House of Representatives (Japan)
35°40′30.6″N 139°44′41.8″E / 35.675167°N 139.744944°E
House of Representatives 衆議院 Shūgiin | |
|---|---|
| The 45th House of Representatives | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Prime Minister | |
Opposition Leader | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 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) |
| Elections | |
Last election | August 30, 2009 |
| Meeting place | |
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| The House of Representatives Chamber | |
| Website | |
| www.shugiin.go.jp | |
| This article is part of a series on |
| Politics of Japan |
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 Japan portal |
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.
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.
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 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.
Current composition
(as of May 9, 2012)[1]
| Parliamentary group (breakdown by party) |
Representatives | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party of Japan/Mushozoku Club ("Independent Club") (DPJ: 289 + President) |
289 | |
| Liberal Democratic Party/Mushozoku no Kai ("Assembly of Independents") (LDP: 117 + Vice-President, independents: 3) |
120 | |
| Kōmeitō | 21 | |
| Japanese Communist Party | 9 | |
| Kizuna Party | 9 | |
| Social Democratic Party/Shimin Rengō ("Citizens' League") | 6 | |
| Your Party | 5 | |
| People's New Party | 3 | |
| Daichi – True Democratic Party | 3 | |
| Sunrise Party of Japan | 2 | |
| Independents (incl. President and Vice-President, one member of New Party Nippon, one member of Tax Cuts Japan) |
12 | |
| Total | 479 | |
Vacancies:
- Mitsue Kawakami's seat in the Kinki proportional block will remain vacant until the next general election because all candidates on the DPJ's Kinki PR list have been elected in 2009.
Latest election result
Template:Japanese general election, 2009
Election results for major parties since 1960
| Parties | 1960[2] | 1963[2] | 1967[2] | 1969[2] | 1972[2] | 1976[2] | 1979[2] | 1980[2] | 1983[2] | 1986[2] | 1990[2] | 1993[2] | 1996[3] | 2000[4] | 2003[5] | 2005[6] | 2009[7] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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[3] | 2000[4] | 2003[5] | 2005[6] | 2009[7] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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% |
See also
- List of districts of the House of Representatives of Japan
- List of members of the Diet of Japan
- List of Speakers of the House of Representatives of Japan
- Sekihairitsu, the system used in elections for the House of Representatives to determine the order of candidates on a proportional representation list
References
- ^ House of Representatives: 会派名及び会派別所属議員数
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, statistics bureau: 衆議院議員総選挙の党派別当選者数及び得票数（昭和33年～平成5年）
- ^ a b Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC/Sōmushō): 第４１回衆議院議員総選挙結果
- ^ a b MIC: 第４２回衆議院議員総選挙結果
- ^ a b MIC: 衆議院議員総選挙・最高裁判所裁判官国民審査結果調
- ^ a b MIC: 平成17年9月11日執行 衆議院議員総選挙・最高裁判所裁判官国民審査結果調
- ^ a b MIC: 平成21年8月30日執行 衆議院議員総選挙・最高裁判所裁判官国民審査結果調
External links
- House of Representatives Website (in English) – Official site of the House of Representatives
- House of Representatives Internet TV- Official site
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