Tokyo voters elect assembly amid pandemic fears over Olympics

The Yomiuri daily newspaper estimated voter turnout at slightly under 10%, lagging the last election by about 5 percentage points. The polls close at 8pm.

Voters cast their ballots at a polling station in Tokyo. Picture: Kyodo News/AP

Voters in Japan’s capital are electing the Tokyo city assembly amid concerns about health risks during the Olympic Games, due to open in three weeks’ time, as coronavirus cases continue to rise.

In Sunday’s ballot, 271 candidates are vying for 127 seats. There are 9.8 million eligible voters in the city, which has a population of nearly 14 million.