We asked questions to 55 students of 1st grade and 2nd grade in our high school.

If you get the right to vote, do you want to vote?

Questions for those who answered "Yes, I want to go"

Why do you want to go vote?

・Because I can reflect my own opinions.
・Because I have the right to vote.
・Because I want to be involved in society.
・Because I was told in school that it was important to vote.
These were mentioned.
Many were attracted to the idea of being able to share their opinions with the country and make a difference in society.
I felt it was irresponsible to complain about politics without expressing one's own opinion." I thought they was right. Others said it was because they had been taught that voting was important.

Are you interested in politics?

Even among those who responded that they "want to vote," I found this does not necessarily mean that they are interested in politics.
I had assumed that people interested in elections would also be interested in politics, but were surprised to realize that this was not the case.

Questions for those who answered "I don't want to go"

Why don't you want to vote?

・Because I don't have any candidate that I want to vote for.
・Because It's annoying.
・Because I'm busy.
・Because I don't know much about elections.
・Because I have little interest in politics.
These were mentioned.
Is this because the policy is not of interest to young people?
I feel in our own lives that the decline in young people's interest in politics is something too.
If teenager learns about politics only at school, it will end up being just a study subject, and we will not be able to think about it in our own lives.
I felt that people needed the opportunity to think about politics independently.

Questions for all students

Are you aware that voter turnout has been declining in recent years?

I were surprised to learn that everyone we surveyed was aware of the problem of declining voter turnout.
I found that regardless of their interest in the election, there is an awareness of the decline in voter turnout, as they often see or hear about it on TV, in the news on their phones, or in newspaper articles.