Top-down Instruction of Diet Seats Reduction

The President of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi instructed LDP Secretary General Shun-ichi Suzuki that the party needed to wrap up its discussion over reduction of Diet seats. The reduction is basically the idea of LDP’s coalition partner, Japan Innovation Party (JIP), that takes this issue as a condition to maintain the coalition with the LDP. Not only the opposition parties, but some LDP lawmakers are opposing it. 

JIP has been demanding the LDP to restrict donations from companies and organizations to parties. But when it came close to a deal for forming a leading coalition last October, JIP suddenly brought Diet seat reduction in a set of policy agreements for coalition. Arguing that the issue was the most important in political reform, JIP agreed with the LDP on reducing Lower House seats by 10 percent. Regulation on donation, which the LDP firmly protested, was postponed to the fall 2027.

 

Although the LDP and JIP sponsored a bill for reducing 10 percent of Lower House seats last December, which demanded the House to conclude this issue. If the House fails in reaching a conclusion within a year, the bill forced 25 of reduction in single-seat districts and 20 in proportional districts. The bill did not pass in 2025 fall session, because the LDP and JIP did not have majority in both Houses.

 

The leading parties now has a supermajority in the Lower House after the election in February 2026. JIP needs to have some achievements to maintain its popularity, taking advantage of its status as a leading party, otherwise it may lose confidence of its supporters on its approach to the LDP which it had long been criticizing. The LDP is helping JIP get some achievement in a face-saving manner. JIP’s pushing ultra-conservative policies to the LDP, such as constitutional amendment or punishment on destruction of national flag, is in the same context as Diet seat reduction.

 

In a meeting for political reform in the LDP on June 3rd, Suzuki revealed that Takaichi had told him two days before to have a party consensus for reduction of Lower House seats by 10-percent, or 45 seats, and it should be made solely in proportional district. The Lower House has 289 lawmakers from single-seat districts and 176 from the proportional. Small parties have less chance to win in a single-seat district. For instance, all the 15 seats of Sanseito in the Lower House are from proportional district. Reduction only in proportional district is highly disadvantageous for small parties.

 

The leader of Centrist Reform Alliance, Junya Ogawa, expressed his discomfort on Takaichi’s intervention in the discussion of seat reduction as the top leader of executive branch. Former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Takeshi Iwaya, also opposed initiative of Takaichi and Suzuki. The biggest proponent of this issue is JIP leader and Governor of Osaka, Hirofumi Yoshimura, who needs to keep his popularity for his next election in 2027. It is strange that a crucial issue for the members of Lower House is initiated by someone out of the legislative branch.

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