Lawyers File Suits to Nullify Japan Lower House Poll

Tokyo, Oct. 28 (Jiji Press)--Two groups of lawyers filed lawsuits Monday to nullify the previous day's general election in Japan, claiming that the poll was unconstitutional because it was carried out with vote-value disparities not being corrected.

One of the groups, which is led by Hidetoshi Masunaga, filed suits at 14 high courts and high court branches across the country, seeking to invalidate the results of all single-seat constituencies in the election for the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament.

The other group, headed by Michihiko Misao, filed a suit at Hiroshima High Court over constituencies in the western prefecture of Hiroshima.

"It must be ensured that people's voices are reflected correctly in elections regardless of where they live," lawyer Makoto Ito told a press conference held in Tokyo by Masunaga's group. "We hope the courts will fulfill their judicial role by finding the latest general election unconstitutional."

Of all Lower House constituencies in the country, the No. 3 district in Hokkaido, northernmost Japan, had the largest number of eligible voters on the day of the election, at 460,689, according to data from election boards across the country. Meanwhile, the number of voters was the lowest in the No. 1 constituency in Tottori Prefecture, western Japan, at 223,713.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]