisawa of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, who heads the council, told reporters after the meeting. According to those who attended the meeting, some members of Komeito, the former coalition ally of the LDP, and other parties opposed reducing the number of proportional representation seats in the Lower House. The LDP and its new coalition partner, Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party), had agreed to aim to enact a legislation to reduce Lower House seats, preferably by 10 pct, during the ongoing extraordinary parliamentary session, which is set to end on Dec. 17. A suprapartisan group of lawmakers on Nov. 6 requested that discussions on the proposal be held at the council. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]