A voter is seen casting their vote in this unrelated image. (Mainichi/Kimi Takeuchi)

       HAKODATE, Hokkaido -- A 12-year-old boy was mistakenly allowed to cast a ballot in early voting for the House of Representatives election, the board of elections at the city of Hakodate in northernmost prefecture Hokkaido announced on Oct. 30.

       According to the municipal government's electoral management committee, the boy went to an advance polling station in the city with his father on Oct. 30. He passed the reception with a polling admission ticket belonging to his mother, who wasn't feeling well, after receiving it from his father. The boy then voted in the single-seat electoral district, but an official who checked the electoral roll became suspicious and stopped him. The boy did not vote in the proportional representation bloc, nor in the peoples' assessments of Supreme Court justices.

       The electoral management committee explained, "Because it was crowded, we didn't sufficiently check the people voting." As the ballot cast by the boy cannot be identified, his vote in the single-seat election is reportedly valid.

       (Japanese original by Kohei Shinkai, Hokkaido News Department Hakodate)

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