Three more Japanese courts ruled on Wednesday that last October's House of Representatives election was constitutional in terms of vote-value disparities.
The three rulings, by the Matsue branch of the Hiroshima High Court, Takamatsu High Court and the Kanazawa branch of the Nagoya High Court, were the 12th to 14th rulings on a total of 16 lawsuits over the recent general election filed by two groups of lawyers at 14 high courts and high court branches across the country. All 11 previous rulings had also said that the election was constitutional.
The plaintiffs claimed that the maximum vote-value gap of 2.06 times in the election violated the Constitution, which stipulates equality in the value of votes, and demanded that the election be invalidated.
At the Matsue court on the day, presiding judge Yoshiki Matsutani said that the maximum gap "cannot necessarily be considered significant."
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