The Ministry of Internal Affairs announced a record-breaking number of early voters for the House of Councilors election held on Sunday. A total of 26,181,865 individuals cast their ballots through the early voting system.
This figure represents a significant increase compared to the previous Upper House election in 2022, with an addition of 6,568,390 voters. Early voting participation accounted for 25.12% of the total eligible electorate.
The rise in early voting is likely attributed to the election being held on the second day of a three-day weekend. Every one of the 47 prefectures saw an increase in early voting numbers.
Miyazaki experienced the largest increase, with a rise of 49.43%. Kumamoto followed with a 44.59% increase, and Kochi saw a 43.31% climb.
As of 4 p.m. on Sunday, the voter turnout was 22.42%, which is a decrease of 0.57 percentage points compared to the 2022 election.
5 Comments
Eugene Alta
I’m skeptical of these statistics. Are they manipulating numbers to make it look like more people care?
Habibi
Wow, 26 million early voters! That’s fantastic news for democracy! 🎉
Michelangelo
The fact that 26 million participated shows a growing interest in politics. Let’s keep pushing for more engagement!
Donatello
Proud to see so many people taking advantage of early voting! It's a sign that we are moving towards a more engaged electorate.
Michelangelo
The boost in early voting shows that people are eager to participate, even if the overall turnout dipped slightly.