Harried Students Face Election, Entrance Exams Simultaneously; Young Voter Turnout a Concern

By Mayumi Oshige and Erika Iwami / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers

16:06 JST, February 7, 2026

The House of Representatives election, with voting taking place on Sunday, coincides with the season of university entrance exams, which may further lower the voter turnout among those in their teens.

This is the 10th year since the voting age was lowered to 18. Election administration commissions across the country are working to raise their awareness about voting while considering the concerns of test takers.

Entrance exam season

“I want to do advance voting, but I still wish the election would take place at a different time,” said a 19-year-old girl who attends a cram school in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, to prepare for retaking college entrance exams this year.

She said she has cast her votes in past elections without fail, but the university entrance exams will begin on Sunday, the same day as the election. In the final phase of preparation, she spends her time from morning till night at the cram school and said, “I have no mental energy to spare.”

The revised Public Offices Election Law, which lowered the voting age to 18, was enacted in 2015 and took effect in June 2016.

In the past seven national elections (in the constituency segment) in which 18- and 19-year-olds participated, the voter turnout for 18-year-olds hovered in the 30% to 50% range, while for 19-year-olds it was in the 20% to 40% range.

Notably, the voter turnout for 19-year-olds was always lower than that for 18-year-olds, with a gap as wide as 18 percentage points in the previous lower house election in 2024.

Toyo University Associate Prof. Daisuke Hayashi, a scholar on public policy who is knowledgeable about civic education, points out: “For 18-year-olds, it’s their first election to cast votes, which their schools would encourage. But 19-year-olds often become preoccupied with preparing for college entrance exams or finding jobs. Many change their residence to attend universities away from home without transferring their certificate of residence, making it even more difficult to vote.”

Voting as a ‘breather’

The lower house election this time is being held in February for the first time in 36 years. For high school seniors and those retaking college entrance exams, it will be even more difficult to find time to scrutinize party policies or go out to vote.

In light of this, one group has devised ways to get test takers to vote.

Mielka, an NPO based in Kyoto and chiefly managed by university students, distributed awareness flyers titled “For You Who are Busy! Campaign Pledges and Other Information Organized” four times from Feb. 3 to 6 near university entrance exam venues in the city. The flyers also carried a QR code to visit their website, “JAPAN CHOICE.”

The site shows policy differences among the parties based on their responses to questionnaires sent by the NPO. By answering questions, users can quickly find those parties whose views are close to their own.

A 22-year-old senior at Doshisha University said, “I understand that they are busy preparing for exams, but it would take only 5 to 10 minutes to go vote. I hope they will go vote just as a breather.”