Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda hinted Saturday he could call a general election before addressing the vast disparity in the weight of votes among constituencies, an issue the Supreme Court has termed unconstitutional.
"Generally speaking, we need to go through the process of revising the law and letting people know (about new electoral zoning). But as prime minister, I have to make a decision when I must go to the people," Noda told reporters in Yamada, Iwate Prefecture, during a visit to inspect postdisaster reconstruction work.
But Noda also indicated that revising the law to remedy the present vote-value disparities should still take priority in the extraordinary Diet session that kicks off Monday.
The Supreme Court has ruled that the difference in the weight of votes among some constituencies in the last elections of both chambers of the Diet was excessive, and is therefore "in a state of unconstitutionality."