THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
December 5, 2025 at 17:00 JST
The Diet building in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on June 30 (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
The Liberal Democratic Party’s draft plan to shrink the Lower House entails seat reductions in all 11 proportional representation blocs, including three each for the Minami-Kanto, Tokai and Kinki areas, multiple government officials said.
The draft was worked out to implement an agreement reached between the LDP and Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party) when they formed their coalition. It calls for a 10-percent reduction in the 465-seat Lower House.
According to the LDP’s draft, the Kita-Kanto, Tokyo and Kyushu blocs will lose two seats each, while the Hokkaido, Tohoku, Hokuriku-Shinetsu, Chugoku, and Shikoku blocs will lose one seat each, the sources said.
The LDP and Nippon Ishin submitted a bill on the reduction plan to the Diet as early as Dec. 5.
Under the coalition agreement, 20 of the 176 proportional representation seats and 25 of the 289 single-seat districts would be cut.
The proposed cuts are based on the 2020 census and a calculation method that reflects population ratios in seat allocation.
Changes remain possible based on the latest national census data.
(This article was written by Kohei Morioka and Kei Kobayashi.)
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