What trumps a desk at Yale? A seat in the Diet

[cstaylor]

What Trumps a Desk at Yale? A Seat in Parliament

Last winter, Jun Saito, a Yale University teaching assistant in political science, was in New Haven surfing Web sites when an item from home caught his eye. Japan's main opposition party was looking for a sacrificial lamb to run for Parliament in a district known as a ruling party "kingdom."

Fast forward to last week: Mr. Saito, 33, was moving into a new office in Parliament, was getting used to snappy salutes from parliamentary guards, and was composing e-mails to his academic advisers, gingerly explaining that his doctoral thesis might be late.

[GomiGirl]

On one hand, record low turnouts marked the seven races, six of which were won by members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party or their allies. In Mr. Saito's Yamagata Prefecture, a mountainous northern district known for its skiing, only 43 percent of voters turned out, down from 72 in the last vote, in June 2000.

What struck me while watching the election coverage was the extremely low turnout of voters. In one seat less than 30% of registered voters voted... what is the usual turnout in the US?

Is this apathy? Ignorance? Frustration? Fear? Laziness? Concientious objecting?

Most people I talk to barely know the name of the Prime Minister but considering the turnover of the last few years, I am not really surprised. I think the FG spend more time thinking about Japanese politics and the economic situation.

[kamome]

It's total apathy. The Japanese, rightly so, don't believe that politicians give a damn about them. They don't see politics as the necessary answer to any of their personal problems. Given that attitude, I'm surprised that as many as 30% of voters turned out.