Residents of Tanashi and Hoya in northwestern Tokyo went to the polling booths Sunday to vote on whether their two cities should merge.
The questionnaire, effectively a ballot initiative, targeted about 149,000 residents aged 18 and over and was held from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. at 36 polling stations in the two cities.
According to the merger council, headed by Tanashi Mayor Tatsuo Sueki, the merger ballot is the first of its kind in the country.
The two cities have examining the prospects of merging so they can reduce spending and shore up their fiscal base by combining two administrative functions into one.
Voters were asked to choose from "support," "oppose," or "neither," and were also asked to vote on candidate names for the proposed city and to select policy priorities.
Although the cities hope to merge in January 2001, both mayors have explained that "the merger is impossible if majority of residents in either of the cities oppose it."
Counting of the ballots was to begin at midnight Sunday, and the results are to be known around 6 a.m. Monday.