The extremely low voter turnout for the Upper House by-election in Satama Prefecture last Sunday, in which former Saitama Gov. Kiyoshi Ueda defeated his sole opponent by a large margin, may be attributable to a combination of multiple factors, including the lack of competition among major parties, lingering damage from the recent typhoon and "election fatigue" on the part of voters after a series of key elections this year. Still, it is extraordinary that a representative to the Diet is elected by the votes of only 1 out of 5 voters in the constituency. Both the political parties and voters should share a sense of crisis over the problem.
Sluggish turnout has been a common problem in all major elections this year, including the nationwide series of local races in April and the Upper House campaign in July. The 20.81 percent turnout for the Saitama by-election was the fourth-lowest of all postwar Diet elections. Turnout was also at a record low 34.8 percent in the Miyagi Prefectural Assembly election held the same day.
The by-election was held to fill the vacuum created when Motohiro Ono lost his Upper House seat to run successfully in the Saitama gubernatorial race in August. Ueda, who did not seek re-election after serving four terms as governor for 16 years, was the clear favorite in the race, with support from the two largest opposition forces, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Democratic Party for the People, and labor unions.