衆院小選挙区制 得票と議席の差が開き過ぎる

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Dec. 25, 2012)
Electoral system needs sweeping, objective reform
衆院小選挙区制　得票と議席の差が開き過ぎる（12月24日付・読売社説）

How should the representatives of the people be elected? We believe the current electoral system is in need of drastic reform based on the results of the Dec. 16 House of Representatives election.
　国民の代表をどう選ぶべきか。
　今回の衆院選の結果を踏まえて、選挙制度を根本から見直す必要があろう。

During policy talks ahead of forming a coalition government, the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito agreed on major reforms to the electoral system of the lower house, including reducing the number of seats. Their plan is based on an accord made with the Democratic Party of Japan before the election. Deliberations on the reform package will begin in the ordinary Diet session to be convened next month.
　自民、公明両党は連立政権協議で衆院選挙制度に関し、定数削減を含む抜本改革を検討することで一致した。両党と民主党による合意に基づくもので、通常国会で協議に入る。

With the current system comprising both single-seat constituencies and proportional representation blocs, the first task will be to sort out the problems associated with this structure.
　まずは、現行の小選挙区比例代表並立制の問題点を幅広く洗い出してもらいたい。

The general elections of 2005, 2009 and 2012 all resulted in the party that won a plurality gaining about 300 seats--an overwhelming margin over the other parties.
　２００５年と０９年の衆院選に続き、今回も、第１党が３００議席程度に達し、第２党以下に圧倒的な差をつけた。

In the 300 single-seat constituencies this time, the LDP received 1.9 times more votes than the DPJ but ended up with 8.8 times more seats. Although this is a hallmark of the single-seat constituency system, many voters likely felt uneasy about this huge gap between votes and seats.
　小選挙区では、自民党の総得票数は民主党の１・９倍だが、獲得議席はこれを大きく上回る８・８倍にも達した。小選挙区制の特徴とはいえ、得票数と獲得議席数の隔たりの大きさに多くの有権者が違和感を覚えたのではないか。

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Big swings

The single-seat constituency system was supposed to help facilitate the creation of stable governments through a simple method of expressing the preference of the majority of voters.
　小選挙区制の長所は、民意を集約することで安定した政権ができやすい点にあるはずだった。

However, the last three general elections have resulted in big swings in the distribution of seats among the parties. The system puts ruling parties at a bigger risk of being swept out of power in a general election if they lose support from only a few voters.
　だが、議席の振れ幅が大きかった過去３回の衆院選を通じて、政権党には、一部の有権者の支持を失えば、次の衆院選で敗北し、下野するリスクが高まっている。

This discourages ruling parties from presenting clear policies on divisive issues due to fear of a backlash from certain voting blocs or special-interest groups.
　政権党が有権者や業界団体の反発を恐れ、国論を二分する政策に及び腰になるというマイナス面も顕在化した。

One such example from the last election is the failure of both the LDP and the DPJ to take a clear stand on whether Japan should take part in the ongoing negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade framework.
環太平洋経済連携協定（ＴＰＰ）への参加について自民、民主両党が態度を明確にしなかったのは、その一つだろう。

The system also has led to the mass election of new faces supported by influential politicians--referred to scornfully as "children" or "girls"--only to see these same lawmakers lose in large numbers in the next poll.
　選挙のたびに「チルドレン」や「ガールズ」とやゆされるような新人が大量当選し、その多くが次回選挙で国会から消えていく。

Even in districts where the competition is not especially fierce, lawmakers are forced to spend much of their time campaigning locally, thereby ignoring the national scene.
　激戦区でなくても議員が地元に縛り付けられ、国政をおろそかにする傾向があると言われる。

Lawmakers who are elected from proportional representation blocs or who have weak support bases tend to trumpet populist policies. Doing this only to win elections has led to political chaos.
　比例選出や支持基盤の弱い議員たちは、選挙で生き残ることを優先し、大衆迎合主義（ポピュリズム）的な行動に走りがちで、政治の混乱の一因になっている。

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Reform should not be partisan

Politicians only become skilled in dealing with the bureaucracy after they deepen their knowledge of governing through several terms in office. However, the current electoral system only hampers the realization of politics led by politicians.
　当選を重ね、専門知識を深めることで、官僚を使いこなせる質の高い政治家が育つ。だが、現行制度は、真の政治主導を実現する妨げになっているのではないか。

Former Prime Minister Naoto Kan was defeated in his single-seat constituency but was able to retain his seat as he was elected from a proportional representation bloc for which he had also filed his candidacy. It is hard to accept the existence of such a double candidacy.
　菅前首相のように、小選挙区で敗れたのに、重複立候補した比例選で復活当選する仕組みが今なお続くのも納得しがたい。

These problems have led some ruling and opposition party lawmakers to call for reinstating multiple-seat constituencies. Their voices should not be ignored.
　与野党からは、こうした問題点を踏まえ、中選挙区制の復活を求める声も出ている。それも排除すべきではないだろう。

Electoral reforms necessarily involve partisan interests, so the issue should be discussed objectively by experts, not political parties.
　選挙制度改革には党利党略が絡む。政党同士よりも、有識者による客観的な議論が望ましい。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Dec. 24, 2012)
（2012年12月24日01時20分  読売新聞）