The Implications of Nonvoting in Japan

抄録

This paper considers the implications of nonvoting in Japan. More specifically, I examine the possibility that voters and nonvoters differ in their socioeconomic statuses, resulting in the over-representation of voters with higher socioeconomic statuses in the electoral process. Using several survey datasets from the 2000s, my analysis reveals that additional educational attainment has a positive relationship with the likelihood of voting, while its relationship with policy preferences is complicated. Individuals with college educations are more supportive of expanding government welfare but are also supportive of maintaining fiscal discipline and increasing the sales tax. In the comparison of the opinion gap between voters and nonvoters, I find that voters are indeed more supportive of expanding government welfare with heavier tax burdens and increasing sales tax. Interestingly, these findings suggest that voters have more liberal attitudes on social welfare but more conservative views on tax policies. This study implies that nonvoters' political views are not fully represented by voters, but the economic cost of nonvoting is not particularly high for nonvoters in Japan.