Anyway...as you can see, I feel very strongly about this. One of the MANY reasons I chose Japanese citizenship is so I can vote in the country where I live/ pay taxes and my ultimate dream is to become a politician. I'd be happy to take over as the Prime Minister, anytime!
Yeah, Shinzo...THIS will make me vote for you....
So, I've been pretty excited about the upcoming elections. My first as a Japanese citizen!! The other day, I received my voting slip in the mail.
No need to register to vote! As long as you've lived in the city since a certain date, they automatically send you a voting slip. You MUST take this with you. They include a little map to the voting station for your area. Usually it's a local public school or a community center.
Voting is NOT mandatory here. Personally, I feel this is a mistake, but that's something to deal with once I take over for Abe. Voting IS, however, on a Sunday and runs for fairly long hours. In addition, if you know you'll be out of town or just busy on that day, you can go to city hall and vote in advance. Alot more convenient than certain countries that won't even let Election Day be a national holiday....
One thing I find confusing is that there are multiple election dates. The voting slip above is for the April 7th election for Osaka prefectural assembly members and the governor. The following Sunday is the election for city council members. I think there might be national elections later this year...? (Don't quote me on that!)
Who's running? Well, the city puts up these boards before the elections and on a certain date, the candidates' teams put up posters. These boards are often near the voting stations, but also near public areas like parks.
There's alot more to talk about, but that's enough for now. I'll just leave you with one final thought.... Just say no to the"One Osaka" party!
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