Japan Press Weekly

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2021 November 3 - 9 TOP3 [POLITICS]

Single-winner election system helps LDP secure absolute majority in Lower House

As a result of the October 31 general election, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party accounts for 56% of the 465-member House of Representatives. However, the ratio of votes to all eligible votes the LDP received by proportional representation in which voters choose a political party was only 19%.

This indicates that the current electoral system centering on single-winner voting does not accurately reflect voters’ will.

Currently, 289 of 465 Lower House members are elected from single-seat constituencies and the remaining 176 are chosen from proportional representation blocs.

In single-member electoral districts, the LDP received 50.1% of total votes cast, which, however, represent only 26.3% of all eligible voters in Japan. In the proportional representation blocs, the party obtained 40.1% of the seats, but its absolute proportion of votes stood at only 18.9%.