Japan top court rules vote value gap in 2022 Upper House election constitutional

TOKYO, Oct 19 (NHK) - Japan's Supreme Court has ruled that the disparity in the value of votes in last year's Upper House election was constitutional.

The top court handed down the decision on Wednesday.

In the July 10, 2022 Upper House election, the disparity in the value of votes was up to 3.03 times between the constituency that had the largest number of voters per seat and the one with the least number.

Two groups of lawyers filed lawsuits with high courts and their branches nationwide, asking them to nullify the results of the election. The plaintiffs said the disparity violates the Constitution's guarantee of vote equality.

One of the courts and the branches ruled the gap was unconstitutional, eight said it was in a "state of unconstitutionality," and seven found it constitutional.

None of the rulings invalidated the election results.

The Supreme Court ruled the 5-fold and 4-fold disparities in the 2010 and 2013 Upper House elections were in a "state of unconstitutionality."

The gaps in the 2016 and 2019 Upper House elections were reduced to around three times after the rezoning of some constituencies and other measures. The disparities in the two elections were ruled constitutional.

Source: 日テレNEWS

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