Getting youngsters to vote in next year's Upper House election may mean coaxing them to be more independent-minded once they leave the nest.
And with Japan welcoming 18- and 19-year-olds at ballot boxes next summer, the government is targeting high school students who leave home for university or other reasons to transfer their residence registries, so that they are able to vote in elections.
"We want people to vote in the first election held after they turn 18 — and continue to vote in the future," a senior Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry official said. "Relocating the registry to their current address is the first step."