Quote:
Originally Posted by SeijiSensei
The Times article talked about the depopulation of the countryside. I recall reading at some point how the Japanese electoral system is gerrymandered in favor of rural constituencies. I'd be curious to see how many voters it takes to elect a Diet member from a rural area versus one from Kyoto or Tokyo.
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From what I understand, Japan suffers from the problem of "rotten boroughs" common in 19th-century Britain. Wikipedia has
a partial breakdown of the number of votes it takes to elect a Diet member from various constituencies. I can't vouch for the data's accuracy, nor am I a familiar enough with Japan's electoral system to comment on the issue. I do recall, however, that the "construction complex" (Japan's version of the United State's military-industrial complex) is heavily linked to the distortions inherent in Japan's rural/local politics.