Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto cruised to re-election Sunday night in a snap contest supporters and critics criticized as a waste of time and taxpayer money.
The voter turnout rate was a pathetic 23.59 percent — the city's lowest ever.
Combined with the tally for early voting, that means about a quarter of Osaka's voters went to the polls, more than 30 points less than in the 2011 mayoral election.