Japan high schooler keeps delivering solo street speeches to address voter apathy

FUKUOKA -- A second-year high school student living in southwest Japan's Saga Prefecture has been delivering a street speech alone about once a month to address voter apathy.

"I can't vote yet, but you can." In mid-May, this voice of the student echoed through a bustling street in the city of Fukuoka, lined with brand stores and crowded with young people. The voice belonged to Onshi Fujimi, 16. He traveled an hour and a half by bus from his home in Saga Prefecture to deliver the 15-minute speech.

Over 20,000 followers on X

He said in the speech, "In a (2023) survey by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, 59% of households said they were struggling financially. Whether we can create a society where people can live comfortably is up to you." Few people stopped to listen, yet when Fujimi livestreamed his street speech on his smartphone, it quickly gathered more than 600 viewers.

Fujimi gives a street speech about once a month. Without encouraging support or votes for any particular political party, he speaks calmly about the importance of the Constitution and political issues, resonating with many and garnering more than 20,000 followers on X (formerly Twitter).

Though he is becoming an influencer, Fujimi hails from a "normal family" with no politicians among his relatives and rarely discusses politics at the dinner table. His parents, though concerned, apparently continue to support his activities.

Political activities by high schoolers once banned

What prompted him to pick up the microphone and take to the streets? The turning point was an exchange about politics with a university student he met on social media in his third year of junior high school. As he read books on the Constitution, he began questioning the movement for constitutional amendments. Alongside a classmate, he staged a mini-demonstration opposing constitutional revisions in front of a local station.

Influenced by politicians' street speeches he saw on YouTube, Fujimi started speaking at stations alone as a high school student. When asked often, "Why do you do such a thing as a high schooler?" he responds, "I don't really want to, nor do I want to become a politician. But since everyone is indifferent to politics and doing nothing, a high school student has to speak up."

Today, there are no institutional restrictions on high school students like Fujimi engaging in political activities in public, but it was in fact "prohibited" until just a decade ago. The basis was a notice from the then Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture in 1969, when student movements such as protests against the U.S.-Japan security treaty were active. The notice addressed to prefectural education superintendents among others stated, "It is natural for schools to guide students against (such activities) from an educational standpoint when students are in the process of developing both mentally and physically and are building the foundations of political education under school guidance."

Facing cold stares and criticism

That notice was abolished due to the 2015 revision of the Public Offices Election Act that lowered the voting age from 20 to 18. Before the revised law took effect in 2016, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology issued a notice in October 2015, essentially allowing high school students to engage in political activities outside school, on holidays and after-school hours, stating that "fostering the qualities and abilities of state and society builders is increasingly needed."

However, it is hard to say that an environment where young people can freely speak up is fully established. Fujimi receives not only support, but criticism. At the high school he used to attend, a teacher mocked his station speeches with comments like, "Going to Hakata (in Fukuoka) for fun again?" and, "Do it within the bounds of common sense." Unable to contain his anger, he quit the school and now attends a correspondence high school.

Slanderous and scolding comments like "You'll have trouble finding a job," "You're cringey," "Hypocrite" and "Jerk" -- whether face-to-face or online -- make him think, "It's precisely these adult attitudes and societal airs that I want to change."

Youth voter turnout remains low

Perhaps influenced by this societal atmosphere, political interest among young people remains low. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the voter turnout for those in their 20s was 33.99% in the 2022 House of Councillors election, the lowest among all age groups. Turnout for 18- and 19-year-olds was 35.42%, the second lowest, dragging down the overall turnout of 52.05%.

In June, Fujimi visited Tokyo's Shinjuku district for the first time to deliver a street speech, using funds saved from a part-time job at a fast food restaurant. "I was surprised by the number of people. Many spoke to me," he recalled. Buoyed by the response he felt on the street, he aims to continue his activities to help increase voter turnout even if only slightly.

Expert calls for fostering political judgment in schools

Fukuoka Institute of Technology's Japanese politics associate professor Ken Kinoshita pointed out, "Even though the voting age has been lowered, political activities are not valued in adult society and are not seen in a positive light. This cold attitude toward politics in society has permeated among young people."

On the other hand, Kinoshita expects that teenagers expressing themselves politically and exchanging opinions on social media can enhance political interest. He also added, "As young people are prone to resonate with strong assertions, there is also a risk that they may be swayed by extreme views without a well-established personal sense of value and political stance. It's necessary to cultivate their political judgment in various settings, including schools."

(Japanese original by Masanori Hirakawa, Kyushu News Department)