Japanese nationals living in Taiwan were able to cast early votes in Japan’s House of Councilors election at a polling station in Taipei yesterday, the first time they have ever been able to cast a vote in a Japanese election in person in Taiwan.
The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association is hosting early voting at its Taipei office — Japan’s de facto embassy in Taiwan — and at a branch office in Kaohsiung through July 14, with the full election scheduled to take place in Japan on July 20.
Previously, Japanese nationals in Taiwan could only vote by applying for ballots in advance and sending them by mail to Japan, or by traveling to Japan to cast their ballots in person.
Photo:CNA
Voting is a fundamental right for Japanese overseas, said Yo Takaba, a deputy Japanese representative to Taiwan, adding that setting up polling stations locally was a meaningful way of expanding access to democratic participation.
The association said that there had long been calls to set up overseas polling stations in Taiwan and that the decision was made following consultations with the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
There are about 16,000 eligible Japanese voters living in Taiwan, the association said.
To be able to participate, eligible voters aged 18 or older must first register with the Japanese government to vote from abroad. Once registered, they are given a voter card that they have to show along with a photo ID at the polling stations in Taiwan to vote.
Masayuki Yamamoto, who has been working in Taiwan for two years, said he cast his vote outside of Japan for the first time yesterday, with the hope that Japan would become a better country.
Yamamoto described the process as more convenient than the traditional mail-in method and in-person voting in Japan, even though additional paperwork was required to prevent identity fraud.
Unlike Taiwan’s use of stamps to indicate a vote, Japan uses handwritten ballots, where voters write the names of their preferred candidates and political parties, and hand their ballots in sealed envelopes to polling staff.
Organizing one national referendum and 26 recall elections targeting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators could cost NT$1.62 billion (US$55.38 million), the Central Election Commission said yesterday. The cost of each recall vote ranges from NT$16 million to NT$20 million, while that of a national referendum is NT$1.1 billion, the commission said. Based on the higher estimate of NT$20 million per recall vote, if all 26 confirmed recall votes against KMT legislators are taken into consideration, along with the national referendum on restarting the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, the total could be as much as NT$1.62 billion, it said. The commission previously announced
Restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to be included in the Michelin Guide’s review for the first time this year, alongside existing entries from Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, the France-based culinary publication said yesterday. This year’s edition of the Michelin Guide Taiwan is to be unveiled on Aug. 19 in Taipei. In addition to the coveted star ratings, Michelin Taiwan would announce its “Bib Gourmand” selections — a distinction awarded to establishments offering high-quality food at moderate prices — on Aug. 12. This year’s Bib Gourmand list would also feature restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu
A firefighter yesterday died after falling into New Taipei City's Xindian River when a rescue dinghy capsized during a search mission for a man who was later found dead. The New Taipei City Fire Department said that it received a report at 4:12pm that a 50-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), had fallen into the river. A 32-year-old firefighter, surnamed Wu (吳), was among the rescuers deployed to look for Chen, the fire department said, adding that he and five other rescue personnel were in the dinghy when it capsized. Wu had no vital signs after being pulled from the water to the
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday welcomed NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s remarks that the organization’s cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners must be deepened to deter potential threats from China and Russia. Rutte on Wednesday in Berlin met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ahead of a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of Germany’s accession to NATO. He told a post-meeting news conference that China is rapidly building up its armed forces, and the number of vessels in its navy outnumbers those of the US Navy. “They will have another 100 ships sailing by 2030. They now have 1,000 nuclear warheads,” Rutte said, adding that such
RSS