Young Voters in Japan

The political importance of the Millennial Generation is not just an American phenomenon. Rather, young voters are becoming an important group of voters in other countries.

In Japan, it was younger voters who provided the core support for the former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. However, Koizumi's successor, current Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, has increasingly lost support from Millennials: a June online survey found Abe's support with young voters to be at a paltry 16%, which some articles attribute to confusion about Abe's mismanagement of the country's pension system and a series of scandals involving political fundraising. Some predict that because of the widespread youth disapproval, Abe's Liberal Democratic Party will take a hit in upcoming parliamentary elections. Shigeki Uno, an associate professor of political science at the University of Tokyo, said that "depending on how the ruling coalition or opposition parties address the pension issue, there is a possibility that these young people will make decisions as voters responsible for changing the course of politics."

Now who dare say that young voters are apathetic and unimportant when they're causing political change on the other side of the globe?