Is Japan a democracy?

September 15 is the International Day of Democracy. Democracy promotes respect for diverse opinions and building a constructive society, but its strength has been weakened in recent years by the rise of authoritarianism.

In particular, Chinese governance that limited the rights of citizens under an authoritarian political system during the Covid pandemic was credited for preventing the spread of the epidemic temporarily, which led to a widespread perception that democracy does not work in a crisis.

In addition, there have been an increasing number of cases in which democracy has been threatened even in democratic countries, such as the exclusion of foreigners and suppression of the press by the election of former President Trump in the United States.

Democracy in Japan and its challenges

So, what is the state of democracy in Japan today? Japan is an indirect democracy, and the independence of the three branches of government-legislative, administrative and judicial, is important.

However, the judicial branch tends to follow the executive and legislative branches. Various concerns arise from this. For example, the percentage of female Diet members in Japan was 9.9%, ranking 166th in the world and the lowest among the G7 countries, leading to a huge gender gap. Japan’s voter turnout is another concern, ranking 136th in the world with a 56% turnout. The problem lies in the low awareness of sovereignty on the part of the people.

A part of the reason is that they have low sense of efficacy, not believing that they can exercise some influence over politics. According to the survey by the Cabinet Office in 2018, only 33.5% of the respondents of 13 to 29 years answered “YES” or “rather YES” to the question, “Do you think your participation may slightly change the social phenomena you want to change?.” This figure is the lowest among the seven countries, including South Korea, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Sweden, and is over 13% lower than the other countries.

In Japan, most of the prime minister changes were not the result of general elections but intra-party infighting, so the lack of success stories in which the outcome of an election led to a change for the prime minister may contribute to the public’s willingness to participate in politics.

Furthermore, the media is essential for voters to access accurate information on political, policy, economic, and social issues. While the accuracy of information is said to be high, there is concern that when one topic becomes a hot topic, all media outlets cover it in the same way, leading to a bias in viewpoints.

Japan ranks 71th in the world in terms of press freedom and is on a downward trend. It is pointed out that there is a lack of persistent investigative reporting and that the “press club system,” a system unique to Japan, has led to integration with power and collusion among the media.

How can Japan become more democratic?

It will be necessary to first take measures to increase interest in democracy. Perhaps because Japan is an island nation, diversity is still low and it is difficult to have international conversations. As such, there are few opportunities to compare and question the state of democracy in Japan with the rest of the world, which is probably why the above problems have not improved.

Democracy is supposed to be a system in which each citizen plays a leading role. Every citizen needs to realize that a passive attitude means giving up their rights. It may be a good idea to start with participation in democracy at the municipal level. While it is difficult to see the change in national politics at the local level, there is a possibility that a variety of opinions, from students to adults, will reflect into policy.

In addition, governments are required to take measures to encourage people’s participation in politics. For example, the digitalization of politics and government will make it easier for young people to participate. It is also important to correct the disparity in the number of votes cast in elections and create a system that reflects the people’s opinions more accurately.