Judicial Hesitation on Equality

High Courts in Japan are consecutively releasing their decisions over the value of a vote in the election of the House of Representatives last December. Strangely enough, the decisions were sharply divided over the constitutionality of the election. While one recognized violation of people’s equality under law, some regarded the election as constitutional within discretion of the legislative branch. The judicial branch of Japan sometimes shows appeasement to politics, eroding its credibility to the people.

As soon as the election was finished, some lawyers group filed seventeen lawsuits demanding confirmation of invalidity of the election to High Courts all over Japan. As of Wednesday, eleven courts announced their decisions. One court made it unconstitutional, not acknowledging the election invalid, while three found it constitutional. The rest of seven realized the election as in a state of unconstitutional, in which the courts recognized progressive efforts to some degree of the Diet to reform the election system.

The cases were discussed in two aspects: whether the value gap of one vote were unconstitutional enough in terms of equality under law and whether the legislators made good effort to fix it. In the last election, the First District of Tokyo had 493,811 voters, while the Fifth District of Miyagi had 231,660. One vote in Miyagi 5^th had 2.13 times greater value than in Tokyo 1^st.

Fukuoka High Court recognized the significance of the value gap beyond two times greater. Criticizing legislative effort to contain it within two times and structural inequality in the election system, Fukuoka urged the legislators to narrow the gap as soon as possible.

High Courts of Tokyo, Hiroshima and Takamatsu thought that the legislators had made enough efforts to fix it. They realized that value of one vote could not be completely equal and there was a room of discretion in legislation for election system.

The Supreme Court of Japan sentenced in 2011 that the value gap of one vote needed to be less than two times. According to the line, the rest of High Courts realized unconstitutionality of the election, encouraging further reform. Other six High Courts will deliver their decision by the end of next month

Although Prime Minister Shinzo Abe keeps on asserting his overwhelming support in the election, the election itself is doubted as unconstitutional. This is a matter of legitimacy of the legislative branch, which elected Abe as the Premier. Before losing credibility of the people, all parties need to promote fundamental reform of the Diet.