One long-standing problem in the nation's Lower House electoral system is that the "representative value" of a vote varies considerably between rural and urban districts. In a move to reduce the disparity, a government advisory council last week submitted a report to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi calling for extensive redistricting.
The government, however, appears to be in no mood to implement the recommendations immediately. Reportedly it intends to put them on hold, perhaps until next autumn, in deference to the ruling parties. Earlier this year, the parties reached a compromise that effectively shelved the redistricting issue, tying it to a future overhaul of the Lower House election system.
The panel's report, based on the 2000 census, should not be left to the mercy of partisan politics. The government should prepare a revision bill for the Public Office Election Law immediately and send it to the regular Diet session that opens in late January. The equality of the representative value of one vote is a basic building block of parliamentary democracy. The gap must be reduced to more tolerable levels in time for the next Lower House election.