2 Justices of Japan’s Supreme Court Avoid Dismissal After National Review as Around 14% of Voters Call for Removal

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:43 JST, February 10, 2026

Two Supreme Court justices who were subject to a national review have been retained, the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry announced Monday.

Junichi Takasu, 66, and Masami Okino, 62, were subject to a national vote of confidence, which was held at the same time as Sunday’s House of Representatives election. The proportion of valid votes received that called for their dismissal did not reach a majority.

The percentage of votes seeking to dismiss the justices was 13.94%, the second highest on record following the one set in 1980, when the percentage was 14.38%. Valid votes that supported the dismissal of former lawyer Takasu was 14.15%, while former scholar Okino’s removal was supported by 13.73%.

Voter interest in the review has been increasing in recent years, with moves to encourage voting in the review being seen on social media. The trend appears to have accelerated as the 2024 election saw the percentage of votes seeking to dismiss justices passed the 10% mark for the first time in 34 years. About 55.46 million people voted in the poll, with a voting rate of 53.74%. The figure is almost unchanged from the 53.64% in the previous poll.

The national review is a system stipulated in the Constitution. A total of 198 justices have been subject to 27 reviews since the first one in 1949, but none of them have been dismissed.