of Gokyūshō before office buildings blocked the view. Much of the interiors of the Diet building are designed by Naigai Technos Co. Chambers of the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors These large halls are usually called the “main chambers” and are located on the 2nd floor of each House building with a ceiling that opens up to the 3rd floor. The ceiling is partly made from stained glass which lets in sunlight, so the ceiling lights are kept turned off unless there is a plenary assembly in the chamber. The floor is structured in the so-called “continental” fashion; the floor forms a fan shape with the chairman and the podium at its center, and member seats are allotted to each parliamentary group in accordance to their size. The chairman sits in the center accompanied by the secretary general on his right. The podium stands in front of the chairman's seat, and the stenographer sits beneath the podium. Two rows of seats stretch on both sides of the chair, the front row for cabinet members (the seat closest to the chairman is for the Prime Minister) and the back row for the Diet administrative staffs. The Diet members’ seats are designated by the chairman at the beginning of a Diet session but can be switched during a session if necessary. The House of Representatives makes it a custom to allocate larger parliamentary groups to the chairman's right. In other words, the majority party will sit on the furthest right to the chairman followed by the second largest party, and independents sit in the far left. In the House of Councillors, by contrast, the largest parliamentary group sits in the center with smaller groups on either side. Within a parliamentary group, members who have been elected the fewest times are seated in the front rows closest to the chairman, while those with a longer record as politicians sit in the back rows. Each seat has a number and a name plate with white letters in a black background. In the House of Councillors, the Emperor's throne is at the top of the stairs behind the chairman's seat which will be removed in preparation for the opening ceremony. As a legacy of the historic custom to invite the Emperor to the Chamber of the House of Peers in the opening ceremony of the Imperial Diet, even today the opening ceremonies