Nearly 50 Pct Opposed to Adding Seats to Japan Upper House: Jiji Poll

July 13, 2018

Tokyo- Nearly 50 pct of respondents are opposed to a bill to increase the number of seats in Japan's House of Councillors, the upper chamber of parliament, by six from the current 242, a Jiji Press opinion poll showed.

The bill, submitted to parliament by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, drew opposition from 49.8 pct, far exceeding 23.3 pct in support, according to the survey conducted over four days through Monday.

Even among respondents supporting the LDP, 45.0 pct were opposed to the bill, against 32.3 pct in support.

Those backing Komeito, the LDP's coalition partner, were equally divided, with opposition and support both standing at 34.8 pct.

The bill was opposed by 70.7 pct of respondents who support the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and 62.5 pct by supporters of the Democratic Party for the People, also an opposition party.

The survey showed that 61.7 pct of respondents were against a bill aimed at introducing casinos in Japan, while 22.1 pct supported it. Some 16.2 pct said they have no opinion on the issue.

The ruling camp hopes to enact both bills by the July 22 end of the current parliamentary session.

The survey was based on interviews with 1,991 people aged 18 or older across Japan, except some areas in Hiroshima Prefecture that were damaged by heavy rains over the weekend. Valid responses were given by 61.8 pct. Jiji Press