Upper House Election: Japan’s Declining Population, Other Factors Leading to Fewer Polling Stations for House of Councillors Election

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:58 JST, July 19, 2025

The number of polling stations for the House of Councillors election is on a downward trend due to difficulties in securing local government staffers for election administration and election observers along with such factors as a declining population.

According to the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry, 44,758 polling stations will be set up on Sunday’s upper house election. This is 1,267 fewer than the previous upper house election in 2022. Except for Okinawa, 46 of the nation’s 47 prefectures saw a decline.

The number of polling stations that will close earlier is also increasing. Under the Public Offices Election Law, voting hours are set from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., but the time can be changed by up to four hours under certain circumstances. This time, 18,142 polling stations — accounting for 40% of the total — are expected to close earlier than 8 p.m. This is 890 more than in the previous election.

The number of polling stations for the upper house election peaked during the 2001 upper house election at 53,439.

Compared to the 2022 election, Hokkaido saw the largest decrease, with a 109 reduction of stations. “Securing staffers for election administration work is challenging, and more municipalities are reducing the number of polling stations,” explained an election official of the Hokkaido prefectural government.

The official said the prefecture has adopted several measures to secure voting opportunities for voters, such as dispatching mobile polling stations for early voting.