Japan Holds Pivotal Upper House Vote

(MENAFN) Millions of Japanese nationals are expected to participate in Sunday’s nationwide vote to choose 125 representatives for the House of Councilors, the upper section of the national legislature, regarded as vital for the stability of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s minority administration.

The House of Councilors is comprised of 248 legislators, each serving six-year tenures. Elections are conducted every three years to replace half of the seats.

In this election cycle, citizens will select the standard 124 lawmakers, along with an extra seat left open.

Over 104 million citizens who are officially registered are permitted to vote in the July 20 contest, which runs from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time (2200GMT Saturday to 1100GMT Sunday). A total of 519 contenders are campaigning for the available positions.

Roughly 9.8 million individuals—representing nearly 9.48% of eligible participants—have already submitted their choices during the early voting period, held between July 4 and 13.

Each voter will submit two selections: one to choose 75 directly elected representatives from local districts, and another for 50 seats filled through proportional representation.
Votes will be made using physical ballots provided at voting centers.

To vote, constituents write the name of their preferred candidate for the constituency seat and then either a political party’s name or a candidate’s name for the proportional representation seat.

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