日本語

Thinking that the Reduction of the Number of Diet Members

Following Prime Minister Ishiba’s resignation announcement, the candidates for the next the Liberal Democratic Party(hereinafter called LDP) of Japan presidential election have been confirmed.
Among those candidates was Councilor Takaichi.
New Komeito leader Saito, whose party has long formed a coalition government with the Liberal Democratic Party, made comments that could be interpreted as intervening in the LDP presidential election.  He stated, “If the coalition government is to continue, it must be a conservative-centrist line that matches our ideology. Otherwise, we cannot form a coalition government.”

Sanae Takaichi has won the election as the first female LDP president!!

For the New Komeito Party, it must have been extremely inconvenient for LDP president Sanae Takaichi to become Prime Minister.
As declared, they unilaterally announced their withdrawal from the coalition government.
The LDP as the minority ruling government needs to join forces with parties willing to cooperate in order to maintain government control.
The political situation has been unusually intense in recent years, with the situation changing daily.
On October 15th, four party leader meetings were conducted.
What was surprising was the meeting between the leaders of the LDP and Japan Innovation Party (hereinafter called JIP). Not only Fujita co-leader, but also Yoshimura leader of the JIP made a special trip to Tokyo to participate.

That night, the JIP announced that it would “start discussion with the LDP to form a coalition government.”

The JIP proposed twelve government policies as preconditions for forming a coalition government with the LDP.
Furthermore, it proposed “reducing the number of Diet members”.

Personally, I agree with reducing the number of Diet members.
If discussing about Diet members, we hope the discussion is not only about reducing the number of Diet members, but also about the electoral districts for the House of Councillors.

About the electoral districts for the House of Councillors.

The regions known as House of Councillors merged electoral districts (“merged districts”) treat adjacent prefectures as a single electoral district.
Currently, Tottori Prefecture and Shimane Prefecture, and Tokushima Prefecture and Kochi Prefecture are merged districts.
This system was established because the “disparity in the value of one vote” issue is often brought to court by lawyers.

What is a Diet member ?
You probably learned this in middle school, but the House of Representatives website also states: “Diet members are entrusted by the sovereign citizens of Japan and bear the important responsibility of deliberating on national politics on behalf of all the people.”

This House of Councillors merged electoral district feels like it’s saying country residents don’t need to be treated as citizens.
In fact, it states that “People living in merged districts don’t feel close to candidates from neighboring prefectures,” meaning candidates from the more populous area may gain an overwhelming advantage.We believe complaining about disparities in the value of votes when electing Diet members is the same as demanding “equality of outcome (inequality in the selection process).”
Shouldn’t the government be different from the private sector and treat all residents equally ?

About the proportional representation system

Unlike single-seat districts where voters directly choose candidates, proportional representation involves voting for a political party.
Each party’s number of seats is determined based on the votes it receives.
This makes it a very important method for parties with relatively fewer supporters to secure seats, as they might not win in single-seat districts.
Diet members must listen to minority opinions. I hope for careful discussion that takes this into account.

The problem with the proportional representation system is the so-called “rescue by proportional representation,” where candidates who lose in single-seat districts are elected through the proportional representation vote.
In other words, the problem is that candidates rejected by the people in an election end up becoming their representatives.
However, since there are articles stating that this proposal targets the “rescue by proportional representation,” I would like to watch the discussion closely.

Reference: TBS NES DIG (2025/09/27)
https://newsdig.tbs.co.jp/articles/-/2155644

Reference: Yomiuri Shinbun ONLINE (2025/10/17)
https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/politics/20251016-OYT1T50200

Reference: The Sankei Shinbun (2025/10/18)
https://www.sankei.com/article/20251018-ZZCV7SBQ2NMERPN45VUHDJHDXY

Reference: Asahi Shinbun (2025/10/17)
https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASTBH3VL5TBHUTFK00JM.html

Reference: Nippon Television NEWS (2025/10/16)
https://news.ntv.co.jp/category/politics/d4ab6aef3b084a899c209a42de361de0?p=2

Reference: Asahi Shinbun (2025/10/18)
https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASTBK3R4XTBKUTFK00TM.html

Reference: NIKKEI SHINBUN (2025/10/19)
https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOUA172AG0X11C25A0000000

Reference: Yomiuri Shinbun ONLINE (2025/10/18)
https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/editorial/20250926-OYT1T50202

Reference: the House of Representatives (2025/10/18)
https://www.shugiin.go.jp/internet/itdb_annai.nsf/html/statics/kokkai/kokkai_giin.htm

Reference: Yomiuri Shinbun ONLINE (2025/10/18)
https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/election/sangiin/20250712-OYT1T50049

Reference: Asahi Shinbun (2025/10/18)
https://www.asahi.com/articles/AST7Q31V6T7QUTIL00RM.html

Thanks.
2025/09/30