Overview

• Voting opened nationwide at 7:00 am on July 20 and will run until 8:00 pm with immediate counting and results expected late tonight.
• The LDP-Komeito coalition needs at least 50 of the 124 contested seats to maintain its 125-seat majority in the 248-member upper house.
• Advance voting surged past 21 percent by July 18, exceeding the previous election’s total and underscoring how turnout shifts could sway tight races.
• Candidates are using nightly social media livestreams to engage voters after street speech hours end under the Public Offices Election Act.
• Final-day campaigns focused on cost-of-living relief—ruling parties pledged cash handouts while opposition called for consumption tax cuts—to influence key single- and multi-seat contests.