A revision to the Public Offices Election Law to expand opportunities for people to vote is before the Diet and expected to be enacted soon. Municipalities across the country, which are in charge of managing elections, should make full preparations to implement the reforms so that they can help encourage more people to participate in the political process, starting in the Upper House election this summer.
Such efforts are particularly important since the minimum voting age was lowered from 20 to 18 last year and about 2.4 million people aged 18 and 19 will join the ranks of eligible voters. Relevant authorities need to give much thought to devising measures to make it easier for people to vote, in accordance with the amendment.
The declines in voter turnout in recent national and local elections are alarming. The average turnout in single-seat constituencies in the Lower House election in 2014 hit a postwar low of 52.66 percent, while the turnout stood at 52.61 percent — the third-lowest on record since the end of the war — in the last Upper House race in 2013. Voting constitutes the backbone of democracy. A low voter turnout raises questions about the legitimacy of elected Diet and local assembly members as well as the prime minister, who is elected by the votes of Diet members.