The Takamatsu High Court ruled that the disparity in the value of one vote in the July House of Councilors election of up to 3.03 times did not violate the Constitution, and rejected the appeal for invalidation of the election.
In the House of Councilors election in July this year, there was a disparity of up to 3.03 times in the number of eligible voters per member, depending on the electoral district, and two groups of lawyers said, ``It is against the equality of voting value and violates the constitution.'' As a result, a total of 16 lawsuits have been filed in high courts and high court branches nationwide to invalidate the election.
Of these, in the judgment of the trial targeting Ehime and Kagawa in the four prefectures of Shikoku, and the so-called "combined district" Tokushima Kochi constituency, Chief Judge Hiroshi Hamaguchi of the Takamatsu High Court said, "The disparity of 3.03 times is the same as the previous time. Compared to the election, the increase will be only slight, and even after the election, the Diet is scheduled to discuss measures to prevent the widening of the disparity, including the ideal form of joint districts, and will aim to correct the disparity. cannot be said to have been lost."
He then dismissed the lawsuit, arguing that ``the disproportion of voting values was not in a state of extreme inequality to the extent that it would raise the question of unconstitutionality.''
This is the seventh case in a series of court rulings over the House of Councilors election, and the court's judgment is divided, with
▽ ``unconstitutional'' in 4 cases and
▽ ``constitutional'' in 3 cases, including this time
.