TOTTORI, Japan (Kyodo) -- Japan's first online poll watchers will be introduced in two local elections next month amid a shortage of people to fill the role of observers, the government said Thursday.

The town of Chizu in Tottori Prefecture has rehearsed remote monitoring of its June 9 race to elect its mayor and fill vacancies in its town assembly, using cameras connected to the internet. It will have backup personnel in case internet connection is lost.

The western Japan prefecture, struggling with an aging and declining population, announced in February its plan for online monitoring to avoid scrapping some polling stations due to a lack of observers, who must spend long hours watching the vote.

"By successfully monitoring elections online in a first for Japan, we hope to create a better voting environment," Tottori Gov. Shinji Hirai said.

Japan's public offices election law requires two to five election monitors to be selected among eligible voters.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications was initially reluctant to allow online monitoring, saying the law presupposes the actual presence of monitors at polling stations. But it notified the prefecture in April of points to note in monitoring elections online, effectively giving it the green light.