Tokyo, Oct. 22 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Thursday presented a revised proposal to cut the number of proportional representation seats in the House of Representatives by 31. The new plan was submitted by the party’s Keisuke Suzuki, former justice minister, to a meeting among working-level officials from nine political parties on election system reform for the all-important lower chamber of the Diet, the country’s parliament. Participants decided to discuss the proposal in detail at their own parties. The opposition Democratic Party for the People expressed certain understanding of the proposal, while the Japan Innovation Party, the LDP’s coalition partner, refrained from showing a clear-cut response. All opposition parties other than the DPFP expressed opposition. The LDP-JIP coalition submitted to the special Diet session that ended in July a bill to automatically reduce the number of Lower House proportional representation seats by 45, or about 10 pct of all 465 seats in the chamber, unless the ruling and opposition parties reach agreement within a year. The bill has been carried over for continued deliberation. The LDP hopes to reach a conclusion by the end of this month based on its latest proposal, but it remains to be seen if an agreement will be clinched. According to informed sources, the revised proposal is based on an estimate that Japan’s population will drop 6.7 pct in 2015-2030, supporting an assertion by the DPFP that it is logical to reduce seats to reflect a population decline. After the meeting, Ryuna Kanemura, general council chief at the JIP, which has advocated a reduction of 45 seats, told reporters, “We have to hold thorough discussions with the LDP.” Motohisa Furukawa, acting leader of the DPFP, said that the new LDP proposal is “better than the reduction of 45 seats.” Hiromasa Nakano, policy chief of Komeito, an opposition party, said, “Reducing only proportional representation seats will undermine the balance of the current system.” Takayuki Ochiai, policy chief of the opposition Democratic Reform Party, called the latest proposal “very regrettable,” arguing that a decision to reduce seats should come with fundamental electoral system reform. The ruling and opposition sides agreed recently that a conclusion would be reached by the end of this month on a reform based on the current system of combining single-seat constituencies and proportional representation seats, and that a third-party panel of experts would discuss an extensive overhaul. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
