Japan’s Teen Voter Turnout Remains Low at 43％ in Recent Election; 18-Year-Old Women had Highest Turnout Among Teen Voters

The Yomiuri Shimbun

2:00 JST, November 5, 2024

Voter turnout for those aged 18 and 19 in the recent House of Representatives election’s constituency seat section was 43.06% in an initial estimate, according to the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry.

The figure was 10.79 percentage points below the overall voter turnout of 53.85%.

The voter turnout was 49.21% among 18-year-olds and was 36.67% among 19-year-olds. Separated by age and sex, 18-year-old women had the highest turnout at 49.86%, followed by 18-year-old men at 48.60%, then 19-year-old women at 37.28% and 19-year-old men at 36.09%.

Higher voter turnout is expected for 18-year-olds as they learn about popular sovereignty at school and are encouraged to vote by those around them.

The election on Oct. 27 was the sixth general election since the 2016 House of Councillors election, which was the first general election to be held after the minimum voting age was lowered to 18.

Since lowering the minimum age, voter turnout for those aged 18 and 19 have remained low – in the 30% to 40% range – falling below overall voter turnout. The highest voter turnout for that age range was 46.78% for the 2016 upper house election, and the lowest was 32.28% for the 2019 upper house election.

The difference between their voter turnout and overall voter turnout in the recent lower house election was the second smallest, following the 2016 upper house election.

The ministry’s survey was based on data from selected voting precincts.