Turnout below 35% for voters aged 18, 19 in upper house poll

e voter participation rate among 18- and 19-year-olds in the House of Councillors election on July 10 stood at 34.49%, up 2.21 percentage points from the previous upper house poll, according to a sampling survey by the Internal A airs and Communications Ministry.

Despite the slight rise, the gure was still 17.56 points lower than the overall voter turnout rate of 52.05%. at marks the largest gap between the two

gures since the 2016 upper house election, which was the rst to be held a er the voting age was lowered to 18.

According to the ministry, in the latest upper house election, the voting rate of 18-year-olds was 38.67%, up 3.05 points from the previous poll, while that of 19-year-olds increased 1.48 points to 30.31%.

By gender, 18-year-old females had the highest voting rate at 41.22%, followed by 18-year-old males at 36.25%, 19-year-old females at 31.83% and 19-year-old males at 28.91%.

In the ve national elections since the voting age was lowered, voting rates for 18- and 19-year-olds were signi cantly lower than overall rates each time, suggesting that Japan’s youngest voting-age citizens still have low levels of interest in elections.

e voting rate among 18- and 19-year-olds in the 2016 upper house election stood at 45.45%, the highest ever for the age group. However, the

gure declined to 41.51% in the 2017 House of Representatives election and hit a low of 32.28% in the 2019 upper house election.

An education ministry survey announced in 2020 found that more than 90% of high schools nationwide had

implemented education to enhance the awareness of students as voters, but most of them merely describe the voting system.

OVERSEAS VOTING BARELY OVER 20%

Among Japanese living overseas, 22.04% voted in the proportional representation section of the latest upper house election, up from 21.07% in the previous poll, while 21.91% voted in the constituencies, up from 20.86%.

is time, overseas balloting was conducted at 234 diplomatic missions abroad. At eight other locations, including

ones in Ukraine and Afghanistan, balloting was not conducted due to war or other security-related reasons.

Japanese citizens living overseas must register to vote. Since April this year, it has been possible to do so through video communication as well as by visiting a diplomatic mission in person.

Casting a vote abroad must be done either by visiting a diplomatic mission in person or by mailing a ballot to Japan.

As diplomatic missions abroad are located in urban areas, some say it is inconvenient for those living in rural areas, leading to a lower voting rate. (July 27)

The Yomiuri Shimbun People cast votes at a polling station in Tokyo on July 10.