Elections in Japan
This article is part of the series
Politics of Japan |
| Emperor Constitution |
| National Diet House of Representatives House of Councillors Political parties Elections: |
| Prime Minister Cabinet |
| Supreme Court Judiciary |
Elections in Japan gives information on election and election results in Japan.
Japan elects on national level a legislature. The Diet (Kokkai) has two chambers. The House of Representatives (Shugi-in) has 480 members, elected for a four year term, 300 members in single-seat constituencies and 180 members by proportional representation in 11 regional blocs. In this system, voters in each block elect their favorite party, each of which fields a list of candidates; seats in the Diet are then handed out to the parties, proportionally to their share of the vote, who then appoint members from the list. The House of Councillors (Sangi-in) has 247 members, elected for a six year term, 149 members in multi-seat constituencies and 98 by proportional representation. One half of the House of Councillors comes up for election every three years. For many years Japan was a one party dominant state, but in 1993 the dominant Liberal Democratic Party was defeated by a coalition government. They soon regained power. Due to the proportional voting system it is unlikely that Japan will develop an exclusive two-party system, but there is speculation that Japanese political diversity is declining.
Results
- House of Representatives:
- House of Councillors: