Low Voter Turnout: It's Natural - Who Would Vote for Unknown Candidates Who Suddenly Appear During Elections?
Japan faces a low voter turnout in national elections.
It's hard to see a change happening as things stand.
The reason is simple: disappointment in the candidates running in one's own electoral district leads to a reluctance to vote for anyone.
Generally, when elections roll around, unfamiliar candidates suddenly appear.
Who on earth would vote for them?
It's like a scam, similar to those "I'm your relative, vote for me" frauds.
In any case, if we don't reform the electoral system to allow voters to cast their ballots for candidates they genuinely support, democracy is at risk.
Here's the proposed reform:
Abolish electoral districts in national elections and unify them into a "national district."
Allow all Japanese citizens with the right to vote to become candidates.
Based on the vote count, candidates will be elected in order of the most votes received, but there will be a discrepancy in the voting power of members in the parliamentary decisions.
Among the elected members, the top 10 will have 10 votes each in parliamentary decisions, reflecting the strong trust of the citizens.
With 10 votes each, there's no need to bow to party leaders or senior members of factions.
If it works out, it might break the political entanglements.
In the first place, in this 21st-century digital society, it's outdated that only those who run for office can become members of parliament.
Every time I see a campaign sign with the faces of candidates during elections, I feel sorry for analog Japan.
This is the perfect system reform to drive out career politicians and those who have only ever been politicians.
Every Japanese citizen with the right to vote becomes a candidate.
For the House of Councillors election, all Japanese citizens aged 30 and older; for the House of Representatives election, all Japanese citizens aged 25 and older become candidates.
If you don't want to vote for anyone else, you can vote for yourself.
With this system, everyone in Japan can look forward to each election with excitement, and that would be fantastic.
