The 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 pre-war
House of Peers, the Japanese equivalent of 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. In all other decisions, the House of Representatives can override a vote of the House of Councillors only by a two-thirds majority of members present. However with the introduction of
proportional representation in the House of Representatives, the upper house has significantly enhanced its power to block legislation with final effect at the expense of the former where the government fails to attain the two-thirds mark in almost every general election, such as in the recent case of the
Postal Privatisation Bill block; this development has made the House of Councillors quite powerful, perhaps approaching the
Australian Senate or the
United States Senate in its ability to influence public policy.
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