Elections

Upper House Election: Voter Turnout Stood at 29.3% as of 7:30 p.m.; Figure Down 0.65 Percentage Points Compared to 2022 Voter Turnout

Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
A polling station in Toshima Ward, Tokyo, on Sunday

The Yomiuri Shimbun

21:09 JST, July 20, 2025

Voter turnout for Sunday’s House of Councillors election stood at 29.93% as of 7:30 p.m., down 0.65 percentage points compared to the same time from the previous upper house election in 2022, according to the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry.

Voter turnout for the 2022 election was 52.05%, up from the 2019 upper house election, when turnout dropped below 50%. The 2022 figure was the fourth lowest ever. Voter turnout in 1995 hit a record low of 44.52%.

Concerns were raised about the possibility of a low voter turnout in this year’s upper house election, as it was held in the middle of a three-day weekend.

Voter turnout for an upper house election has not reached the 60% mark since 1989, when it was 65.02%. In recent years, voter turnout had been in the 40%-50% range.