"Confectionery Names on Ballots?" Japanese Mayor Chosen by Lottery Has Election Win Invalidated in Recount

A unique situation has unfolded in Japan, where a mayor who was elected by drawing lots after a tied mayoral race was stripped of his victory during a recount process.

Toshiyuki Kiuchi, Mayor of Kamisushi, Japan. Instagram

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On April 29, Yonhap News quoted the Yomiuri Shimbun, reporting, "The Ibaraki Prefectural Election Commission has decided to invalidate the election of current Kamisu City Mayor Toshiyuki Kiuchi, who was declared the winner in the Kamisu City mayoral election held in November last year."

The controversy began with the validity of ballots marked "Dango shop" or "Manju shop." Since Mayor Kiuchi's family runs "Kiuchi Confectionery," a traditional Japanese sweets shop specializing in dango and manju, the election committee initially counted these ballots as votes for candidate Kiuchi.

However, the current election commission decided there was not enough evidence to conclude that "Dango shop" and "Manju shop" referred specifically to candidate Kiuchi, leading to the invalidation of his election. In response, Mayor Kiuchi, who has already taken office, held a press conference, calling the decision "unacceptable" and announcing plans to file a lawsuit with the court. Under the Local Autonomy Act, he may retain his position as mayor until a final court decision is made.

In the mayoral election held in November last year, Mayor Kiuchi and his opponent, former mayor Susumu Ishida, each received exactly 16,724 votes. Kiuchi was declared the winner through a lottery draw in accordance with the Public Offices Election Act and subsequently took office. After requesting a recount, former mayor Ishida saw one valid vote reduced in this latest decision. If the election commission's ruling is upheld by the court, Ishida could regain the mayorship by a margin of one vote.

Japan uses a self-written ballot system, in which voters write the candidate's name directly on the ballot. Even if there are spelling mistakes, ballots are considered valid as long as the voter's intent is clear. However, this guideline is not a legally binding rule but rather a standard, and therefore subjective judgment by counting officials may be involved. This case can be seen as a dispute arising from such ambiguity.

The newspaper noted, "It is unusual for an election won by lottery to be later invalidated."

There have been cases in the past where election outcomes were reversed following a recount in the United States as well. In the 2008 U.S. Senate race in Minnesota, incumbent Republican Norm Coleman initially led Democrat Al Franken by 215 votes, but after a manual recount and legal battles, Franken overtook Coleman by 225 votes and was inaugurated as senator in July of the following year.

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