The Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party (JIP), jointly submitted a bill Friday that would slash at least 45 Lower House seats by the end of next year, after a bumpy negotiation process that saw the JIP threaten to leave the ruling bloc.
The ruling coalition agreed to fine-tune details for the 10% seat cut within a year alongside a separate, broader debate with opposition parties on a revision of the electoral system. If the parties fail to come to an agreement within a year, 25 seats from single-seat constituencies and 20 proportional representation seats will be cut.
“The number of seats in elections or electoral systems are the foundation of democracy,” LDP veteran Katsunobu Kato, who spearheaded deliberations with the JIP, told reporters after the bill’s submission.
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