Younger Japanese, especially women, should exercise not only their right to vote but also their right to hold elected office and enter politics, a visiting delegation of politicians from the United States said during a conference in Kyoto.
Six Asian-American state representatives from Hawaii, Vermont, Michigan, Alaska, Maryland, and Oklahoma told university students Monday that statistics show it is important to start a political career while young. If you don't run for office to represent your values, who will, they asked.
"A former governor of Vermont, a woman who served in the 1980s, liked to say that if you're not sitting at the table, then you're on the menu. If decisions are made at the table without people who represent you, your issues will not be understood or heard," said Kesha Ram, a Vermont House of Representatives legislator.