Teenagers to vote in general election for 1st time

October 10, 2017

TOKYO- The Oct. 22 House of Representatives election will give Japanese voters aged 18 and 19 the first opportunity to cast ballots to select lawmakers in the all-important lower chamber of the country's Diet.

During the official election campaign period, which kicked off Tuesday, both ruling and opposition parties will likely try to win the teenage votes by highlighting policies designed to attract younger generations.

In the election for the House of Councillors, the upper chamber, in July last year, which was the first national election held after the country's voting age was lowered from 20 to 18, there were some 2.4 million eligible teenage voters, accounting for slightly over two percent of the total electorate.

Compared with the overall voter turnout of 54.70 percent, the youth turnout stood lower at 46.78 percent, with 51.28 percent of 18-year-olds and 42.30 percent of 19-year-olds having gone to the polls. Jiji Press