Court case puts spotlight on Japan’s unconventional system of self-written ballots

Dango” on a ballot enough to identify an election candidate whose family runs a confectionery business? The answer is “no,” according to a Japanese court hearing a case that highlights Japan’s unconventional system of requiring voters to write out the names of the candidates that they are voting for. The Tokyo High Court on Thursday rejected a lawsuit filed by Toshiyuki Kiuchi, the mayor of the city of Kamisu in Ibaraki Prefecture who sought to overturn a prefectural election board decision that invalidated his victory in a November 2025 election.