2 More Courts Rule Feb. Lower House Election Constitutional

Tokyo, June 12 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo High Court and the Miyazaki branch of Fukuoka High Court in southwestern Japan ruled Friday that the last House of Representatives election, held in February, was constitutional in terms of vote-value disparities. The rulings came in response to two of the 16 lawsuits filed by two groups of lawyers with 14 high courts and high court branches nationwide. The groups are seeking to invalidate the election results, claiming that vote-value disparities of up to 2.1 times in the Lower House election violated the constitutional principle of electoral equality. All 15 rulings issued so far, including Friday’s rulings, have found the election to be constitutional. The remaining decision is due Wednesday. The plaintiffs plan to appeal the latest rulings to the Supreme Court. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]