The House of Councillors (参議院; Sangi-in) is the upper house of the Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the House of Peers, the Japanese equivalent to the British House of Lords. If the two houses disagree on matters of the budget, treaties, or designation of the prime minister, the House of Representatives can insist on its decision.
The House of Councillors has 242 members, who serve longer terms than those of the House of Representatives. The House cannot be dissolved, as only half of its membership is re-elected at each election, using a parallel voting system. Of the 121 members subject to election each time, 73 are elected from the 47 prefectural districts and 48 are elected from a nationwide list by proportional representation. Councillors must be at least 30 years old, compared with 25 for the Representatives.
Links
Sangi-in.go.jp (http://www.sangiin.go.jp/eng/index.htm) - Official site of the House of Councillors
The House of Councillors of Japan is the upper house.
Members of the House of Representatives, who are elected to a maximum of four years, sit for a shorter term than members of the House of Councillors, who are elected to full six-year terms.
Thus the House of Representatives is considered to be more sensitive to public opinion, and is termed the "lower house." This term is also a legacy of the 1889 Meiji Constitution, when the House of Peers functioned as an aristocratic upper house in a format similar to the Westminster system of the time.
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