(Update) 3 Courts Find 2024 Lower House Election Constitutional

   Tokyo, Feb. 12 (Jiji Press)--The Hiroshima, Osaka and Sapporo high courts ruled on Wednesday that last October's election for Japan's House of Representatives was constitutional in terms of vote-value disparities.
   The rulings came after the Okayama branch of Hiroshima High Court on Thursday found the Lower House election constitutional, the first ruling on a total of 16 lawsuits filed with 14 high courts and high court branches across the country by two groups of lawyers over the election.
   Rulings on all the lawsuits will be issued by March 7, and the Supreme Court is expected to issue a unified judgment later this year at the earliest.
   At Hiroshima High Court on Wednesday, presiding judge Masumi Kurachi said that it was "reasonable" to demarcate Lower House constituencies using the so-called Adams method, which is said to relatively accurately reflect population differences among prefectures.
   Vote-value disparities did not expand significantly, the judge said. Osaka and Sapporo high courts expressed similar views in their respective rulings.

(2025/02/12-20:50)

To read a full story, please click here to find out how to subscribe.