A bill to reduce seats in Japan's House of Representatives appears unlikely to pass during the current extraordinary Diet session. Strong opposition from parties has left insufficient time for deliberations. Ruling coalition leaders have not ruled out extending the session, but upper house cooperation is essential.
The framework bill, submitted to the House of Representatives on December 5 by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party (JIP), aims to reduce seats in the lower chamber. It includes a clause that would automatically cut 25 single-seat constituency seats and 20 proportional representation seats if the ruling and opposition blocs fail to agree within the next year. The lower house currently comprises 465 seats, with 289 constituency and 176 proportional representation seats.
The main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP) and others have criticized this automatic reduction provision. The bill has not yet been referred to the lower house special committee on political reform, which is currently deliberating three bills on revising political donations from companies and organizations submitted by both ruling and opposition parties. As the opposition demands ample time for those donation bills, securing debate time for the seat reduction bill seems challenging even if it reaches the committee.
On Friday, LDP Diet affairs chief Hiroshi Kajiyama and JIP counterpart Takashi Endo met to discuss plans for the session's final phase. Kajiyama told reporters, “We won’t deny the possibility of extending the Diet session,” indicating efforts to urge the opposition to vote on the donation bills and begin deliberations on the seat legislation. JIP leader Hirofumi Yoshimura said, “We need to reach a conclusion [on the Lower House seat bill] even by extending the parliamentary session.”
The ruling parties hold a majority in the lower house but lack one in the House of Councillors, making opposition cooperation essential for enactment. At a Friday meeting, CDP upper house Diet affairs chief Yoshitaka Saito warned LDP counterpart Yoshihiko Isozaki that a forced vote in the lower house would lead to rejection of deliberations in the upper house. Saito told reporters afterward, “Even if the Diet session is extended, there’s no way that the bill would be enacted.” A senior LDP member noted, “There’s no point [in extending the Diet session] if the bill is not enacted,” while a JIP executive called it “difficult, realistically” to pass during the current session.
The extraordinary session ends Wednesday, and while the ruling camp pushes for opposition agreement, prospects remain dim.
