The lowering of the minimum voting age enfranchised 2.4 million people aged 18 and 19 to vote in the Upper House election held on July 10. But sample surveys show that only 45.45 percent of them cast votes — roughly 9 points less than the overall voter turnout of 54.7 percent.
Still, the figure was higher than turnout among voters in their 20s in Upper House elections over the past 24 years. This indicates that classes designed to rouse students' interest in politics — given at high schools and universities following the change in the minimum voting age last year — have had some success. Government authorities and educators should continue efforts to help youths understand important political issues, including how to make constitutional democracy work properly as well as particular issues that concern them, and express their opinions through voting.
Based on sample data from the nation's 47 prefectures, the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry found that turnout for 18-year-old voters was 51.17 percent while that for 19-year-olds was 39.66 percent.