Japan’s voters went to the ballot stations Sunday for their first general election in four years. In the end, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party secured a comfortable majority of the 465-member Lower House, albeit with a pruning of in its pre-election tally of 276 seats.
When it comes to elections, a major talking point has been Japan’s younger generation, who are largely seen as being apathetic toward politics despite the voting age being lowered from 20 to 18 five years ago.
The first time 18-year-olds were given the opportunity to have their say was in 2017’s general election, when the overall voter turnout was 53.68%, the second-lowest in postwar Japan. Only 33.85% of those in their 20s voted on that occasion, less than half of the 72.04% recorded among those in their 60s.