Feb 19 (Japan Times) - Members of the Liberal Democratic Party are proposing that the minimum ages for holding public office be lowered to a uniform 20, it was learned Sunday.
The ruling party thinks the measure can spark interest in politics among young people and build more support for the party, LDP sources said.
Under the public offices election law, voters must be at least 25 to run for the House of Representatives, local assemblies and mayor in cities and other municipalities.
The minimum age for running for the House of Councilors or for governor is 30.
In the 2016 Upper House and 2017 Lower House elections, the LDP enjoyed relatively strong support from voters aged 18 and 19, exit polls show.
Advocates of the age change think the measure will bring the LDP more support from young voters.
The LDP’s Headquarters for Party and Political System Reform Implementation, chaired by Yasuhisa Shiozaki, will hold full discussions on the proposal with an eye to adopting it before the next Upper House election in summer 2019.
To do that, the team aims to submit a bill on the age change to the Diet before it closes in June. This would give the conservative party the option of soliciting young candidates to run in the proportional representation segment of the 2019 election if the age can be lowered in time, members say.
