In the House of Councilors election in July this year, the Naha branch of the Fukuoka High Court judged that the disparity in the value of one vote by 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 maximum disparity of 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, 16 lawsuits have been filed in high courts and high court branches nationwide to invalidate the election.
Of these, in a court ruling targeting the Okinawa constituency, Presiding Judge Yutaka Taniguchi of the Naha Branch of the Fukuoka High Court said, ``The widening disparity in electoral districts since the last election cannot be said to have become very large, and the Diet has decided to A drastic review of the electoral system requires careful discussion and deliberation, and even if the situation continues where no conclusion can be reached, the problem of unconstitutionality will arise. It cannot be said that there was a significant degree of inequality."
This is the ninth case in a series of court decisions related to this year's House of Councilors election, and this is the fourth decision to be ``constitutional''.
In addition, 4 cases were "unconstitutional" and 1 case was "unconstitutional".