A draft plan prepared by Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) proposes reducing three single-seat districts in Tokyo and two in Osaka as part of a broader effort to shrink the total number of seats in the Lower House. The proposal stems from an agreement between the LDP and Nippon Ishin to cut 45 seats—about 10 percent of the current 465.
Under the plan, 20 seats would be removed from the proportional representation bloc, while the remaining reductions would come from single-seat constituencies. Twenty prefectures across Japan would lose a total of 25 seats, with Kanagawa and Chiba expected to lose two each. Sixteen other prefectures, from Hokkaido to Okinawa, would each lose one seat.
The draft uses population data from the 2020 census, though final allocations may shift once the results of the 2025 census are released. The changes could spark resistance in the Diet, particularly from lawmakers representing prefectures slated to lose seats.
Further discussions will take place in a deliberative council comprising ruling and opposition party members under the Lower House speaker’s leadership.
