Coronavirus cases are rising nationwide amid the campaign for the House of Councillors election. On June 22, the day campaigning officially began, about 100,000 coronavirus patients were self-isolating at home or overnight care facilities.
Mail voting rules were relaxed in June last year to allow self-isolating coronavirus patients to vote. However, even though local governments have been making efforts to publicize the system, uptake has been low, which has been attributed to complicated procedures.
Postal voting is a form of absentee ballot. People can request ballots from their local government and cast their votes by mail. Previously, the system was limited to people with severe physical disabilities, but a law took effect last June to enable self-isolating coronavirus patients and people who had returned to Japan to vote by mail.
