The election management committee of Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Prefecture, did not carry out the necessary procedures for early election. The Public Offices Election Law stipulates that if there is a vacancy, the election will be won early within three months of the election.
Chizuko Matsuura, who lost the last election four years ago by lottery, was supposed to be elected early, but the election committee did not realize it until he pointed it out. He then apologized, saying, "If it had not been pointed out, there was a possibility that I would not have been elected early"