Tag - vote-disparity

 
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July 06, 2025
 

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VOTE DISPARITY

Voters cast their ballots for the Lower House election at a polling station in Tokyo on Oct. 27.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 26, 2025
Three more courts find 2024 Lower House election constitutional
The plaintiffs had claimed that the maximum vote-value gap of 2.06 times in the election violated the Constitution.
At the Naha branch of Fukuoka High Court, presiding Judge Takashi Miura said that the constituency map redrawn for the election was reasonable as it adopted the so-called Adams method, which is believed to reflect population ratios more accurately.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 18, 2025
Fukuoka High Court's Naha branch finds 2024 Lower House poll constitutional
It was the seventh ruling among the 16 lawsuits on the latest general election filed so far by two groups of lawyers at 14 high courts and high court branches.
A lawyer heads to the Fukuoka High Court on Monday to file a lawsuit concerning "vote disparity" in the Lower House election held the previous day.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 28, 2024
Lawyers file suits to nullify Lower House election results
The group have said that the poll was unconstitutional because it was carried out without correcting vote-value disparities.
A Lower House plenary session is held in June. One vote in the least-populated single-seat constituency for the lower chamber is at least twice as powerful as that in the eight most populous constituencies, an analysis has found.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 26, 2024
Vote-value disparities may be unconstitutional in eight Lower House districts
One vote in the least-populated single-seat constituency is at least twice as powerful as one in the eight most populous constituencies, a new analysis shows.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 20, 2023
LDP power struggle in Yamaguchi shows waning influence of Abe faction
With Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi having been selected for the new No. 3 district, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's caucus has come out on top over the Abe faction.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Mar 2, 2023
Redrawn electoral map raises concerns in Japan's rural areas
To rectify vote-value disparities, 10 seats will be transferred from the least populous rural areas to the most densely populated urban areas.
JAPAN
Nov 18, 2022
Parliament OKs bill to redraw Lower House electoral map to curtail vote-value disparities
The revised law, which will remove one seat each from 10 prefectures and distribute 10 to five other prefectures, will be put into effect a month after its promulgation.
JAPAN
Nov 16, 2022
Eight of 16 courts find July Upper House poll to be in unconstitutional state
The rulings were given on lawsuits filed with high courts and high court branches across the country by two groups of lawyers claiming that the Upper House poll violated the Constitution.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 26, 2022
A second ruling finds July Upper House poll was constitutional
A total of 16 lawsuits over vote-value gaps in the July election have been filed with 14 high courts and high court branches across the country.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 14, 2022
Osaka High Court declares July Upper House poll unconstitutional
The court rejected the plaintiffs' demand that the result of the election, in which the maximum vote-value gap stood at 3.03 times, be nullified.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2022
Senior LDP executive backs discussions on anti-cult law
Toshiaki Endo, chair of the LDP's General Council, said that it would nonetheless be 'hard to define what cults are.'
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 9, 2022
Lower House redistricting plans in focus after Abe’s death
The ruling LDP is facing tricky political questions in the late PM's home prefecture of Yamaguchi, with the answers likely to impact a Lower House district realignment plan.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 11, 2022
Lower House redistricting threatens clash of titans within LDP
With a single-seat district to be cut in Yamaguchi, Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and ex-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe could end up fighting for the remaining seats and resulting influence.
EDITORIALS
Jul 20, 2018
The need to overhaul the electoral system
The amendment to the Public Offices Election Law that was hastily enacted this week highlights all the more the need for a more fundamental overhaul.
EDITORIALS
Feb 21, 2018
LDP's proposed electoral system amendment
The LDP's proposed electoral system amendment won't solve the vote-value disparity problem and may conflict with the Constitution's Article 43.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 23, 2017
Lawsuits filed to nullify Lower House election over vote-value disparity
A group of lawyers filed lawsuits seeking to invalidate the results of Sunday's Lower House election for all 289 single-seat districts.
EDITORIALS
Apr 24, 2017
Lower House electoral system needs an overhaul
Only comprehensive reform can resolve the Lower House electoral system's problems.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / DECISION 2016
Jul 6, 2016
Kochi voters feel neglected after redrawing of electoral boundaries
Campaigning is at fever pitch ahead of Sunday's Upper House election, with candidates pounding the pavement, holding rallies and calling out their names and slogans for hours on end via loudspeakers.
EDITORIALS
Apr 24, 2016
Insufficient electoral reform
The ruling coalition needs to explain why the nation is still being kept waiting for the fundamental reform needed to correct the gross disparity in vote values.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 26, 2016
Census confirms population shrinkage, vote-value disparities
The 2015 census is the first to confirm Japan is shrinking, but it also shows why the value of people's votes is being warped nationwide.
Japan braces for more quakes as authorities dismiss doomsday hype
Evacuees from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecuture, arrive at Kagoshima Port on Friday.
Hidden AI prompts in academic papers spark concern about research integrity
Waseda University is one of 14 institutions in eight countries found to have used hidden prompts in research papers.
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Residents of Tokara Islands begin evacuation as seismic swarm continues
Details about evacuations from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecture, is seen written on a whiteboard in the city of Kagoshima on Thursday.
U.S. military apologizes over Okinawa sexual assault case
Col. Neil Owens (right), chief of staff for the 3rd Marine Division, bows in apology at the Okinawa Prefectural Government office in Naha on Thursday.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

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