Overview
- The Tochigi prefectural election management committee ruled on Friday that the March 22 Nasu mayoral result was invalid and that challenger Noriyuki Oyamada leads by two votes after a full re-examination.
- The committee’s count gave Oyamada 5,106 votes and incumbent Yukihiro Hirayama 5,104 votes after treating several ballots with miswritten given names as valid and reclassifying a small number of other ballots.
- A town-level recount in April had earlier left Hirayama the winner by three votes, so the prefectural re-examination overturned the municipal result by changing how voter intent was judged on ambiguous name entries.
- Hirayama has said he will review the committee’s findings and is considering filing a legal challenge in the Tokyo High Court, which must be brought within 30 days for the ruling to be contested.
- The decision follows a similar prefectural invalidation in April in Ibaraki’s Kamisu mayoral race and highlights how close local contests can hinge on how officials interpret small errors on ballots.