Key Facts
• December 20-21: Nationwide poll conducted by Mainichi Shimbun.
• 44% support reducing House seats ‘as soon as possible,’ the highest percentage.
• 36% favor reduction but call for careful discussion; 7% oppose reduction.
• 12% of respondents were undecided on the issue.
• Japan Innovation Party made seat reduction a coalition condition.
• December 17: Bill proposing a 10% seat reduction submitted to Parliament.
• Bill includes automatic reduction of 45 seats if no decision within a year.
• Survey conducted via NTT Docomo’s dSurvey, targeting 18+ population.
• 1,907 valid responses collected from a random sample of 7,700 million adults.
Summary
A recent Mainichi Shimbun poll revealed that 44% of respondents support reducing the number of seats in Japan’s House of Representatives ‘as soon as possible,’ while 36% favor reduction with careful deliberation. Only 7% opposed the idea, and 12% were undecided. The Japan Innovation Party has made this reduction a key condition for joining a coalition government. A bill proposing a 10% reduction in seats was submitted to Parliament on December 17, with provisions for automatic cuts if no decision is reached within a year. The survey, conducted via NTT Docomo’s dSurvey, gathered 1,907 valid responses from a random sample of Japan’s adult population.
