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現代選挙論【社会科学部設置科目】

Taro Narumi, 4th year, School of Political Science and Economics

What image do you have when you hear the word "politics"? Although it is important, it is somehow difficult and difficult to understand. On the other hand, I want to understand politics thoroughly, even though it may be difficult to ask others! As an adult, I want to know more about politics! I think there are many people who say that.

The class "Modern Election Theory" by Prof. Akihisa Endo (Faculty of Social Sciences Professor) is a course to understand such politics by approaching it from the most familiar political participation tool for us, the "election". In this class, you will learn not only about elections, but also how political parties, candidates, media, and we voters have been involved in elections and have shaped politics.

For example, in the 1950s, television, a new medium, became popular and changed the nature of presidential elections in the United States, and data from the 1990s shows that men's careers in Japan before running for political office were fixed at positions such as parliamentary secretaries and bureaucrats. However, women are more likely to work in a variety of fields, such as medical personnel and university Faculty. When I looked at politics from the historical background of elections, there were many things I didn't know or noticed, and I enjoyed every class.

“Ideology and Japanese Politics: Differences between “Conservatism” and “Innovation” by Generation” by Akihisa Endo/Willy Zhou (Shinsensha). The teacher's book was introduced in class. Easy to understand the thoughts of each generation

What particularly impresses me is "Silver Democracy". When we empirically analyzed the statement that we see in the world, ``The elderly, who have high voter turnout, are stealing profits from young people!'', we found that we could not find any analytical results that prove silver democracy. Apparently there wasn't. Unlike the information I usually get from the media, by learning about elections as an academic subject, I have been able to see politics from a more multifaceted perspective, something I only vaguely understood until now.

Additionally, by using an internet service called ``Vote Match,'' which allows you to find out which candidates and parties are close to your own ideas by answering policy-related questions, you can consider the axes of policy conflict between Japan's political parties. The class covered political phenomena that are happening in real time, such as the results of the elections in Japan and the United States that were held during the class period, and I was able to take the class with a real feeling. In fact, I went to the election and voted using Vote Match as a reference!

“Politics” feels somewhat difficult and pretentious. However, through this class, I understood that politics begins with "elections" in which all of us can participate. ``Modern Election Theory'' is the perfect first step for participating in the ``elections'' that we will continue to face as voters!

Left image: Mainichi Shimbun Vote Match, which was used as a reference during the election. Select vote 2022”. The ideas of each party are organized
Image right: Slides used in class. In the next session on election day, we will also learn about the latest election data and research on elections, such as looking back at the contents of voting intention surveys just before the election.