The 45th House of Representatives Election

I tried to use the system which started from May 2000 and vote for the 45th House of Representatives Election. Each one of procedures isn’t difficult but there is many procedures and took time. At first I need to go to the Embassy of Japan and register for my right of voting from UK which takes two to three months. After this register, I get a card and if I go to the Embassy of Japan in London or go back to Japan with this card, I can vote there immediately however I wished to vote in Manchester so I had to require ballots from Seika town where I’d registered before coming here.



For getting ballots from Seika town, I had to send snail mail with application form and the card. Unfortunately I made a mistake here. Do you notice it on my envelope? Yes, I forgot to write “JAPAN” on the envelope so this one returned to me. I needed to use another envelope with a new stamp. It’s all my fault but waste of time and money:’(



After several days of my second snail mail, I received registered mail and it was ballots. In UK even my driver’s license was delivered by normal mail. I’m surprised that Seika town officers spent 1,500yen to deliver ballots by EMS. They put a big envelope for return and said, “we recommend you using EMS because it’s safe, fast and you can also track your delivery although you need to pay the fee by yourself.” What a kind and useful information. Why do I have to send it back to Japan not London? Because we can vote in London so they’ll report or send those ballots to Japan. Why I can’t get ballots from London or website? I don’t know how many Japanese people vote from foreign countries however I’m sure there are many ways to simplify and saving money and time.  
This time I use normal delivery and cross my fingers to arrive my ballots by weekend.