Photo/Illutration A bulletin board for campaign posters near an early voting station in the western Tokyo city of Hachioji on July 3, 2022 (Hiraku Higa)

Nearly half of eligible voters who rarely or never cast their ballots said there are just no parties or candidates they want to vote for, an Asahi Shimbun survey showed.

Those who generally do not participate in elections accounted for 21 percent of the respondents in the survey sent by mail to 3,000 randomly selected voters on Feb. 28. Valid responses were received from 1,967, or 66 percent.

The nonvoters were asked to choose from among seven reasons for their reluctance to exercise their right. Multiple picks were accepted.

Topping the list by a large margin was “no parties or candidates they want to vote for,” chosen by 48 percent.

Thirty-six percent said their votes “won’t change politics or society,” while 35 percent said they do “not trust politics.”

Twenty-three percent said they are “busy with something else,” 22 percent said they have “no interest in politics,” and 21 percent said they have “no idea about politics.”

Only 1 percent said they have “no complaints about politics.”

Voter turnout for national elections in Japan had long hovered around 70 percent after World War II, but the rate has dropped to percentages in the 50s or lower since 2010.

The rates of the seven reasons are similar between men and women or among age groups, according to the survey.

But 12 percent of male respondents said they have “no idea about politics,” compared with 29 percent of female respondents.

Among respondents in their 30s, 37 percent chose “no interest in politics” and 32 percent said that they have “no idea about politics.” Those figures were higher than percentages of other age groups.

Respondents were asked whether they felt they could leave politics to someone else instead of studying the issues and taking action on their own.

Seventeen percent said they can “leave it to someone else,” while 79 percent said they think otherwise.

A total of 89 percent of all respondents view the low turnout trend as “problematic,” with 46 percent saying it is a “great” problem and 43 percent saying it a problematic “to some degree.”

Eighty-three percent of those who said they are “usually not aware of” or “do not think about” politics viewed the low voter turnout as “problematic,” as did 76 percent of those who said they do not vote in national elections.

Even among those who said they can “leave politics to someone else,” 82 percent share the “problematic” view.

Respondents were shown four possible measures and asked to pick which ones they thought would improve the voter turnout rate.

“Online voting” topped the list at 66 percent, followed by “expanding voting areas” to train stations, convenience stores and other spots at 50 percent.

About 80 percent of those in their 40s and younger said online voting could increase voter turnout, but the rate was relatively low among those aged 70 or older, at 53 percent.

Among those who do “not go to the polls,” 72 percent said online voting could make a difference in turnout.

“Offering gift certificates, points and other perks” for voting was cited by 28 percent. More than 40 percent of those in their 30s or younger supported this method to increase turnout.

Only 7 percent of the respondents cited “imposing a fine on voters who do not cast their ballots.”

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