Tokyo, May 27 (Jiji Press)–Japanese ruling and opposition parties agreed Thursday on a planned bill to allow novel coronavirus carriers staying at hotels or home to vote by mail in national and local elections as a temporary measure.
   

The parties aim to enact the bill during the ongoing parliamentary session ending on June 16 after broadly agreeing on a draft outline of the bill presented by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
   

The planned exceptional measure, which will also cover those staying at hotels for self-quarantine after arriving from abroad, is expected to be applied to the July 4 Tokyo metropolitan assembly election.
   

The agreement was reached among working-level officials of the LDP, its coalition partner, Komeito, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party), the Democratic Party for the People and the Your Party parliamentary group of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of parliament.
   

The Japanese Communist Party put its decision on hold.
   

The outline says that such mail-in voters, just like regular voters, will be subject to penalties if they violate the public offices election law.
   

Close contacts with carriers staying at hotels or home will not be allowed to vote by mail, because the number of such people is large and it is difficult to tell quickly who are in such a situation.