The invention provides long life alkaline storage batteries free from short-circuiting using plates having a punching metal as a substrate. In the alkaline storage batteries of the present invention, at least one of the positive plate and the negative plate comprises a punching metal as a substrate, the size thereof is different from that of another plate, and the plates are arranged so that the cut side of the plate having the punching metal substrate at which the substrate is cut through the punched portions does not overlap the side of the adjacent plate of opposite polarity. The plates having such a construction prevents needle-shaped projections produced by cutting the substrate through the punched portions from causing the short-circuiting with the adjacent plate of opposite polarity.