House of Councillors

About

The Senate, or by its former English translation name, the House of Councillors, (Japanese: 参議院, Hepburn: Sangiin; Japanese pronunciation: [saŋʲ.ɡʲiꜜ.iɴ, -ŋʲiꜜ-]) is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives is the lower house. The Senate is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers. If the two houses disagree on matters of the budget, treaties, or the nomination of the prime minister, the House of Representatives can insist on its decision. In other decisions, the House of Representatives can override a vote of the Senate only by a two-thirds majority of senators present.

The Senate has 267 members who each serve six-year terms, two years longer than those of the House of Representatives. Senators must be at least 30 years old, compared with 25 years old in the House of Representatives. The Senate cannot be dissolved, and terms are staggered so that only half of its membership is up for election every three years. Of the 124 senators subject to election each time, 74 are elected from 45 districts by single non-transferable vote (SNTV) and 50 are elected from a nationwide list by proportional representation (PR) with open lists.