Voters wait in line to enter a polling station in Tokyo's Sumida Ward, on Oct. 31, 2021 (Mainichi/Yuki Miyatake)

       TOKYO -- Lines of voters were seen at polling stations across Japan during the House of Representatives election taking place Oct. 31, with "long lines" trending on Twitter at one point.

       Long lines stretched outside polling station Midori Kindergarten in Tokyo's Sumida Ward as voters waited in a spaced-out procession intended to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The Sumida Ward election commission had called for each polling station to ensure infection preventive measures are in place.

       According to the Suginami Ward election commission, the ward saw lines that exceeded expectations and stretched outside of several buildings open as polling stations. The commission believes the lines may have been due to social distancing measures and the rain forecast leading people to flock to vote before the showers started.

       The Tokyo Metropolitan election commission said that as of 5 p.m., voter turnout in the capital was estimated at 30.23%, 2.83 points higher than the 2017 general election.

       (Japanese original by Chie Yamashita, Digital News Center)

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