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Vol.4
Voting is a right,and in fact,a
duty. |
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In the past, in the process of
the transition from a
feudalistic to a liberal
nation, our predecessors waged
a freedom and people’s rights
movement and formed the
national system based on the
sovereignty of the people. Many
years have passed since then
and the liberal system matured
and, nowadays, many of us take
the gender-equal voting right
for granted. In current Japan,
it is beyond our imagination
that the time goes back to the
past and we lose our voting
right.
At the time when
our predecessors won their
voting right in compensation
for their blood, voting was a
right for the people to join in
local and national government.
However, considering today’s
situation with the voting
right, I feel that voting is a
national duty rather than a
national right.
In line
with the current situation, I
find it more reasonable to say
that nationals have an
obligation to vote in return
for the right to criticize
politicians and the way of the
politics. In other words, the
people who do not go to the
ballot station to vote have no
right to criticize politicians
and the way of the politics.
The media including
newspapers and TV broadcasts
mention, in chorus, that the
decline in the voting rate is
caused by the poor state of
politics, but I wonder if this
is true.
From old
times, there is a famous phrase
“the quality of the politicians
is proportional to that of the
citizens”. It is a clear fact
that if people turn their back
on politics and do not go to
the ballot station to vote, the
fundamentals of parliamentary
democracy will be ruined.
Japanese people should
not turn their back on politics
or give up their voting duty.
More of us need to pay more
attention to politics and
nurture quality politicians
through our voting. A
forward-looking effort is
absolutely imperative to
maintain quality performances
and this rule is not limited to
politics.
While
post-war Japan became an
economic giant with its
forward-looking efforts, its
politics stayed second or third
rate. In order to make a break
through in this situation,
Japanese people should create
the environment where talented
people can plunge into active
politics by themselves. For
this aim, it would be the first
step for us to become more
interested in politics and cast
their votes free from vote
buying and giri-ninjyo (social
obligation and human feelings).
At present, the falling
voting rate in Japan is at its
critical level. In my opinion,
it is necessary to create a new
legal system to make voting a
national obligation in order to
avoid this voting crisis,
considering the fact that some
other countries have already
legislated voting as a national
duty.
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