Wakayama Residents’ Group Collects Over 20K Signatures for Referendum on IR Bid

A residents’ group in Wakayama has submitted a petition to the Wakayama election committee calling for a referendum regarding the prefecture’s IR bid.

The group spent a month collecting signatures for a referendum, stating, “There is no opportunity for citizens to vote, despite the fact that this is a serious issue for citizens.”

All 20,833 signatures were handed to the Wakayama city election committee.

Wakayama city requires the signatures of 2% of registered voters, or around about 6200 people, over the course of one month in order to directly request a referendum.

After submission of the signatures to the election administration committee, they are confirmed for validity and will be counted by 29 December to be submitted to the mayor in early January. Opinions will be added to the proposal by the mayor, then submitted to the city council where a decision will be made.