It may be time to alter the stereotypical view of young people being apathetic to politics as many of them appear to want concrete changes in the country, calling on business professionals to shore up the flagging economy ahead of Sunday's Upper House election.
Random interviews of people in their 20s in Tokyo's Shibuya district and university campuses indicated a political preference that may be unique to this generation, although younger voters still lag behind older age groups in terms of turnout.
"The Lehman shock definitely lifted political and economical interests among voters in their 20s," said Kensuke Harada, 24, referring to the bankruptcy of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in September 2008 that triggered a global financial meltdown.