October 22 2026

Calling for the Public Offices Election Act to be revised to lower the minimum age for candidacy and to allow minors to engage in election campaigning, high school and university students held a rally in the Diet building on October 20.

This event took place in reaction to the September Tokyo District Court ruling recognizing that the law banning those aged under 18 from taking part in election campaigning is unconstitutional.

Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Representatives Shiokawa Tetsuya along with lawmakers from other political parties took part in the rally.

Shiokawa pointed out, “Lowering the age of eligibility to run for office is an issue that should be prioritized for discussion in the cross-party council on election campaigning.” He stated that the JCP is proposing that the right to stand for election be reduced to the age of 18, and expressed his determination, saying, “We’ll work together with you to achieve this.”

The district court ruling in question was issued in a lawsuit filed by four high school students against the national government. In court, they argued that restricting the right to run for office and to engage in election campaigning based on age goes against the Constitution.

Currently, individuals aged 18 and over are eligible to vote. On the other hand, the minimum age to become a candidate is 25 for elections to the House of Representatives, prefectural and municipal assemblies and municipal mayors, and 30 for elections to the Senate and prefectural governors.

A high school senior, Fukushima Kota, who is one of the four plaintiffs, talked about his experience. He said that when he helped hand out campaign flyers for a politician he supports, he was told by a passing stranger that as minors’ participation in campaigning is illegal, he could be arrested, which made him nervous. He said, “I want you to imagine the sense of helplessness in not being able to express your own ideas simply because you are considered to be not old enough to express your opinions in public.”

Lawyer Toda Yoshitaka, a member of the plaintiffs’ legal team, said that the right to be elected is part of fundamental human rights, and added that the question is whether Japan is a democracy with popular sovereignty that includes young people.