Fears that falling voter turnout may 'threaten democracy'

[Hachiko]

"Are you only interested in Japan as far as sports are concerned?" asks a newspaper advertisement that has been running recently to alert people to the Upper House election July 11.

In the advertisement, J. League soccer star Masashi Nakayama and the popular actress Miho Shiraishi are smiling and each holding a ballot against a background picture of a packed sports stadium with the slogan displayed on its big screen.

In the choice of words, celebrities and setting, the advertisement from the Public Management, Home Affairs and Posts and Telecommunications Ministry obviously aims to appeal to younger people. In so doing, though, it highlights a sense of crisis about falling poll turnouts. The Lower House election last November, for example, posted its second-lowest turnout ever, at 59.8 percent. Even more worryingly, only about 35 percent of people in their 20s voted, while turnout among those in their 30s, which has been steadily declining for a decade, fell to around 50 percent.

This sense of crisis is shared by local election authorities, too.

japan Times

 

[ashuri2]

i doubt democracy is threatened, i mean, few americans vote...but then again, that's probably how bush got into office! nevermind! democracy is indeed threatened!