Voting under way in Japan's lower house election

Voting under way in Japan's lower house election

OSHU, Japan - Voters walk to a polling station to cast their ballots in the general election amid snow in the city of Oshu in the northern Japan prefecture of Iwate on Dec. 14, 2014. A total of 1,191 candidates are vying for the 475 seats in the House of Representatives -- 295 for single-seat districts and 180 for proportional representation districts.

Panel meets to redraw lower house constituencies

Panel meets to redraw lower house constituencies

TOKYO, Japan - Home Affairs Minister Toranosuke Katayama addresses in a Tokyo hotel on Dec. 25 a government panel tasked with redrawing House of Representatives single-seat constituencies in 10 prefectures. The Council on the House of Representatives Electoral Districts began discussions on reorganizing the constituencies in response to the results of a recent national census.

Panel urges lower house seat cut, method to limit vote weight disparity

Panel urges lower house seat cut, method to limit vote weight disparity

House of Representatives Speaker Tadamori Oshima (R) receives a proposal on electoral reform from Takeshi Sasaki, head of a panel concerning the issue, at the parliament building in Tokyo on Jan. 14, 2016. The panel proposed cutting 10 seats in the chamber and adopting a new method for the allocation of seats to each prefecture in order to address vote weight disparities among single-seat electoral districts. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Japan's Cabinet approves plan to rebalance lower house electoral districts

Japan's Cabinet approves plan to rebalance lower house electoral districts

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (R) joins his Cabinet members for a regular meeting in Tokyo on May 16, 2017. The Cabinet approved an electoral law amendment bill that would revise lower house single-seat electoral districts to reduce a disparity in the weight of votes. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga at press conference

Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga at press conference

At a press conference in Tokyo on Oct. 24, 2016, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga showed willingness to swiftly ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. His comments came a day after candidates aligned with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party won two by-elections for single-seat House of Representatives districts in Tokyo and Fukuoka Prefecture. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Panel meets to redraw lower house constituencies

Panel meets to redraw lower house constituencies

TOKYO, Japan - Home Affairs Minister Toranosuke Katayama addresses in a Tokyo hotel on Dec. 25 a government panel tasked with redrawing House of Representatives single-seat constituencies in 10 prefectures. The Council on the House of Representatives Electoral Districts began discussions on reorganizing the constituencies in response to the results of a recent national census.