The Republic of Japan is set to hold its 25th regular election of the Upper House on the 21st of July 2019. The Upper House election takes place every three years to change half of the 245-seat chamber of the Diet, also known as the National Diet in Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives and an upper house called the House of Councillors. This year, about 370 candidates are set to compete for 124 seats out of the 245 in House of Councilors, of which 74 will be chosen in electoral districts by single non-transferable vote and 50 via proportional representation with optionally open lists.
Under the “Public Offices Election Act,” the regular election must be held within 30 days before the end of the term of previously elected members. Upper house elections, which are held every three years, have members run six-year terms.
In 2013, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, won a landslide victory, after a three-year Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) rule. According to Reuters, “Liberal Democratic Party is expected to keep its majority, though possibly with reduced numbers in the chamber, as support for it exceeds that for the fragmented opposition despite a recent furore over pensions.”
However, expectations are not as high as their take over in 2013, taking over 65 seats, as the victory line has reduced to 53.
Some of the election pledges by the major parties, as curated by the Japan Times are outlined as follows;
The Liberal Democratic Party will:
- Amend the Constitution early on by promoting discussions.
- Strengthen the Japan-U.S. alliance and lead rule-making and unification of the international community.
- Increase income through a strong economy and raise the consumption tax to 10 percent in October as planned.
Komeito will:
- Provide support for elderly people’s safe driving and enhance transportation options for them in the wake of an increasing number of car accidents involving senior drivers.
- Create a successor organization for the Reconstruction Agency scheduled to disband in 2021 to oversee rebuilding of disaster-hit areas and promote disaster prevention.
- Raise the average minimum wage to over ¥1,000 in the first half of the 2020s from the current level of around ¥870.
The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan will:
- Freeze the planned consumption tax hike to 10 percent and review the progressiveness of income and corporate tax systems.
- Block restarts of idled nuclear plants and enact legislation to exit nuclear power at an early date.
- Place importance on a diverse society and seek to amend laws to allow separate surnames for married couples among other measures to improve equality.
The Japanese Communist Party will:
- Cancel the October consumption tax hike.
- Scrap the macroeconomic slide, designed to limit pension payment increases to less than the rate of inflation or wage increases, and avoid declines in pension benefits in pursuit of a fairer pension system.
- Compile pension reform plans including the utilization of the pension reserve as a funding source for benefits and seek a higher premium burden for high-income earners.
