Japan ruling bloc, opposition party submit bill to cut lower house seats

Japan's ruling coalition and opposition party have submitted a bill to parliament aimed at reducing the number of seats in the House of Representatives by 31. The bill, submitted by the Liberal Democratic Party, its junior coalition partner the Japan Innovation Party, and the opposition Democratic Party for the People, modifies the originally proposed cut of 45 seats and changes the seat allocation formula to favor smaller parties.

The legislation, if passed, would require a Senate majority, which the ruling party currently lacks. The bill, which would take effect in 2027, also merges two proportional representation blocks in western Japan and increases the vote threshold for candidates who lose a constituency race but win a seat through a proportional representation list.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Mainichi's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.