Tokyo, Oct. 28 (Jiji Press)--Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party has formally presented its revised proposal to reduce the number of proportional representation seats in the House of Representatives by 31.

The proposal was submitted to a meeting Tuesday among working-level officials from nine ruling and opposition parties for discussions on a revision of the election system for the all-important lower chamber of the Diet, the country's parliament.

While aiming to win an agreement on the revised plan, the LDP asked the eight other parties to express their support or opposition at the next meeting slated for Wednesday.

The LDP and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, submitted to the special Diet session that ended in July a bill to reduce Lower House proportional representation seats by 45. The chamber has a total of 465 seats--289 single-seat constituency seats and 176 seats under the proportional representation system.

At Tuesday's meeting, the opposition Democratic Party for the People showed tolerance of the LDP plan. The JIP also sounded flexible.

Keisuke Suzuki (second from right), a member of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, speaks at an interparty meeting Tuesday on a revision of the election system for the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament.
Hirofumi Yoshimura, leader of the Japan Innovation Party, the coalition partner of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, and governor of Osaka Prefecture, speaks at a press conference in the city of Osaka, the capital of the western Japan prefecture.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]