House of Representatives of Japan

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Japanese House of Representatives
衆議院
Shūgiin

Type Lower house
Speaker of the House Yohei Kono, LDP
since
Members 480
Political groups LDP
DPJ
NKP
JCP
SDP
PNP
NPN
NPD
Meeting place National Diet Building, Tokyo
Web site www.shugiin.go.jp/index.nsf/html/index_e.htm
Japan

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The House of Representatives (衆議院 Shūgiin?) is the lower house of the Diet of Japan. The House of Councillors of Japan is the upper house.

The House of Representatives has 480 members, elected for four-year terms. Of these, 180 are elected from 11 multi-member constituencies by proportional representation, and 300 are elected from single-member constituencies. The House of Representatives is the more powerful of the two houses, able to override vetoes on bills imposed by the House of Councillors with a two-thirds majority. It can be dissolved by the Prime Minister at will, as it was by Junichiro Koizumi on August 8, 2005, due to a division within his Liberal Democratic Party.

Contents

[edit] Right to vote and candidature

  • Japanese nationals aged 20 years and older may vote.
  • Japanese nationals aged 25 years and older may run for office in the lower house.

[edit] Differences between the Upper and Lower Houses

The House of Representatives has several powers not given to the House of Councillors. If a bill is passed by the lower house (the House of Representatives) but is voted down by the upper house (the House of Councillors) the House of Representatives can override the decision of the other chamber by a two-thirds vote in the affirmative. However, in the case of treaties, the budget, and the selection of the prime minister, the House of Councillors can only delay passage, but not block the legislation. As a result, the House of Representatives is considered the more powerful house.

Members of the House of Representatives, who are elected to a maximum of four years, sit for a shorter term than members of the House of Councillors, who are elected to full six-year terms. The lower house can also be dissolved by the Prime Minister or the passage of a nonconfidence motion, while the House of Councillors cannot be dissolved. Thus the House of Representatives is considered to be more sensitive to public opinion, and is termed the "lower house".

The term "lower house" is also a legacy of the 1889 Meiji Constitution, when the House of Peers functioned as an aristocratic upper house in a format similar to the House of Lords in the Westminster system, or the Reichsrat in the Prussian-based German government of the time.

[edit] Latest election result

Main article: Japan general election, 2005
e•d Summary of the 11 September 2005 Japanese House of Representatives election results
Alliances and parties Local seats +/- Block seats +/- Block votes  % +/- Total seats +/-
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Jiyū Minshutō 219 +51 77 +8 25,887,798 38.2% +3.3 296 +60
Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) Minshutō 52 -53 61 -11 21,036,425 31.0% -6.4 113 -64
New Komeito Party (NKP) Kōmeitō 8 -1 23 -2 8,987,620 13.3% -1.5 31 -3
Japanese Communist Party (JCP) Nihon Kyōsantō 0 9 4,919,187 7.3% -0.4 9
Social Democratic Party (SDP) Shakai Minshutō 1 0 6 +1 3,719,522 5.5% +0.3 7 +1
People's New Party (PNP) Kokumin Shintō 2 2 1,183,073 1.7% 4
New Party Nippon (NPN) Shintō Nippon 0 1 1,643,506 2.4% 1
New Party Daichi (NPD) Shintō Daichi 0 1 433,938 0.6% 1
Others 18 +1 - 18 +1
Total (turnout %) 300 180 67,781,069 100.0 480
House of Representatives of Japan by Party
House of Representatives of Japan by Party

[edit] See also

[edit] External links