This House of Councilors election was the first national election held nationwide after the adult age was lowered to 18.
At a high school in Chiba prefecture, a practical class was held in which mock voting was conducted for actual candidates, and new adults faced the weight of one vote.
During this election period, practical sovereign education was conducted at Higashi Katsushika High School in Chiba Prefecture, in a "politics and economics" class for more than 300 third-year students, including 18-year-old voters. I worked on it.
The 18-year-old has been able to vote for 6 years, but with the reduction of the adult age in April, one vote will be cast as an "adult" from this time, so civic teachers are actually I also entrusted the students with how to find out about the candidates.
Students look at the election bulletin and the candidate's website for the 14 candidates in the Chiba constituency where the high school is located, and score and rank them according to the themes they want to prioritize, such as economic measures, education, and labor. , I used a website called "Boat Match" to find out who are close to me.
The students were discussing each other, but the teachers should not influence the voting behavior of the students by their own opinions. ▽ Do not name specific candidates or political parties. ▽ Refrain from speaking about policy evaluation. I was watching.
At the end, I actually wrote the names of the candidates for the Chiba constituency and cast one vote in the simulated ballot box.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, when some voting districts were extracted and preliminary figures were calculated, the turnout of the 18-year-old in this House of Councilors election was 38.67%, so the low turnout of the younger generation became an issue. It has become.
Naoki Uchikune, a teacher at Chiba Prefectural Higashi Katsushika High School, said, "I think there are teachers who are atrophied as to whether they can teach politically neutral classes, but since there are also students of adult age, I leave all the research to them and take a neutral position. When I saw the students talking about policy during the holidays, I felt that it was effective to think of politics as my own thing. I grew up as a member of society while feeling various opinions in the classroom. I want you to do it. "
Some students have focused on policy grounds and contradictions
Through practical sovereign education classes, some students have realized the need to check for policy grounds and inconsistencies.
Kyoka Furuya, a third-year student who took her class and is 18 years old, first uses a smartphone to see candidates who have similar ideas to her on a site called "Vote Match", and then the political party to which the candidate belongs. I looked up in the election bulletin.
She then said she "feels a contradiction", noting that she only has a photo of a male candidate, while she advocates "gender equality."
She also said that while she was discussing policies to focus on with the boys next door, she also noticed that some people were able to save their lives by raising the minimum wage, which she had never been interested in. ..
Mr. Furuya said, "Before class, I was wondering if I should make a decision without spending time watching the internet or TV. Just reading the pledge makes me think everywhere, so there is a contradiction in the financial resources and appeals that form the basis of the policy. I thought I had to talk to people and use various media to check if there was any. "
After voting, Mr. Furuya said that he had investigated the policies of each party himself after the class. I realized that I didn't have enough time to face my thoughts, and I realized that it was a theme that was all related to me, so I think that my eyes on news and newspapers have changed. I would like to see what I have done to solve the current problem and decide on the next election. "
A student who cast one vote after hesitation
Some students couldn't decide which candidates to vote on just during class time, so they took the time to research policies and decide where to cast one vote.
Chisaki Haga, a third-year student who took her class and was 18 years old, said she vaguely said, "I wonder if she will look at the election poster and put it in a place where the majority are likely to vote" until she takes the class. It is said that he was thinking.
She compared the policies of the candidate with the boy next door in class, but she felt that "the claims of each party were similar" and she couldn't make any conclusions during class.
Three days after school, Mr. Haga revisited her policies by theme in her library and scored each candidate to narrow down the candidates that were close to her idea. ..
Mr. Haga said, "I left it without knowing what to think until class, and I thought that there was no relationship between myself and society and that society would not change. I thought that I had to have an axis of thinking because I became an adult. "
After voting, Mr. Haga said, "I was happy when I talked to my parents at home and said,'I think more than my parents.' I think I will be able to make it. I have the right to reflect my thoughts in politics, so I thought that I should take good care of that opportunity. "
Expert "Efforts to bring school and politics closer" There are many things to learn
Professor Shigeo Kodama, the Dean of the Graduate School of Education at the University of Tokyo, who is familiar with sovereign education, said about the lessons on actual candidates in classes with voters during the election period. It's the most important teaching material, and there's a lot to learn from practical efforts to bring school and politics closer. I think we have to discuss and think together during the election period. " ..
The country demands practical sovereign education, but some teachers hesitate to deal with politics in class with an awareness of political neutrality. There is also an aspect that high school students have been alienated from society and politics. In the age when 18-year-olds vote as adults, it is necessary to become a person who actively participates and exercises sovereignty. Therefore, I think it is very important for Japan to take root in democracy by creating a daily life in which it is natural to talk with friends rather than looking at politics as taboo. "