Voter Turnout Estimated at 55.69 Pct in Japan General Election

Tokyo, Feb. 8 (Jiji Press)–Voter turnout in Japan’s general election on Sunday is estimated at about 55.68 pct, according to a Jiji Press tally. The latest turnout is likely to have exceeded the 53.85 pct marked in the previous 2024 election for the House of Representatives, the all-important lower chamber of parliament, which was the third lowest since the end of World War II. While turnout on Sunday was relatively low, the number of people who cast their ballots under the early voting system reached a record high of 27,017,098. Many people are believed to have chosen to vote early because heavy snow was forecast across a wide area of Japan on Sunday. Early voters increased by about 1.29 times from the previous general election and accounted for 26.10 pct of all eligible voters. The number of early voters rose compared with the last general election in all 47 prefectures. The prefectures of Tochigi, Niigata, Ishikawa and Hokkaido saw the sharpest increases, growing by 1.43 times, 1.37 times, 1.31 times and 1.29 times, respectively. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]