Type Unicameral | ||
 | ||
Founded May 15, 1879 (1879-05-15) Speaker (gichō) Noriyuki Ishikawa, Liberal Democratic Party
Since 12 June 2015 Vice Speaker (fuku-gichō) Ryosuke Ueda, Liberal Democratic Party
Since 12 June 2015 Seats 87 assembly members from 40 electorates Committees Standing committees:
General Affairs; Health & Welfare, Industry, Employment & International Affairs; Agricultural & Environmental Affairs; Constitution; Education; Police | ||
The Hyogo Prefectural Assembly (兵庫県議会, Hyōgo-ken gikai) is the prefectural parliament of Hyogo Prefecture.
Contents
The assembly's 87 members are elected every four years in 40 districts by single non-transferable vote. Nine of the electoral districts correspond with the wards of Kobe city and the remaining 31 districts are made up of the cities and districts (towns and villages) of the prefecture. The electoral district that represents the city of Himeji is the largest, electing 8 representatives to the assembly.
The assembly is responsible for acting as a balance against the Governor of Hyogo Prefecture who is responsible for the administration of the prefecture. This role includes enacting and amending prefectural ordinances, approving the budget and checking the administration.
Current composition
The Hyogo prefectural election, 2015 took place on 12 April 2015, as part of the 2015 unified local elections. It was the first election following a reduction in the number of members from 89 to 87. Elections were held in 23 districts and representatives for the remaining 17 districts were elected unopposed. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) maintained their position as the largest group in the assembly with a total of 40 seats (official candidates plus independents endorsed by the party), but were unable to secure the 44 seats required for an outright majority. The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) was reduced from 16 seats to 11. The Japan Innovation Party, contesting the unified local elections for the first time, won nine seats. Voter turnout was 40.55%, a reduction of 0.88% compared to the 2011 election. Following the election, the LDP's Noriyuki Ishikawa and Ryosuke Ueda were elected speaker and vice-speaker of the assembly.
As of February 2016, the assembly was composed as follows:
Electoral districts
Most electoral districts correspond to the current cities of the prefecture, but several districts correspond to former districts which are no longer administrative units but are still used in the addresses of regional areas. Kobe, the largest city in the prefecture, is divided such that each of the city's nine wards is a separate electoral district. In 2014 the assembly voted to reduce the size of the assembly from 89 to 87, which resulted in a merger of the Sayō and Akō-Akō districts, as well as Takasago district's representation being reduced from two members to one.