In Print: Volume 88: Number 6
Concerning the Japanese Public’s Evaluation of Supreme Court Justices
By Tokuji Izumi
88 Wash. U. L. Rev. 1769 (2011)
(PDF)
The Japanese Election Law fixes the size of the House of Representatives (Lower House) at 480 members, with the further requirement that 300 of its members shall be elected through single-member constituencies, and the remaining 180 seats shall be filled through multidistrict elections on the basis of proportional representation. For the single-constituency elections, the population effectively represented by a congressman (i.e., the population-per-constituency ratio) varies widely between districts and heavily favors rural areas and small towns over major cities. For instance, in large cities like Tokyo and Osaka, a congressman represents a group of electorates that is twice that of small towns. This amounts to dilution of voting power, effectively rendering the vote of a large-city resident worth only half a vote.
Similarly, the election law fixes the size of the House of Councilors (Upper House) at 242 members: 146 of its members are to be elected through prefectural-district elections, while the remaining 96 seats are to be filled through nationwide elections on the basis of proportional representation. For the prefectural-district elections, the population effectively represented by a councilor (i.e., the population-per-constituency ratio) varies widely between districts and favors less densely populated areas. For instance, in large cities like Tokyo and Osaka, a councilor represents constituencies that are five times the population size of those found in small towns. This, likewise, amounts to dilution of voting power, effectively making the vote of a large-city resident worth only one-fifth of a vote.
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