Voting underway in 1st round of Japan's unified local elections

Apr 09 (The Japan News) - Voting is underway in the first round of unified local elections across Japan on Sunday, with issues including child-rearing support, the fight against inflation and the revitalization of regional economies hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Polls opened at 7 a.m. and will close at 8 p.m., except at some polling stations. Ballot counting will begin later in the day.

The results of nine gubernatorial elections in the prefectures of Hokkaido, Kanagawa, Fukui, Osaka, Nara, Tottori, Shimane, Tokushima and Oita and of six mayoral polls in the ordinance-designated major cities of Sapporo, Sagamihara, Shizuoka, Hamamatsu, Osaka and Hiroshima are expected to be mostly known by midnight.

The results of assembly elections in 41 prefectures and 17 ordinance-designated cities are expected to be decided early on Monday. ...continue reading

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