Provided is a hole punching apparatus that is capable of improving the accuracy of stopping at a target reference position. The hole punching apparatus executes a hole-punching process and a braking process, and includes a rotation-detecting unit and a brake-control unit. The hole-punching process punches punch holes by rotating a hole-punching shaft from a reference position. The brake-control unit intermittently turns ON and OFF a short-circuit brake in the braking process. The brake-control unit sets a braking period for turning ON the brake according to the rotation position and rotation speed of the hole-punching shaft that is measured based on the rotation-position signal so that the braking period tends to become longer as the rotation position becomes closer to the reference position, and tends to become longer as the rotation speed becomes faster.