September leadership elections saw Ishiba Shigeru become head of the LDP and Japan’s new prime minister, while Noda Yoshihiko became head of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan. A survey of Japanese teenagers conducted by the Nippon Foundation gauged whether the leadership elections had changed the level of interest in politics among young people. Most respondents were split between those whose interest rose and those whose interest stayed the same.

The survey also assessed interest regarding the topics debated during the LDP leadership race. Over 55% of both male and female respondents were engaged by the issue of whether taxes should be kept at the same level. However, more women than men were interested in the questions of whether it should be possible to have a female emperor or matrilineal succession and whether husbands and wives should be allowed to have different surnames.

When asked about what they want to see the new prime minister focusing his efforts on in the future, female respondents to the survey wanted him to work on measures to counter the falling number of births and support childcare (43.1%), followed by measures to boost the economy and of work-style reform. Among male respondents, the top answer was implementing measures to boost the economy (37.6%), followed by measures to counter the falling numbers of births and support childcare, and the issue of education.

Women showed a noticeable relative inclination toward changing the status quo concerning the falling number of births and childcare, work-style reform, and gender equality and diversity.

Only half of the women and men (48.6% and 52.2%, respectively) intended to vote in the upcoming House of Representatives election.

The survey of 1,000 people aged 17 to 19 was conducted on September 20 and 21. In the case of the question regarding the intention to vote, respondents aged 17 were not included because the voting age is 18 in Japan.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)