The Sapporo High Court ruled Friday that results from the 2014 House of Representatives election are "in a state of unconstitutionality" because of ongoing vote weight disparities between constituencies, but rejected plaintiffs' demands to nullify the outcome.
The ruling on Hokkaido's 12 constituencies is the 11th court decision to judge the election just short of outright unconstitutionality. Vote disparities of up to 2.13-fold in last December's snap general election prompted 17 similar lawsuits to be filed across Japan.
Of the 16 rulings issued so far, only one has declared the election unconstitutional, although it, too, stopped short of nullifying the results. Four found the election constitutional and the others declared the poll had been held "in a state of unconstitionality."
The Supreme Court is expected to issue a unifying decision possibly by the end of this year.