Overseas voting for Upper House election begins
Voting began at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul on Friday morning, following Thursday's start of the official campaign period for the election.
"I'd like to see stability in the (Japanese) government, given that tariff negotiations are ongoing with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump and the global situation is unstable," said Naoya Maeda, a 27-year-old graduate student living in the South Korean capital.
Maeda, who is originally from Kagoshima Prefecture, said that he cast his vote "in hopes that the cooperative relationship between Japan and South Korea will be maintained."
"We hope people will take advantage of this opportunity to participate in politics," an official at the embassy said.
Voting also began at the Japanese Embassy in Beijing on Friday morning.
"I voted because I wanted to change Japan, even a little, at a time when both the country and the world are lacking stability," a 38-year-old male resident of Beijing said.
"I cast my vote with safety in mind, because I have my wife and daughter with me here," a 54-year-old male corporate employee said.
Overseas voting for Japanese nationals became available at the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association for the first time, with many voters visiting the association's Taipei office, Japan's de facto embassy in Taiwan, to cast their ballots on Friday morning.
Voting is also available at the association's Kaohsiung office, which serves as a de facto consulate-general.
Ran Shimano, 44, who has lived in Taiwan for 13 years, said, "I'm delighted that I've managed to cast my vote while living abroad."
While Japan and Taiwan do not have an official diplomatic relationship, about 21,700 Japanese nationals currently reside in Taiwan.
Until now, Japanese voters in Taiwan had to send their ballots by mail.
"We took the requests by Japanese nationals living here seriously," Deputy Representative Yo Takaba said of the decision to open polling stations in Taiwan.
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