EDUCATION AND POLITICAL
PARTICIPATION IN JAPAN
Name: Jelle99
Course: Inequality, Conflict and Societal Participation
Date: December 17, 2021
, 1. Introduction
Only slightly more than half of eligible Japanese cast their votes in this year's general
election. This is the third-lowest turnout in Japan's postwar history (The Washington Post,
2021).
Voting can be seen as a form of political participation. But what influences who
participates politically? Many studies show that education is the most important predictor. In
most studies, the result is that those with higher education participate more in politics than
those with lower education (Schlozman et al., 2012; Wolfinger & Rosenstone, 1980).
However, there are several studies that question whether education is a direct cause of
political participation (Berinsky & Lenz, 2011; Sondheimer & Green, 2010; Nie et al., 1996).
This has caused the question of causality to become contentious. Thus, the question is
whether education is a direct cause of political participation or merely acts as a proxy for
other factors.
In his article 'Education and Political Participation', Persson (2015) presents an
overview of this debate and critically discusses it. In doing so, three models are discussed that
address how education relates to political participation. In this paper, I will use the models
from Persson's (2015) article, which will lead to two hypotheses. Next, these hypotheses will
be tested through regression analysis. A conclusion will then be drawn based on the results.
The hypotheses will be tested on a sample of the Japanese population.
The country that lies in the Pacific Ocean is ranked twenty-first (out of 167) in terms
of the degree of advanced democracy, according to the Global Democracy Index 2020 (The
Economist, 2021). Looking at the economic situation in Japan, it appears that in 2015 there
was a GDP per capita of $34,960. This is comparable to countries like Israel ($35,813) and
France ($36,638) (The World Bank, n.d.). Looking beyond the economy, Japan was found to
rank 19th in the Human Development Index. Japan particularly excels in the expected life
span of its population, which at 84.6 years is the highest of any country after Hong Kong
(Human Development Report Office, 2020).
1
PARTICIPATION IN JAPAN
Name: Jelle99
Course: Inequality, Conflict and Societal Participation
Date: December 17, 2021
, 1. Introduction
Only slightly more than half of eligible Japanese cast their votes in this year's general
election. This is the third-lowest turnout in Japan's postwar history (The Washington Post,
2021).
Voting can be seen as a form of political participation. But what influences who
participates politically? Many studies show that education is the most important predictor. In
most studies, the result is that those with higher education participate more in politics than
those with lower education (Schlozman et al., 2012; Wolfinger & Rosenstone, 1980).
However, there are several studies that question whether education is a direct cause of
political participation (Berinsky & Lenz, 2011; Sondheimer & Green, 2010; Nie et al., 1996).
This has caused the question of causality to become contentious. Thus, the question is
whether education is a direct cause of political participation or merely acts as a proxy for
other factors.
In his article 'Education and Political Participation', Persson (2015) presents an
overview of this debate and critically discusses it. In doing so, three models are discussed that
address how education relates to political participation. In this paper, I will use the models
from Persson's (2015) article, which will lead to two hypotheses. Next, these hypotheses will
be tested through regression analysis. A conclusion will then be drawn based on the results.
The hypotheses will be tested on a sample of the Japanese population.
The country that lies in the Pacific Ocean is ranked twenty-first (out of 167) in terms
of the degree of advanced democracy, according to the Global Democracy Index 2020 (The
Economist, 2021). Looking at the economic situation in Japan, it appears that in 2015 there
was a GDP per capita of $34,960. This is comparable to countries like Israel ($35,813) and
France ($36,638) (The World Bank, n.d.). Looking beyond the economy, Japan was found to
rank 19th in the Human Development Index. Japan particularly excels in the expected life
span of its population, which at 84.6 years is the highest of any country after Hong Kong
(Human Development Report Office, 2020).
1
