The National Diet is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house,called the House of Representatives,and an upper house,the House of Councillors. Both houses are directly elected under a parallel voting system. In addition to passing laws,the Diet is formally responsible for nominating the Prime Minister. The Diet was first established as the Imperial Diet in 1890 under the Meiji Constitution,and took its current form in 1947 upon the adoption of the post-war constitution. Both houses meet in the National Diet Building in Nagatachō,Chiyoda,Tokyo.
House of Councillors elections were held in Japan on 11 July 2004. The House of Councillors consists of 242 members who serve six-year terms. Approximately half the members are elected every three years. At these elections 121 members were elected. Of these 73 were elected from the 47 prefectural districts and 48 were elected from a nationwide list by proportional representation.
The Japanese political process has two types of elections.
Kanako Otsuji is a Japanese LGBT rights activist,member of the House of Representatives for the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and retired karateka and taekwondoin. She is also former member of the House of Councilors,and a former member of the Osaka Prefectural Assembly. One of only seven women in the 110-member Osaka Assembly,Otsuji represented the Sakai-ku,Sakai City constituency. In May 2013,after her party member of the House resigned,Otsuji became the nation's first openly gay member of the Diet,but her term in office expired in July. She won a seat in the 2017 general election and became the first openly gay member of the House of Representatives.
Makoto Hirayama is a Japanese politician. He served in the House of Councillors in the Diet from 2009 until 2013.
House of Councillors elections were held in Japan on 29 July 2001. They were the first national elections since Junichiro Koizumi became Prime Minister after Yoshiro Mori resigned in April 2001. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its election allies,were the major winner,provided Koizumi a strong mandates to move forward with his reform policies. The ruling coalition performed well,and regain their majority in the House of Councillors.
Masashi Nakano is a Japanese politician and former Secretary-General of the Party for Japanese Kokoro.
Ai Aoki is a Japanese politician and current member of the People's Life Party. She is a native of Tokyo and graduate of Chiba University. After a career in education,Aoki entered politics in 2003 and has served a total of four terms in the national Diet of Japan,having sat in the House of Representatives from 2003–2005 and 2009–2014,and a partial term in the House of Councillors from 2007–2009. Aoki was returned to the House of Councillors in the election held on 10 July 2016.
Hajime Ishii was a Japanese politician who served in the Diet for 39 years between 1969 and 2013. A native of Kobe,Hyogo,he attended Konan University as an undergraduate and University of California,Los Angeles as a graduate and received a master's degree in political science from Stanford University. During his time in the Diet he served as the head of the National Land Agency for six months in 1989–1990 and as Minister for Home Affairs for two months in 1994.
Yoriko Madoka is a Japanese politician who served in the House of Councillors from 1993 to 2010.
Hideo Watanabe is a Japanese politician of the Democratic Party of Japan and was a member of the House of Representatives and House of Councillors in the Diet from 1976 to 1993 and 1998 to 2010 respectively.
Banri Kaieda is a Japanese politician who is serving as the Vice Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan since 2021. A member of the House of Representatives of Japan,he also served as the President of the Democratic Party of Japan between 2012 and 2014.
Koriki Jojima is a Japanese politician who served four terms in the House of Representatives and was Minister of Finance from 1 October to 26 December 2012.
House of Councillors elections were held in Japan on Sunday 10 July 2016 to elect 121 of the 242 members of the House of Councillors,the upper house of the National Diet,for a term of six years. As a result of the election,the Liberal Democratic Party–Komeito coalition gained ten seats for a total of 145,the largest coalition achieved since the size of the house was set at 242 seats.
The Japanese National Proportional Representation Block,known in Japan as the House of Councillors proportional district is an electoral district for the House of Councillors,the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. It consists of the whole nation and elects 50 members per election,100 in total,by D'Hondt method proportional representation (PR).
House of Councillors elections were held in Japan on 21 July 2019 to elect 124 of the 245 members of the House of Councillors,the upper house of the then 710-member bicameral National Diet,for a term of six years.
Takashi Tachibana is a Japanese social activist,journalist,accountant and politician who is the founder and leader of the NHK Party. A former assemblyman for the Funabashi City Assembly and the Katsushika Ward Assembly,he was elected to the House of Councillors in the July 2019 regular election on his party's proportional representation list. He automatically forfeited his seat on 10 October when he officially became a candidate in the October 2019 by-election to the House of Councillors for a majoritarian seat in Saitama.
