The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that the up to 3.03-fold vote disparity in the 2022 Upper House election was constitutional, rejecting the plaintiffs' call to invalidate the results.
The decision over the results of the House of Councilors election on July 10 last year followed 16 rulings from lower courts, with one saying the gap was unconstitutional and eight calling it in a "state of unconstitutionality." The remainder said it was constitutional.
"The value of votes cannot be said to be in a significantly unequal state," the top court's Grand Bench said in its ruling, noting that the country's further efforts to review the electoral constituencies and narrow the gap require time.