Municipalities Brace for Heavy Snow, Work to Protect Voter Access to Polling Stations

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:15 JST, February 7, 2026

With warning-level heavy snow forecast, local governments are taking steps to mitigate the impact on voting for the House of Representatives election on Feb. 8.

The severe weather was expected to center on northern and western areas facing the Sea of Japan. Some municipalities will delay the opening of polling stations, pushing back the start of voting by up to two hours from 7 a.m. to allow for emergency snow removal.

A tally by the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry as of Tuesday shows that 307 locations across 18 prefectures are set to delay their opening times, more than four times the 72 locations in the 2024 election.

These delays are typically concentrated in regions with remote islands, but areas affected in this election include snow-heavy prefectures such as Aomori and Fukushima.

The Nagaoka municipal government in Niigata Prefecture has decided to delay the start of voting by one hour at 34 polling stations in its snowy areas.

According to the city government, it has arranged with contractors for immediate snowplow deployment in anticipation of hazardous road conditions. “Our priority is to ensure the roads are passable,” said an official from the city’s election administration commission.

The city is prepared to clear not only the routes to polling stations but also their immediate surroundings if necessary, it said.

In the town of Minamiaizu, Fukushima Prefecture, the opening time for all 30 polling stations in the town will be pushed back to 8 a.m.

To ensure paths near the entrances to polling stations remain clear, the town has distributed shovels and snow-melting agents to its staff for use on the day of the election.

Furthermore, it plans to deploy seven employees temporarily hired for winter snow removal.

In Yamanashi Prefecture, the Fujiyoshida municipal government has designated 60 employees not involved in poll operations as a special “snow removal task force.” These staff members are on standby for emergency mobilization and will be deployed to polling stations as the weather dictates.