The Tokyo High Court on March 6 ruled that the apportionment for the Dec. 16 Lower House election was unconstitutional because of the extent of the disparity in single-seat constituency vote values between depopulated rural areas and populated urban ones.
Although the lawsuit was filed by a group of lawyers concerning the election in the Tokyo No. 1 constituency — and the court did not nullify the election results — the ruling's implication is still significant as it casts strong doubt over the constitutional legitimacy of the election victories of many Lower House members. The Diet should reduce the vote-value disparity by immediately carrying out reapportionment.
On March 7, the Sapporo High Court ruled in a similar fashion. A series of other similar rulings with regard the constitutionality of the Lower House election results are likely to come by the end of this month. When that happens, the legitimacy of those Lower House members will be further weakened.