Key Facts
• July 2025: Japan Newspaper Sales Association (JNSA) conducted a survey on 18-year-old voters.
• JNSA distributed free newspapers to 202 high schools across 31 prefectures starting July 1.
• Survey analyzed responses from 1,560 eligible 18-year-old voters.
• 74.23% of newspaper-reading students voted, surpassing the national 18-year-old turnout of 45.78%.
• Campaign participants’ turnout exceeded the overall voter turnout of 58.51% by 15.72 points.
• All 1,158 voting students stated newspapers were helpful in their decision-making.
• JNSA Vice Chairman Yasuo Takagi emphasized newspapers as a reliable source amid misinformation.
• Voting rights for 18-year-olds were introduced in 2016, but turnout remains low.
• 2016 Upper House election: 18-year-old turnout was 46.78%, declining to 30–40% in subsequent years.
Summary
A survey by the Japan Newspaper Sales Association (JNSA) revealed that 18-year-olds who read newspapers had a significantly higher voter turnout in the July 2025 Upper House election. The JNSA’s campaign, which distributed free newspapers to 202 high schools, saw a 74.23% turnout among participating students, surpassing the national 18-year-old turnout by 28.45 points. All voting students credited newspapers as a valuable resource for informed decision-making. JNSA Vice Chairman Yasuo Takagi highlighted the importance of newspapers in combating misinformation and encouraged continued engagement with print media. Despite the campaign’s success, voter turnout among 18- and 19-year-olds has remained low since voting rights were extended to them in 2016.
