| House of Representatives 衆議院 Shūgiin |
|
|---|---|
| The 45th House of Representatives | |
| Type | |
| Type | Lower house |
| Leadership | |
| Speaker | Takahiro Yokomichi, DPJ since September 16, 2009 |
| Prime Minister | Yoshihiko Noda, DPJ since August 31, 2011 |
| Opposition Leader | Sadakazu Tanigaki, LDP since September 28, 2009 |
| Structure | |
| Members | 480 |
| Political groups |
DPJ/Club of Independents (306)
LDP (118)
Kōmeitō (21)
JCP (9)
SDP/Shimin Rengō (6)
YP (5)
SPJ (2)
former "Hiranuma group" (2)
Independents (6)
Vacant (1)
|
| Meeting place | |
| The House of Representatives Chamber | |
| Website | |
| www.shugiin.go.jp | |
| 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 a four-year term. Of these, 180 members are elected from 11 multi-member constituencies by a party-list system of proportional representation, and 300 are elected from single-member constituencies. 241 seats are required for majority.
The overall voting system used to elect the House of Representatives is a parallel system, not a form of proportional representation. Under a parallel system the allocation of list seats does not take into account the outcome in the single seat constituencies. Therefore the overall allocation of seats in the House of Representatives is not proportional, to the advantage of larger parties. In contrast, in bodies such as the German Bundestag the election of single-seat members and party list members is linked, so that the overall result respects proportional representation.
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 Taro Aso on July 21, 2009.
Contents |
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 House of Councillors 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 Herrenhaus in the Prussian-based German government of the time.
(as of December 6, 2011)[1]
| parliamentary group | Representatives | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party of Japan/Mushozoku Club ("Independent Club") | 302 | |
| Liberal Democratic Party/Mushozoku no Kai ("Assembly of Independents") | 120 | |
| Kōmeitō | 21 | |
| Japanese Communist Party | 9 | |
| Social Democratic Party/Shimin Rengō ("Citizens' League") | 6 | |
| Your Party | 5 | |
| People's New Party/New Party Nippon | 5 | |
| Sunrise Party of Japan | 2 | |
| Independents (incl. Speaker and Vice-Speaker) | 9 | |
| Total | 479 | |
Vacancies:
| Alliances and parties | Local constituency vote | PR block vote | Total seats | +/− | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes[6] | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | (pre-election) | (last gen. election) | |||
| Democratic Party (DPJ) | 33,475,335 | 47.43% | 221 | 29,844,799 | 42.41% | 87 | 308 | 193 | 195 | |
| Social Democratic Party (SDP) | 1,376,739 | 1.95% | 3 | 3,006,160 | 4.27% | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | |
| People's New Party (PNP) | 730,570 | 1.04% | 3 | 1,219,767 | 1.73% | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | |
| New Party Nippon | 220,223 | 0.31% | 1 | 528,171 | 0.75% | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| New Party Daichi | no district candidates | 433,122 | 0.62% | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Center-left opposition (resulting DPJ–SDP–PNP coalition & parliamentary allies) |
35,802,866 | 50.73% | 228 | 35,032,019 | 49.78% | 92 | 320 | 193 | 194 | |
| Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) | 27,301,982 | 38.68% | 64 | 18,810,217 | 26.73% | 55 | 119 | 181 | 177 | |
| New Komeito Party (NKP) | 782,984 | 1.11% | 0 | 8,054,007 | 11.45% | 21 | 21 | 10 | 10 | |
| Japan Renaissance Party | 36,650 | 0.05% | 0 | 58,141 | 0.08% | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Ruling LDP–NKP coalition & parliamentary allies | 28,121,613 | 39.84% | 64 | 26,922,365 | 38.26% | 76 | 140 | 192 | 187 | |
| Japanese Communist Party (JCP) | 2,978,354 | 4.22% | 0 | 4,943,886 | 7.03% | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | |
| Your Party (YP) | 615,244 | 0.87% | 2 | 3,005,199 | 4.27% | 3 | 5 | 1 | 5 | |
| Others | 1,077,543 | 1.53% | 0 | 466,786[7] | 0.66% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Independents[8] | 1,986,056 | 2.81% | 6 | – | 6 | 0 | 12 | |||
| Totals | 70,581,680 | 100.00% | 300 | 70,370,255 | 100.00% | 180 | 480 | 2 (vacant seats) |
0 | |
| Turnout | 69.28% | 69.27% | – | |||||||
| Parties | 1960[9] | 1963[9] | 1967[9] | 1969[9] | 1972[9] | 1976[9] | 1979[9] | 1980[9] | 1983[9] | 1986[9] | 1990[9] | 1993[9] | 1996[10] | 2000[11] | 2003[12] | 2005[13] | 2009[14] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Jiyū Minshutō | 57.6 % | 54.7 % | 48.8 % | 47.6% | 46.8 % | 41.8% | 44.6% | 47.9% | 48.9% | 49.4% | 46.1% | 36.7% | 38.6% | 41.0% | 43.9% | 47.8% | 38.6% |
| Japan Socialist Party (JSP) Nihon Shakaitō | 27.6 % | 29.0 % | 27.9 % | 21.4 % | 21.9% | 20.7% | 19.7% | 19.3% | 19.5% | 17.2% | 24.4% | 15.4% | – | ||||
| Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) Minshutō | – | 10.6% | 27.6% | 36.7% | 36.4% | 47.4% | |||||||||||
| New Frontier Party (NFP) Shinshintō | – | 18.1% (*) | 28.0% | – | |||||||||||||
| (New) Komeito Party (NKP) Kōmeitō | – | 5.4 % | 10.9 % | 8.5% | 11.0% | 9.8% | 9.0% | 10.1% | 9.4% | 8.0% | 8.1% | – | 2.0% | 1.5% | 1.4% | 1.1% | |
| Japanese Communist Party (JCP) Nihon Kyōsantō | 2.9 % | 4.0 % | 4.8 % | 6.8 % | 10.5% | 10.4% | 10.4% | 9.8% | 9.3% | 8.8% | 8.0% | 7.7% | 12.6% | 12.1% | 8.1% | 7.2% | 4.2% |
| Liberal Party Jiyūtō | – | 3.4% | – | ||||||||||||||
| Social Democratic Party (SDP) Shakai Minshutō | – | 2.2% | 3.8% | 2.9% | 1.5% | 1.9% | |||||||||||
| Democratic Socialist Party (DSP) Minshatō | 8.8 % | 7.4 % | 7.4 % | 7.7 % | 7.0% | 6.3% | 6.8% | 6.6% | 7.3% | 6.4% | 4.8% | 3.5% | |||||
(*) NFP-precursors Japan Renewal Party (Shinseitō) & Japan New Party (Nihon Shintō)
Note: Before the 1994 electoral reform all districts but one (Amami electoral district 1955–1990) were multi-member constituencies.
| Parties | 1996[10] | 2000[11] | 2003[12] | 2005[13] | 2009[14] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Jiyū Minshutō | 32.8% | 28.3% | 35.0% | 38.1% | 26.7% |
| Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) Minshutō | 16.1% | 25.2% | 37.4% | 31.0% | 42.4% |
| New Frontier Party (NFP) Shinshintō | 28.0% | – | |||
| New Komeito Party (NKP) Kōmeitō | – | 13.0% | 14.8% | 13.3% | 11.4% |
| Japanese Communist Party (JCP) Nihon Kyōsantō | 13.1% | 11.2% | 7.8% | 7.2% | 7.0% |
| Liberal Party Jiyūtō | – | 11.0% | – | ||
| Social Democratic Party (SDP) Shakai Minshutō | 6.4% | 9.4% | 5.1% | 5.5% | 4.2% |
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