At Stake in this Election:

• 124 seats in the Sangi-in (House of Councillors)
• In accordance with amendments to the Electoral law, promulgated on 25 July 2018, the number of members elected under the majority system has increased from 146 to 148, and those elected under the proportional system increased from 96 to 100. Accordingly, the total number of members of the House of Councillors has increased from 242 to 248.
• The new statutory number will be applied in two phases, starting from the next elections due in 2019 in which one half of the 148 seats under the proportional representation system (i.e., 74) and one half of the 100 majority seats (50) will be renewed. The new 124 members will join the remaining 121 members (whose term is not up in 2019), and the House will have a total of 245 members. The House of Councillors will have the full 248 after a half renewal due in 2022.[1]

Government Structure:

• Chief of State: Emperor Akihito
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Shinzō ABE
• Assembly: Japan has a bicameral Kokkai (Diet) consisting of the Sangi-in (House of Councillors) currently composed of 245 seats and the Shugi-in (House of Representatives) composed of 475 seats.

Electoral System:

• In the House of Councillors, 148 members are directly elected by majority vote and 100 are directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote. Members serve 6-year terms with one-half of the membership renewed every 3 years.

Main Parties in this Election:

• Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)/Jiyū-Minshutō
  • Leader: Shinzo ABE
  • Seats won in last election: 56
• Democratic Party for the People (DPFP)/Kokumin-minshutō[2]
  • Leader: Yuichiro TAMAKI
  • Seats won in last election: N/A
• Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP)/ Rikken-minshutō
  • Leader: Yukio EDANO
  • Seats won in last election: 15
• Komeito/Kōmeitō
  • Leader: Natsuo YAMAGUCHI
  • Seats won in last election: 14
• Japan Communist Party (JCP)/Nihon Kyōsan-tō
  • Leader: Kazuo SHII
  • Seats won in last election: 6
• Social Democratic Party (SDPJ)/Shakai Minshu-tō
  • Leader: Seiji MATAICHI
  • Seats won in last election: 1
• Reiwa Shinsengumi/ Reiwa Shinsengumi
  • Leader: Tarō YAMAMOTO
  • Seats won in last election: N/A
• The Party to Protect the People from /Kara kokumin wo mamoru tō
  • Leader: Takashi TACHIBANA
  • Seats won in last election: N/A
• Independents
  • Seats won in last election: 4

Population and Registered Voters:

• Population: 126,854,745 (2019 est.)
• Registered Voters: 106'202'873 (2016)

Gender Data:

• Female Population: 64,938,128 (2019 est.)
• Is Japan a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)
• Has Japan ratified CEDAW: Yes (25 June 1985)
• Gender Quota: No
• Female candidates in this election: Yes
• Number of Female Parliamentarians: 50 (20.7%) in the House of Councillors and 47 (10.2%) in the House of Representatives
• Human Development Index Position: 19 (2018)
• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Low (2019)

Disability Data:

• Is Japan a signatory to CRPD: Yes (28 September 2007)
• Has Japan ratified CRPD: Yes (20 January 2014)
• Population with a disability: 19,037,949 (est.)