A central government ministry in charge of elections on Tuesday called on the election administration committees of all prefectures and major cities to begin counting votes on the same day as this summer's Upper House election, barring "special circumstances."
The upcoming House of Councilors election will be held under a new proportional representation method under which voters can cast ballots either for a political party or a candidate fielded by a party.
Tuesday's order, however, may not be uniformly carried out. Citing the extended hours required to count votes due to the complex nature of the new system, some local governments have said they will not begin counting ballot papers until the following day.
The local officials seem to have some sympathy from the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications, which oversees elections. The ministry's head, Toranosuke Katayama, admitted that the ministry "does not have the authority to force" local election committees to start counting votes the same day. Nevertheless, it hopes that election results will be made available to the public swiftly.