'Dear young people, don't vote!' say Japan's senior citizens in campaign viral video
As the nation readies for the upcoming Upper House election set for this Sunday, a video targeted at Japan's youths is going viral owing to its controversial message delivered by a group of senior citizens: "Dear young people, don't vote!" In the video message, a ...
Japan lowers minimum voting age for constitutional referendums to 18
The minimum voting age in national referendums to amend the Constitution was lowered to 18 from 20 on Thursday as part of a series of moves to encourage civic participation by young people. The lowering of the voting age for referendums brings it into line ...
Coming of age? Japan's shifting definition of adulthood
Graduating from high school represents a significant milestone in any young person's life, a landmark that certainly wasn't lost on the countless 18-year-olds milling around Shibuya Station on a recent March afternoon. Among them was 18-year-old Akane Endo, who was brimming with excitement at ...
The Japan Times newsroom selected these national news stories as the most important of 2016. 1. A president in Hiroshima: U.S. President Barack Obama made a historic and emotional visit to Hiroshima on May 27. He was the first sitting U.S. president to go to ...
LDP-led ruling bloc, allies clear two-thirds majority hurdle in Upper House poll
The Liberal Democratic Party-led ruling coalition scored a sweeping victory in the Upper House election Sunday that gave the Diet's pro-revision forces the two-thirds majority needed to initiate Japan's first constitutional referendum, final results showed Monday morning. Four parties in favor of constitutional revision, including ...
Young voters hope to reform Japan's 'silver democracy'
A revised law has expanded the electorate by 2.4 million voters aged 18 and 19 and is designed to give more political say to younger generations.
First teens cast ballots as early voting starts for Upper House election
Teenage voters cast ballots as early voting began Thursday across Japan for the first national election since the minimum voting age was lowered to 18 from 20. Chiho Tatsumi, an 18-year-old high school student, is believed to be the first teenage voter to cast a ...
Voters express hopes, concerns as Upper House election campaign begins
Voters in Japan, including 18- and 19-year-olds who are newly eligible to cast a ballot, have expressed their hopes and fears over the July 10 Upper House election as campaigning kicked off this week. Jinshiro Motoyama, a 24-year-old student at International Christian University in Tokyo, ...
Ehime high schools to require notice from students who want to attend political events
All public high schools in the prefecture decide en masse to require notice from students who intend to engage in political activity.
High school student crusades against voter apathy
A teenager turns herself into a new breed of political activist to shake up an apathetic country that she says is encouraging a dangerous drift to the right.
Move to allow youth vote 'good news' for democracy in Japan, educator says
Although the right to vote was something few 18- and 19-year-olds in Japan were pushing for or even interested in, the change is good news for the country, one educator says. Daisuke Hayashi, 39, an assistant professor at Toyo University, who has been an advocate ...
