The Osaka High Court ruled Monday that last December's snap Lower House election was "in a state of unconstitutionality" due to the disparity in the weight of votes between districts, but it rejected plaintiffs' demand that the results be nullified.
The ruling is the latest in a string of court decisions on the matter. The plaintiffs, mainly lawyers, had sought the nullification of election results in a total of 48 districts in the Kansai region.
The judgment was made after the Tokyo High Court ruled last Thursday that the vote gap in the election was constitutional, while the Nagoya High Court on Friday judged the vote disparity as being "in a state of unconstitutionality."