Tokyo, Nov. 12 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, and the opposition Democratic Party for the People on Thursday jointly submitted a bill to the House of Representatives to cut the number of proportional representation seats in the lower chamber of the Diet, Japan’s parliament, by 31. They hope to begin deliberations on the bill at the Lower House’s Special Committee on Political Reform next week, aiming to have the Diet enact it during the ongoing session, which is scheduled to end on Dec. 12. Opposition parties except the DPFP have voiced strong opposition to the proposed seat cut, arguing that it would mean unilaterally pushing ahead with a review of the electoral system, which is considered the foundation of democracy. Prior to submitting the bill, representatives in charge of electoral reform from the LDP, the JIP and the DPFP held a meeting in the Diet Building and formally agreed on the bill’s contents. Former Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato of the LDP said, “We will join forces and work toward the bill’s passage.” Regarding the bill jointly submitted by the three parties, Hiromasa Nakano, Komeito’s policy chief, said, “The proportional representation system is designed to reflect diverse public opinion.” “I cannot accept reform of the system that would reduce the number of proportional representation seats,” he added. Junya Ogawa, leader of the Democratic Reform Party, told reporters that “reducing the number of seats is not an issue that should be pushed through by a majority vote.” The bill calls for reducing the number of proportional representation seats in the 465-seat Lower House from the current 176 to 145, based on projected population figures for 2030 compared with 2015. It seeks to integrate the Chugoku and Shikoku proportional representation blocs in western Japan to reduce the total number of blocs from 11 to 10. It is also aimed at changing the seat allocation system from the current D’Hondt method with the Sainte-Lague method, which is said to be more advantageous to smaller parties. Under the current system, candidates who lose in a single-seat constituency race need to receive at least one-tenth of the valid votes to be eligible for a proportional representation seat. The bill proposes raising the threshold to one-sixth. The bill would increase the amount of election deposits refunded to parties to 2.5 times the amount calculated by multiplying 6 million yen by the number of proportional representation winners, up from the current two times that amount, to make it easier for parties to field candidates. It also calls for leaving proportional representation seats vacant when a party does not have enough candidates to fill them. Under the current system, such seats are allocated to other parties. Regarding the proposed introduction of a unified list of proportional representation candidates, which was agreed upon by the secretaries-general of the three parties, discussions on specific measures were postponed. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
