TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's top court on Wednesday held unconstitutional some district polls in the 2012 election that brought Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to power because of wide gaps in the weight of rural and urban votes, but stopped short of invalidating the result, the country's media reported.
Holding the elections invalid could have sparked political chaos since no precedent exists, but few had expected the Supreme Court to take that stance since the top judiciary is not known for rocking the establishment boat. Wednesday's court decision leaves the issue of reforms in lawmakers' hands.