[Sunday Culture] "Doing it again?" Why Japan's Local Elections Are Held All Year Round

Fukushima, Miyagi, and Iwate Prefectures Postpone Elections Due to Great East Japan Earthquake
Elections Continue from August to November After April Vote

The Japanese government began discharging contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean starting on the 24th. This has sparked significant controversy not only in South Korea but also within Japan. Japanese media have focused on analyzing the background behind Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's decision to proceed with the discharge.

One notable analysis is that "the Kishida administration is doing this because local elections are approaching." However, Japan already completed nationwide local elections last April. The youngest mayor was elected, and an influencer who used to be a club waiter succeeded as a first-term lawmaker, which also became a hot topic in South Korea at the time. It has been less than half a year since those elections, so why is Japan holding elections again? Today, we will share the story of Japan’s elections in connection with the Fukushima contaminated water discharge.

A citizen is passing by a promotional poster for the Unified Local Elections in April this year. (Photo by NHK)

In Japan, the local elections held in April are called "Unified Local Elections." The reason for the term "unified" is that local government heads and local assembly members are elected simultaneously once every four years.

In South Korea, since the terms of local government heads and assembly members are the same, they can be elected on the same day from the start, but Japan’s system is somewhat different. First, the terms for by-elections differ. If an incumbent local government head dies, resigns, or is dismissed, the person elected in the by-election serves a new full four-year term rather than just the remaining term. This causes the expiration periods of terms to differ from those of other local government heads.

Also, Japan has a system that allows the dissolution of the National Diet. Reports mention that the Prime Minister considers dissolving the House of Representatives based on the possibility of re-election. If dissolved, terms may end before completing the full four years. This means that schedules differ by local government.

Therefore, based on the simultaneous local government head and assembly member elections held nationwide in April 1947, a special law was enacted stipulating that even if terms differ, elections for local government heads and assembly members whose terms expire between March 1 and May 31 are all held together in April. This is the meaning behind the Unified Local Elections, which unify elections held on different dates into one.

Then why are there places that hold elections at different times instead of unifying them? Let’s look at Japanese media reports. The Mainichi Shimbun published an analysis article last month predicting the timing of the government’s contaminated water discharge, stating, "Prime Minister Kishida is also likely to consider the local election schedule." This is because local elections will resume again from this month.

The areas holding elections again from mid-month this month are Iwate Prefecture, Miyagi Prefecture, and Fukushima Prefecture. The gubernatorial election in Iwate Prefecture was announced on the 17th, and the assembly election on the 25th. Campaigning and election activities will now begin. Iwate Prefecture is scheduled to vote on the 3rd of next month. Additionally, Miyagi Prefecture will hold elections in October, and Fukushima Prefecture in November.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Have you caught the commonality among these electoral districts? These are the regions severely affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011. In election-related news, these districts are also called the "Three Disaster Prefectures." Normally, Japan holds nationwide local elections in April, but these districts could not hold elections the following month due to the March earthquake, so the elections were postponed according to the recovery situation.

Therefore, Fukushima Prefecture, which suffered the most severe damage from the nuclear accident, holds elections the latest in November. This means the election is held seven months later than the usual local elections.

Because of this, as the Japanese government pushes ahead with the contaminated water discharge, criticism arises that "the discharge is delivering a second blow to regions already damaged by the disaster." In fact, on the 23rd, fishermen and residents from Fukushima Prefecture and other affected areas announced plans to file a lawsuit against the government and Tokyo Electric Power Company to stop the contaminated water discharge.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Currently, all these areas are controlled by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). If public opinion worsens due to the contaminated water discharge, the LDP’s position could become precarious. Therefore, if the discharge is postponed until autumn and coincides with the elections in the Three Disaster Prefectures, the LDP could lose these seats to the opposition parties.

With already high public opposition, if the opposition party comes to power, the contaminated water discharge schedule could face disruptions. Considering that the Fukushima Prefecture governor, who is from the LDP, made no strong objections after the government’s discharge decision and only requested "transparent sharing of data," some speculation is possible.

There is another exceptional case: Okinawa Prefecture. Okinawa’s local government elections are held the year before the nationwide Unified Local Elections. This is because Okinawa held local government head and assembly elections in 1946 while under U.S. military administration. Since the Unified Local Elections are based on the 1947 elections, Okinawa has established a practice of holding elections one year earlier on its own.

Today, we explored Japan’s election system in connection with the Fukushima contaminated water discharge. Although the Japanese government is continuously trying to appease local fishermen and residents with compensation and other measures, persuading public opinion does not seem easy going forward.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.