politics

Diet OKs legislation lowering voting age to 18

16 Comments

The Diet on Wednesday passed legislation to lower the voting age to 18 from its current 20, allowing teenagers into polling booths for the first time.

The move will bring Japan -- where political power resides firmly with the burgeoning older generations -- into line with other developed countries and will extend the franchise to an extra 2.4 million 18- and 19-year-olds.

These young people are expected to cast their first votes in the upper house election scheduled for summer 2016, unless the lower house is dissolved for a snap election before then.

The bill to revise the public office election law passed the upper house after being approved in the lower chamber.

Japan last changed its voting rules in the months after its 1945 surrender in World War II, altering the age at which citizens could cast their ballot from 25 to 20.

Around a quarter of Japan's 127-million population is aged 65 or over, a result of low birth rates over the last few decades and no significant immigration. The proportion is expected to grow to around 40 percent in a few decades.

The inverted age pyramid that this represents -- combined with a Confucian respect for elders -- has left Japan a country primarily run by, and for the benefit of, old people.

© (c) 2015 AFP

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

16 Comments
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So, while the age of adulthood is still 20, Japan is effectively letting "children" vote?

7 ( +8 / -1 )

I've read the news of a 18-year-old girl who is so eager to vote to reflect her thoughts on politics that she is a member of some kind of political association. This girl, however, doesn't represent typical 18-year-old people. The majority is indifferent to politics now, so I guess this new legislation will only increase a number of people who decides who to vote depending on who older generations (i.e. their parents) vote to, which would mean more votes for major political parties like Liberal Democratic Party.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

I guess this new legislation will only increase a number of people who decides who to vote depending on who older generations (i.e. their parents) vote to, which would mean more votes for major political parties like Liberal Democratic Party.

This was the LDP's plan from the start. Get young people thinking about politics and voting for the first time while still living at home under the heavy influence of their 50+ parents, not when they've already been in college for a few years and exposed to lots of anti-establishment influences.

I could be wrong, of course. Given that all through this century, the 20-29 and 30-39 voting blocs have shown significantly different opinions from everyone older than them (they voted against Ishihara in droves, for example), it will be interesting to see how the 18-19 segment votes next year. Now let's just hope that the media actually does break down votes that way, and doesn't just shove them in with the 20-29 year olds.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

"combined with a Confucian respect for elders"

Yeah... my butt! Compare the 'respect for elders' here to nations where they actually respect elders and give up trains seats, for example, and you can see that's not the case in the current day and age. In the past, perhaps. Now, if you want to talk about aging politicians and what not who refuse to give up power and who DEMAND respect, then I can agree with you.

As for voting, there is nothing in here about changing the age of adulthood to reflect the new voting laws. If they don't do that, then literally Japan has become a nation where children can vote. And will they now be held accountable for heinous crimes from the age of 18? There is an increase in which young people are being tried as adults, or at least a lot more talk of it, but will they be able to vote in criminals even though they can't be considered criminals because they are still kids?

4 ( +4 / -0 )

It doesn't make sense to me. If they allow people to vote from 18 years old, they'e got to also change the age of majority from 20 to 18 years old. Otherwise this is not consistent. In all reasonable society, that makes perfect sense to assume that people starts to vote when they get to their majority.

Oh wait, yeah this is Japan. So what we have here is just a political manipulation from the LDP ugly Oyagis so that they can get more people into voting for nationalist reforms. Young people in Japan are not interested in politics in general but they tend to be more nationalist due to their stupidity in history and poor general knowledge about the world surrounding them.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

Why not lower the the legal age entirely to 18, and not just voting rights?

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Voter turnout is what matters.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

I don't think the voting age had anything to do with low turnouts, it's the horrific options you're giving people to vote for.

2 ( +3 / -0 )

Well, in the States its still mixed. 18 is age of adulthood (mostly) and voting but not drinking or renting cars. Personally, I don't care if voting age is 25 or 15 as long as age of majority is tied to it. Responsibility. ..

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Since no one is spelling it out, here you go, 1. lower the age to get the LDP change approval of Constitution Number 9

legal draft for those 18 yrs to join the military 3. continue the build up of Japanese military 4. kneel before the emperor.
0 ( +1 / -1 )

Making it 30 years old would be my advise. Has anybody heard 18 year olds talk on trains? Just like 14 YO..

2 ( +5 / -3 )

Lower the age of majority to 18 too.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I saw a stastic about voter turnout on the news this morning.

It showed that when compared with 60+ year olds , Japanese people in their 20's and 30's basically don't vote. The turnout was something like 20% or less.

So can the candidates really get the youth of Japan to get out and vote? That is the question.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

An interesting point I saw was that the recently defeated Osaka referendum was lost only because of the over 70's voting against it. All age classes under 70 had apparently voted in support of it.

With their increasing voting power, it's no wonder the government keeps spending everyone and their grandchildren's money on all the old, rich people, rather than pulling itself together and acting in the best interests of the country over the longer term. These old rich people are just fleecing the youth while they are still alive, they are an embarrassment. But culturally people are averse to call it for what it is...

Another thing I saw was a 17 year old saying she was against the change, because it would increase the number of uninformed people voting. I can't say I have the impression that a higher proportion of voters over 20 years of age would be any more informed than those under. Lots of people just mindless vote for the LDP because it's like "their team", not because they know jack.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

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