Japan Teens Say ´No Thanks´ to Voting Rights-Poll

Aversion to the idea of 18-year-olds voting was particularly marked among female students.

The Japanese government is considering lowering the voting age to 18 from 20, but many teenagers would rather they didn't, according to a poll published by a student newspaper on Friday.

About 32 percent of respondents to the poll said they opposed voting rights for 18- and 19-year-olds, while only 20 percent supported the idea, Kyodo news agency said, citing a poll in the Kokosei newspaper, which is distributed via schools across the country.

Nearly 40 percent of the 3,628 high school students polled declined to give a clear answer, Kyodo said.

Aversion to the idea of 18-year-olds voting was particularly marked among female students, only 16 percent of whom said they approved of the proposal, while 34 percent opposed it.

Japanese politicians tend to be elderly, and few of them build up a following among young people, although Prime Minister Taro Aso boasts support among fellow lovers of manga comics.