Want to talk about politics? January 30, 10:28

It is said that "youth are not interested in politics." Even now, at the age of 34, I'm working on politics, but I've never talked about politics with my friends when I was a student. When I was a high school student, I was before the introduction of the "18-year-old voting right", but I was only concerned with club activities. After all, young people are not interested in politics?
(Koichi Namiki, political reporter)

First of all, the data

But you must not decide. First, let's check with the data.

This is the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications summarizing the turnout of the lower house election since the beginning of Heisei.

The higher the age, the higher the turnout tends to be. This trend does not change in the Upper House elections.

In the Upper House elections last July, the overall turnout was 48.80%, compared to 32.28% for teens and 30.96% for those in their 20s. These numbers indicate that young people are not going to vote.

Just because you are a young person!

During the interview, I found a student group that wanted to reduce the distance between politics and youth.
"No youth No Japan"

Does it mean that there is no Japan without young people? Power is good.

During the Upper House election last July, students led the network and launched a network using SNS.

In the Upper House elections, "nuclear power policy"

Reorganized what each party claims, such as "Selective married surname".

Since then, we have timely communicated themes such as postponement of the introduction of English private exams to university entrance examinations and US-Japan trade agreements. These activities have gradually spread, and the number of Instagram followers has grown to 15,000.

My name is Momoko Nojo, a 4th year student at Keio University.

The reason I decided to start a group was to study in Denmark.

"Last year after the lower house election three years ago, there was a report pointing out that one of the factors in the election results was that" youths were indifferent to politics. " Many of my friends around me also had a problem with society, and it was true that their turnout was low. I wanted to see Denmark directly. ''

Denmark has no penalty for not voting, but its turnout in national elections is over 80% each time. Last year's overall turnout was 84.6%.

Nojo has been living in Denmark for over half a year since last March. When I actually lived, I realized that "democracy based on life" has spread throughout the country. I was surprised at the usual exchange of politics and policies.

"I'm surprised that even ordinary students go to political events and demonstrations, like" Go to the fireworks display? "The distance between citizens and politics is just short."

It was when I went to a local political festival. Not only were the musicians on stage expressing their political expression, but there were also many civic groups, youth bureaus of political parties, and government agencies at the venue.

Visitors to the venue were of a wide range of age, and students came as part of the lesson. He felt that the hurdle to participate in politics was low.

There was also a national election while studying abroad. At that time, he often talked about politics in conversations with friends, and said that there was also an invitation to "watch the leadership discussion together".

Nojo-san, who witnessed such differences from Japanese youth, gathered friends using SNS while in Denmark, and started the current group.

When I actually ran the service, I received such frank questions on SNS.

Mr. Nojo felt that in Japan, nobody could come close to the simple questions of politics, and that there were few opportunities to come into contact with political parties.

"In Japanese schools, you can learn about the" politics "that the Diet is about to make a law, but you don't have to work to find out which political party is important to you. I feel like I'm being told that I'm going to be 18 because I'm just 18 years old, without having to learn what kind of party each party is. "

I also think that there are some situations where familiar issues cannot be considered as political issues.

"In national elections, it's often the case that major issues, such as the constitutional amendment, are shown. It's hard to understand what each party thinks about the topics that are familiar to them. There is a lot of interest in social issues but it is not tied to voting. Many think it's faster to join or start a business. ''

Some data show that there are few young people who are "not interested"!

But there are some numbers like this.

According to data released last year by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 11% of Japanese youth (15-29 years old) said they were "not interested in politics," ranking sixth after Germany and Denmark. It is a small number. That's well below the average of 24% for all member states.

Conversely, the fact that the percentage of young people who are interested in politics is high and their turnout is low makes me question whether it can be said that "youth = indifferent to politics".

What is called "conscious system" ...

So what do youths who might be "interested" think?
I asked students studying politics at a seminar at Hitotsubashi University.

Kohei Uebo, a third-year junior secretary at the seminar, seems to have come to terms with the reasons why young people do not actively engage in politics.

"Even though I see friends around me, there are many opportunities to access political news on the Internet, but in the end I wonder if I'm only interested in things close to me, such as talks about raising tuition fees at universities. I think it's partly because it's being recognized as a "conscious system" and being subject to ridicule. There seems to be a tendency to be criticized for saying something a bit like politics. "

He says that the "sense" of politics has changed.

"In politics, the words" conservative, "" innovative, "" liberal, "" right, "" left, "etc., but depending on the policy, you may not know which party's policy. I don't think maintenance / innovation or right / left is relevant anymore. It's more about what the policy is for me than that. "

Another person, Akari Sugiyama, says he doesn't usually talk about politics.

"I don't usually talk about politics when talking with friends, about the ruling party or the opposition. Seminars are about politics, but if you talk about political parties, you would be shunned a bit. I heard that the introduction of private trials was postponed, but I see it as an individual social issue rather than a politics. ''

"Highly conscious", "Avoided" ... I feel like I can understand it.

Professor Koji Nakakita, who teaches students at the seminar, points out the lack of contact between the younger generation and politics.

"I think that my interest in politics has not changed much since I have been a student for about 10 years. Unlike overseas, Japanese students are rarely exposed to live politics, like the youth club of political parties. If you're in a different organization, it's easy to think of it as a weird student, even if the student movement was in full bloom, but today's students may have few opportunities to be proactive in politics, especially the activities of political parties. Is it not"

Politics should be accessible!

Mr. Nojo, who first appeared, feels that there is an atmosphere that makes it difficult to express opinions and debate when it comes to politics.

"When I talk about politics, there seems to be some air that I have to talk about if I don't understand the matter 100%. I also comment on the neutrality of the articles I've included, such as climate change. I learned in Denmark, but I think that unless you decide on your own stance and proceed with the story, you do not understand each other, so I do not mind such criticism very much I am doing it. "

On the other hand, Nojo also feels the potential of his current activities.

"Isn't the younger generation of Japan feeling that it is hard to discuss and speak out. YouTubers who loudly talk about political topics and celebrities who make political statements are popular among them. I think that the fact that a video can be viewed hundreds of thousands of times means that even young people are interested in politics. I think that if you keep your activities steady, you will be closer to politics. "

10 years later, 20 years later ... what will happen to Japan in the future? Japanese young people may be looking forward to political parties and politicians who can easily tell the future.

Koichi Namiki, political reporter
Joined the station in 2011. After working at Yamaguchi Broadcasting Station, joined the Political Department in 2017. Since fall of 2019, he has been in charge of the Constitutional Democratic Party's Parliamentary Task Force and the SDP.