LDP Approves Conditional Bill to Cut 45 Proportional Seats if Joint Reform Panel Fails to Agree Within One Year
The ruling party endorsed legislation that would eliminate 45 of 176 proportional representation seats if talks on broader reform stall for a year. The measure follows an earlier scrapped proposal and a Japan Innovation Party plan.
nationalobserver.comThe ruling Liberal Democratic Party approved a bill on June 11, 2026, to cut the number of proportional representation seats in the House of Representatives by about 10 percent. The legislation would automatically eliminate 45 of the 176 proportional representation seats in the 465-seat Lower House if a ruling-opposition panel fails to reach a deal on electoral system reform within a year.
Katsunobu Kato, chair of the LDP’s political system reform headquarters, addressed a joint meeting of the party’s general affairs division and the headquarters at LDP headquarters in Tokyo the same day.
“This is a bill to advance electoral system reform. To reach a conclusion, we’ll fulfill our responsibility,” Kato said. The bill requires the panel to consider reducing Lower House seats in light of Japan’s declining population.
During the 2025 extraordinary Diet session, the LDP and the Japan Innovation Party submitted a bill to reduce 25 constituency seats and 20 proportional representation seats, but that measure was scrapped. The Japan Innovation Party later proposed cutting 45 proportional representation seats. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi expressed her intention to unify the LDP toward that goal.
Reducing only proportional representation seats could affect smaller parties more severely. Some within the LDP were cautious of the idea, saying it could undermine relations with the opposition camp.
