House of Councillors

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The House of Councillors (参議院, Sangiin^?) is the upper house of the Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers, the Japanese equivalent to the British House of Lords. If the two houses disagree on matters of the budget, treaties, or designation of the prime minister, the House of Representatives can insist on its decision. In all other decisions, the House of Representatives can override a vote of the House of Councillors only by a two-thirds majority of members present. However with the introduction of proportional representation in the House of Representatives, the upper house has significantly enhanced its power to block legislation with final effect at the expense of the former where the government fails to attain the two-thirds mark in almost every general election, such as in the recent case of the Postal Privatisation Bill block.

The House of Councillors chamber, in the National Diet Building in Tokyo.

The House of Councillors has 242 members who each serve six year terms, two years longer than those of the House of Representatives. The House cannot be dissolved, as only half of its membership is re-elected at each election, using a parallel voting system. Of the 121 members subject to election each time, 73 are elected from the 47 prefectural districts (by single non-transferable vote) and 48 are elected from a nationwide list by proportional representation. Up to the 1998 election, there were 252 members, 126 elected at a time: 76 from prefectural districts and 50 elected nationwide. At the 2001 elections these numbers were reduced and the total number was 247 (126 elected in 1998 and 121 elected in 2001).

Councillors must be at least 30 years old, compared with 25 years old in the House of Representatives.

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**Summary of the 11 July 2004 Japanese **House of Councillors** election results**
Alliances and parties	Votes	%	Prefectural seats 2004	Proportional seats 2004	elected in 2001	+/-	Total seats	+/-
Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) Minshutō	21,138,032	37.8	31	19		+5	79	+12
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Jiyū Minshutō	16,797,684	30.0	34	15		-2	114	-1
New Komeito Party (NKP) Shin Kōmeitō	8,621,267	15.4	3	8		+1	24	+1
Japanese Communist Party (JCP) Nihon Kyōsantō	4,363,107	7.8	-	4		-4	9	-11
Social Democratic Party (SDP) Shakai Minshutō	2,990,667	5.2	-	2		0	8	0
Others	2,022,134	-	5	-		0	13	+4
Total (turnout 56.4 %)			73	48	121		242
Source: Adam Carr's Electoral Archive (2004) and [1] (2001)