Next month’s Upper House election will be held during a three-day holiday — the first time ever — raising questions about whether the choice of date was politically motivated so as to benefit established parties, such as the ruling bloc, which can rely on strongly organized supporters to show up at the polls.

The July 20 election falls on a Sunday, the second day of the three-day holiday, when many people are likely to plan for trips and outings. It takes place a day before Marine Day — which is the third Monday of July and celebrates Japan’s maritime heritage. But that has prompted concerns about the impact on voter turnout, especially the youth vote.

When the administration of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba officially decided on the date earlier this week, many on social media and among the opposition parties worried that voter turnout would be low, thus benefiting Ishiba’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

The public office election law mandates an Upper House election to be held between 24 and 30 days after the closure of parliament, which ended Sunday. Though not required to be held on a Sunday, it’s been customary in order to help voters go to the polls more easily.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said July 20 was chosen due to mostly legal, not political, reasons.

“Since 1962, regular Upper House elections have been held on Sundays. In light of this, the Cabinet has decided to hold the election on July 20, the only Sunday available among those fixed by law,” Hayashi told reporters on Tuesday.

He called on voters who have plans on election day to opt for early voting, which is usually allowed beginning from the campaign kickoff on July 3.

Ichiro Ozawa, a veteran Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker, levied criticism in an X post that the date was chosen by the LDP in the hope that turnout would be lower, boosting the chances of the ruling parties, who could mobilize groups of loyal voters.

“It’s a low voter turnout strategy by the LDP,” Ozawa said. “They’re saying independent voters don’t have to have any interest in the election, and can go on holiday. It’s despicable.”

“I hope there are no such devious motives (on the part of the LDP in choosing the date),” said CDP Secretary-General Junya Ogawa at a news conference on Tuesday, when asked about the election date.

Democratic Party for the People leader Yuichiro Tamaki said the same day it’s more complicated than that.

“There is talk that if we make it (fall on) a three-day weekend, voter turnout will decline, and the LDP, Komeito, and Japanese Communist Party — which have strong organizations — will have the advantage,” Tamaki said. “However, it’s not that simple.”

He pointed to the recent Tokyo assembly election where although voter turnout was not that high, it rose by 5 percentage points compared to the previous election, and the DPP went from zero seats to nine.

Tamaki said it’s a mistake to assume that holding an election during a three-day holiday weekend means young people will be too busy having fun to vote.

The DPP, which quadrupled its Lower House seat total in October’s election thanks to a message that appealed to younger, urban, independent voters especially in Tokyo and Nagoya, is hoping for a high turnout among this voter demographic for the Upper House election as well.

Ritsumeikan University political scientist Masato Kamikubo said since LDP and Komeito support continues to weaken, no matter the date of the election, the number of votes they gain in next month’s election from their core supporters will likely decrease from what they got in the previous Upper House election in 2022.

Kamikubo added that, as the number of traditional party supporters shrinks, public understanding of the early voting system is growing, something younger voters are likely to take advantage of before the three-day holiday.

“Even if many young people have already made plans for the three-day holiday weekend, a significant number of them will choose to vote before that,” he said.