Overview
- After both candidates received 16,724 votes in Kamisu, the winner was determined by drawing lots under election law, resulting in the incumbent Susumu Ishida losing his seat.
- Ishida’s camp filed an objection seeking a re-examination of 219 invalid ballots, asserting some should be counted, and the city election committee is considering whether to accept the challenge.
- The Sapporo High Court ruled the July Upper House election was in a “state of unconstitutionality” due to a maximum 3.13-to-1 vote-weight gap, but it dismissed requests to void the election.
- In Nanjō, Okinawa, 18 of 20 newly elected city councilors favor reintroducing a no-confidence motion tied to Mayor Kageharu Koja’s sexual harassment allegations, positioning him for likely removal.
- Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi refused to retract her campaign remark about warning an English speaker who kicked a Nara deer, telling the Diet she has firsthand grounds for the statement.