Lower House Seat Cut May Affect 20 of 47 Prefectures in Japan

Tokyo, Dec. 3 (Jiji Press)–A proposed reduction in House of Representatives seats is estimated to affect single-seat constituencies in 20 of Japan’s 47 prefectures, including Tokyo, Osaka, Gunma and Nagano, it was learned Wednesday. This was revealed in an estimate by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which was based on a draft bill for the proposed cut in Lower House seats, according to a senior LDP official. The LDP and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party (Nippon Ishin no Kai), are considering including in the bill a measure to automatically reduce the number of single-seat constituency seats and proportional representation seats by 25 and 20, respectively, if negotiations between the ruling and opposition parties fail to conclude within one year after the legislation takes effect. The 20 prefectures in question are projected to be subject to the reduction of 25 single-member constituency seats of the all-important lower chamber of the Diet, the country’s parliament. As the 20 prefectures include areas with many conservative voters who strongly support the LDP, an increasing number of party members are voicing their opposition to the measure, sources familiar with the situation said. The ruling camp is considering submitting the bill to the Diet on Friday. The estimate was drawn up based on the 2020 census results, using the so-called Adams method for seat allocation that is designed to better reflect differences in regional population. It shows that the number of single-seat constituencies is seen decreasing by three in Tokyo, two each in Chiba, Kanagawa and Osaka, and one each in 16 prefectures including Hokkaido and Okinawa. The number of reductions in seats and affected prefectures could change depending on the final census figures due in autumn 2026. “This will be a blow to the LDP,” a party executive close to Prime Minister and LDP President Sanae Takaichi said of the estimate. “Did the prime minister really reach an agreement with the JIP, knowing this result?” A party heavyweight claimed, “It cannot reflect the voices of regional residents.” On Wednesday, the LDP held a joint meeting of its relevant divisions to discuss the matter, as it did the previous day. At Wednesday’s meeting, former Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya of the LDP reiterated that there is no need for the measure to automatically reduce Lower House seats. Still, the LDP approved the bill at the joint meeting, leaving the future response to Katsunobu Kato, head of the party’s political system reform headquarters. The party aims to gain approval of the bill at a meeting of its General Council on Friday. Meanwhile, the JIP adopted the bill at an executive meeting Wednesday. The bill calls for reducing the number of Lower House seats by about 10 pct from the current 465–289 constituency seats and 176 proportional representation seats. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]