Voters would be given a say in who becomes prime minister if any of three proposals submitted to the government Wednesday ever sees the light of day.
But it already looks like the proposals, part of a final report compiled by an advisory panel under Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, are in for a long night.
Under the current system, the prime minister is elected by Diet members, and voters are not directly involved in choosing the country's top leader.
The panel would rectify that in one of three ways:
* By revising the Constitution so that voters directly elect both the prime minister and a deputy prime minister, a post that at present does not exist and would have to be created.
* By creating a system whereby voters would elect House of Representatives members after candidates state their choice for prime minister. This is considered as unrealistic as the first option and would also require a constitutional revision.
* By urging political parties to reflect public opinion in electing the prime minister.
In July 2001, Koizumi, then backed by sky-high popularity ratings stoked by a carefully crafted reformist image, set up the panel to study the introduction of a direct-ballot system as a pillar of his promised reforms.
But in recent months, momentum for the effort has waned, Koizumi's public approval ratings have plunged sharply and criticism has mounted that his reforms have proven hollow.
The panel's recommendations failed to spell out which option would be best, which could doom the reform plan, given what some critics call Koizumi's lack of political initiative.
The panel was led by Takeshi Sasaki, president of the University of Tokyo.