House of Councillors (Japan)

The House of Councillors (参議院, Sangiin) is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers. If the two houses disagree on matters of the budget, treaties, or designation of the prime minister, the House of Representatives can insist on its decision. In other decisions, the House of Representatives can override a vote of the House of Councillors only by a two-thirds majority of members present.

This article is about Japan. For Morocco, see House of Councillors (Morocco). For South Korea, see House of Councillors (South Korea).

House of Councillors

参議院

Sangiin
Type
Type
Leadership
Akiko Santō, LDP (caucus: independent)
since 1 August 2019
Toshio Ogawa, CDP (caucus: independent)
since 1 August 2019
Structure
Seats245
Political groups
Government (142)
  •   LDP & affiliated Independents (114)
  •   Kōmeitō (28)

Opposition (103)

Elections
Parallel voting:
Single non-transferable vote (147 seats)
Party-list proportional representation (98 seats)
Staggered elections
Last election
21 July 2019
Next election
2022
Meeting place
Chamber of the House of Councillors
Website
www.sangiin.go.jp
Japan
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The House of Councillors has 245 members who each serve six-year terms, two years longer than those of the House of Representatives. Councillors must be at least 30 years old, compared with 25 years old in the House of Representatives. The House of Councillors cannot be dissolved, as only half of its membership is elected at each election. Of the 121 members subject to election each time, 73 are elected from the 47 prefectural districts by single non-transferable vote (SNTV) and 48 are elected from a nationwide list by proportional representation (PR) with open lists.[1]

Current composition
Composition of the House of Councillors of Japan (as of 15 January 2021 in the 204th National Diet)[2]
Caucus (English name)
(domestic name)		Parties Members
Term expires Total
July 25, 2022 July 28, 2025
PR SNTV/FPTP Subtotal PR SNTV/FPTP Subtotal
Liberal Democratic Party / Voice of The People
Jiyūminshutō / Kokumin no Koe		LDP, Independent 203959 183755 114
Constitutional Democratic Party / Social Democratic Party
Rikken-minshutō / Shakai Minshu-tō,		CDP, SDP 81523 81220 43
Komeito
Kōmeitō		Kōmeitō 7714 7714 28
Nippon Ishin
Nippon Ishin no Kai		Ishin 336 5510 16
Democratic Party for the People / New Green Breeze Association
Kokumin-minshutō / Shin Ryokufū-kai		DPFP, Independents 459 336 15
Japanese Communist Party
Nihon Kyōsantō		JCP 516 437 13
Okinawa Whirlwind
Okinawa no Kaze		Okinawa Socialist, Independent 011 011 2
Reiwa Shinsengumi
Reiwa Shinsengumi		Reiwa Shinsengumi 000 202 2
Hekisuikai
Hekisuikai		Independents 000 022 2
Your Party
Minna no Tō		N-Koku, Independent 101 101 2
Independents
Members not affiliated with any parliamentary caucus		Independents, LDP (President), CDP (Vice President) 022 235 7
Vacant
Vacant seats		 100 000 1
Total 4873121 5074124 245

For a list of individual members, see the List of members of the Diet of Japan.

Latest election

Historical notes

Article 102 of the Japanese Constitution provided that half of the councillors elected in the first House of Councillors election in 1947 would be up for re-election three years later in order to introduce staggered six-year terms.

The House initially had 250 seats. Two seats were added to the House in 1970 after the agreement on the repatriation of Okinawa, increasing the House to a total of 252.[3] Legislation aimed at addressing malapportionment that favoured less-populated prefectures was introduced in 2000; this resulted in ten seats being removed (five each at the 2001 and 2004 elections), bringing the total number of seats to 242.[3] Further reforms to address malapportionment took effect in 2007 and 2016, but did not change the total number of members in the house.[3]

From 1947 to 1983, the House had 100 seats allocated to a national block (全国区, zenkoku-ku), of which fifty seats were allocated in each election.[3] It was originally intended to give nationally prominent figures a route to the House without going through local electioneering processes. Some national political figures, such as feminists Shidzue Katō and Fusae Ichikawa and former Imperial Army general Kazushige Ugaki, were elected through the block, along with a number of celebrities such as comedian Yukio Aoshima (later Governor of Tokyo), journalist Hideo Den and actress Yūko Mochizuki. Shintaro Ishihara won a record 3 million votes in the national block in the 1968 election. The national block was last seen in the 1980 election and was replaced with a nationwide proportional representation block in the 1983 election.[3] The national proportional representation block was reduced to 96 members in the 2000 reforms.[3]

See also

References
Specific
  1. Hayes 2009, p. 50
  2. House of Councillors: retrieved 24 January 2021.
  3. 参議院議員選挙制度の変遷 [Changes to the electoral system of the House of Councillors] (in Japanese). Retrieved 12 December 2016.
Bibliography
  • Hayes, L. D., 2009. Introduction to Japanese Politics. 5th ed. New York: M.E. Sharpe. ISBN 978-0-7656-2279-2
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