Tokyo High Court upholds rejection of 'manjuya' ballots in Kamisu mayoral election

The Tokyo High Court ruled on Thursday that ballots marked "manjuya" (a sweet shop) were invalid in last year's Kamisu City mayoral election, rejecting Mayor Toshiyuki Kiuchi's appeal to overturn the decision. The court determined that "manjuya" is merely a common noun describing a type of food establishment and cannot be proven to specifically refer to Kiuchi. The Ibaraki prefectural election commission had invalidated two ballots for Kiuchi, reversing his win. Kiuchi, whose family runs a Japanese confectionery shop, argued he had been known as "the manjuya kid" for 65 years. The election originally ended in a tie, with Kiuchi winning by lottery before the commission's review changed the outcome.