Japan’s youth uninterested to vote
TOKYO, Japan: Shoma Motegi will vote for the first time in Japan’s general election on Sunday, but the 19-yearold is a minority in his age group — something he wants to change.
Veteran leaders who cater to a graying population, archaic campaign tactics and a lack of political education have led to chronically low turnout rates among young people, voters and campaigners say.
Voter turnout in Japan, where the ruling party has held power almost continuously for decades, is the fifth lowest among 41 developed economies surveyed by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The age gap in voting patterns was stark in the country’s last general election with just a third of people in their 20s casting their ballot compared to 72 percent among people aged 60 to 69.
“It’s a waste of the right to vote in elections that determine our future,” Motegi told Agence France-Presse.
If younger people don’t turn up, “policies will favor the current working generation, or the elderly,” added the economics student from Yokohama.
Analysts say the election’s outcome is largely predictable with the new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, 64, widely expected to win.
After becoming leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, he unveiled his Cabinet this month: its average age is 62 with just three women.
To Misha Cade, a 24-year-old student who also plans to vote on Sunday, “it doesn’t look very inspiring.”
Cade regularly posts about feminism and other social issues in English and Japanese to her 46,000 followers on TikTok and said young women in Japan often don’t feel represented in mainstream politics.
“They think it’s a man’s world — like it’s not really something they can step into,” said Cade, who is of dual heritage and grew up in the United States before moving to Japan as a teenager.
Would she ever go into politics herself?
“I could never do it . . . There’s a lot of sexual harassment and just blatant sexism and I don’t think that’s something I could really tolerate on a daily basis.”
‘Awkward atmosphere’
To try and engage the next generation, the government lowered the voting age to 18 from 20 five years ago.
But Motegi said some of his friends still shy away from political debate — especially on divisive topics like nuclear power or national security.
“I think they don’t feel ready to discuss the issues, as they don’t know much about current policy,” he said.