By HARUTO HIRAOKA/ Staff Writer
February 8, 2022 at 17:55 JST
Lawyers display a sign saying the October 2021 Lower House election was held in “a state of unconstitutionality” after the Sapporo High Court on Feb. 7 hands down a ruling on the disparity in the value of a vote in the election. (Haruto Hiraoka)
SAPPORO--A high court here ruled the October Lower House election was held in “a state of unconstitutionality” but rejected calls to annul the outcome.
“There are no reasonable grounds for a huge widening of the vote disparity,” the Sapporo High Court said Feb. 7.
It was the fourth time for a court to hand down a ruling with regard to the 2021 election that kept the Liberal Democratic Party in power.
It was also the third ruling that found the election was held in a state of unconstitutionality. The other ruling, issued by the Tokyo High Court, declared the results of the election constitutional.
A group of lawyers filed a lawsuit with the Sapporo High Court, demanding an annulment in votes cast in 12 electoral districts in the northernmost main island of Hokkaido.
The group contends the election was unconstitutional because the inequality in the value of a vote between the least and most populated districts per Lower House member came to 2.08.
The lawyers argued that the disparity “violates the Constitution that provides for equality in the value of a vote.”
The court noted that the disparity was more than double in 29 voting districts, or more than 10 percent of all 289 districts nationwide, concluding that this amounted to a state of unconstitutionality that needs to be corrected.
It also took note of the fact that only four months prior to election day it became clear the disparity would be more than double.
The court ruled it was unable to declare the election unconstitutional because it could not say the Diet did not take steps to correct the disparity during a reasonable period.
The lawyers are expected to appeal to the Supreme Court.
The group filed lawsuits in 14 high courts or their branches around Japan.
The Supreme Court is expected to issue an integrated judgement after the other high courts or their branches hand down rulings.
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