House of Representatives (Japan)

The House of Representatives (衆議院, Shūgiin; Japanese pronunciation:) is the lower house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Councillors is the upper house. The composition of the House is established by and of the Constitution of Japan. The House of Representatives has 465 members, elected for a four-year term. Of these, 176 members are elected from 11 multi-member constituencies by a party-list system of proportional representation, and 289 are elected from single-member constituencies.

The overall voting system used to elect the House of Representatives is a parallel system, a form of semi-proportional representation. Under a parallel system, the allocation of list seats does not take into account the outcome in the single seat constituencies. Therefore, the overall allocation of seats in the House of Representatives is not fully proportional, to the advantage of larger parties.

The House of Representatives is the more powerful of the two houses, able to override vetoes on bills imposed by the House of Councillors with a two-thirds majority. In the case of treaties, the budget, and the selection of the prime minister, the House of Councillors can only delay passage, but not block the legislation. The most recent election for the House of Representatives was held on February 8, 2026, in which the Liberal Democratic Party won a super-majority of seats, over 316; in the previous election, they had failed to reach a majority of 233 seats, instead winning 191.