11th Ruling Finds Japan Upper House Poll in Unconstitutional State

Hiroshima, Nov. 25 (Jiji Press)–Hiroshima High Court ruled on Tuesday that the July election for Japan’s House of Councillors was held in a state of unconstitutionality, the last in a series of judgments in 16 lawsuits filed by two groups of lawyers across the country over the Upper House poll. The latest ruling was the 11th to find that the election with a maximum vote value gap of 3.13 times was conducted under unconstitutional conditions. The other five rulings concluded that the election was constitutional. The lawyers had demanded that the results of the Upper House election be nullified, arguing that the poll ran counter to the constitutional requirement for equality in the value of votes, but the request was rejected in all rulings. The Supreme Court is expected to issue a unified judgment later. In the latest election, the vote value disparity slightly widened from the previous Upper House poll in 2022, when the maximum gap was 3.03 times. Hiroshima High Court’s Okayama branch said the disparity of about three times is serious and difficult to overlook. Sapporo High Court said that it cannot tolerate such a gap remaining high. Nagoya High Court’s Kanazawa branch said that parliament should have considered a drastic reform of the election system, such as creating constituencies larger than prefectural ones. Rulings that found the election constitutional also urged parliament to address the disparity. Tokyo High Court said in two cases that the next election could be ruled unconstitutional if it is held without major progress in discussions to correct the disparities. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]