At stake in this election:

• 480 seats in the House of Representatives (Shugi-in)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: Emperor AKIHITO
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Junichiro KOIZUMI
• Assembly: Japan has a bicameral Diet (Kokkai) consisting of the House of Councillors (Sangi-in) with 242 seats and the House of Representatives (Shugi-in) with 480 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The Emperor is N/A N/A.
• In the House of Councillors (Sangi-in), 98 members are elected by proportional representation to serve 6-year terms and 144 members are elected in multi-member constituencies to serve 6-year terms. In the House of Representatives (Shugi-in), 300 members are elected in single-member constituencies to serve 4-year terms and 180 members are elected by proportional representation to serve 4-year terms.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: Social Democratic Party of Japan (SDP) / Shakai Minshuto
  • Leader: Takako DOI
  • Seats won in this House of Representatives election: 6
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 19
• Party: Japan Communist Party (JCP) / Nihon Kyosanto
  • Leader: Tetsuzo FUWA
  • Seats won in this House of Representatives election: 9
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 20
• Party: New Clean Government Party / New Komeito
  • Leader: Takenori KANZAKI
  • Seats won in this House of Representatives election: 34
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 31
• Party: Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) / Minshuto****
  • Leader: Yukio HATOYAMA
  • Seats won in this House of Representatives election: 177
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 127
• Party: Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)
  • Leader: Junichiro KOIZUMI
  • Seats won in this House of Representatives election: 237
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 233
• Party: New Conservative Party (NCP) / Hoshu Shinto
  • Leader: Hiroshi KUMAGI
  • Seats won in this House of Representatives election: N/A
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 7
• Party: Others
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in this House of Representatives election: 17
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: N/A

**** The Liberal Party, which won 22 seats in the 2000 election, recently merged with the Democratic Party (DPJ).

Last Parliamentary election:

• Last parliamentary elections were held on July 29, 2001.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 127,718,000 (2003)
• Registered Voters: 102,306,684 (2003)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 65,343,366 (2003)

·         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: 34 (House of Representatives); 38 (House of Councillors)

·         Human Development Index Position: 20 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A

Disability Data:

·         Is Japan a signatory to CRPD: Yes (28 September 2007)

·         Has Japan ratified CRPD: Yes (20 January 2014)

·         Population with a disability: 19,157,700 (est.)