Protesters outside university campuses have become a regular fixture this summer. In the run-up to the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, students suddenly, it seems, became politicized. As the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe continues to push for security legislation by reinterpreting the war-renouncing Constitution, more and more students are starting to say, "Enough." Leaflets, street-corner speeches and Friday-night demonstrations have become more common. This generation of university students is, at long last, starting to express themselves.
Student-based groups such as the Students Emergency Action for Liberal Democracy (SEALDs) are articulating their vision of Japanese freedom and democracy with confidence and passion. More and more Japanese young people are becoming passionate about the importance of constitutionalism, democracy and human rights. Their recent efforts contrast strongly with the usual stereotype of passive, disinterested young people interested only in text messaging, fashion shopping or going to Disneyland. Perhaps change is possible, their actions suggest.
Some 2.4 million 18- and 19-year-olds will be able to express their opinions by voting, now that the legal voting age has been reduced to 18 from 20. However, many of these young people have already taken to the streets. Their newfound voice is expressed not just in demonstrations, speeches and chants outside the Diet, but also on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and the other social networking sites they have grown up with. They have an endless capacity, seemingly, to get their message into all the formats available to them, and they know how to spread it to the world.