The Hiroshima High Court, on March 25, 2013, ruled that the results of last December’s general elections in Hiroshima’s no.1 and no.2 districts were invalid. For the first time, it was said that the results of the elections were invalid due to significant disparities in the weight of the votes.
The recent ruling by the court has made the nation the first one to declare an election result void, as lawsuits continue to flood the system over vote value disparities. However, the results of the election will not be immediately invalidated in case the local board appeals the ruling.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, after coming to know about the ruling from the reporters, said that the government will go through the decision carefully and act appropriately, but did not elaborate much on the matter. Yoshide Suga, the chief cabinet secretary, said that the Lower House Committee is revising the electoral districts and is addressing the issue. It aims to revise the Public Offices Election law so as to fix the problem as soon as possible.
Six other high courts and a high court branch ruled that vote value disparities were as high as 2.43 to 1, while in the Lower House election it was either unconstitutional or in a state of unconstitutionality.
