Japan Press Weekly

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2016 February 24 - March 1 [POLITICS]

High school students urge Education Ministry to withdraw restrictions on their political activities

A group of high school students in the Tokyo metropolitan area on February 24 visited the Education Ministry to petition it to withdraw its notice restricting high school students’ political activities by such means as requiring them to obtain the school administrator’s approval for any activities they participate in outside of school.

In the petition, a female student in her senior year in a Saitama high school cited her friend’s experience, saying, “When my friend took up a political issue in her classroom, her teacher advised against her act because of the ministry’s notice.” Welcoming the 18-year-old suffrage law, a second-year high school girl said, “We may lose our interest in politics if we have to obtain permission from school authorities every time we want to take part in demonstrations or other political activities.”

Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Representatives Ohira Yoshinobu joined in the petition.

Past related articles:
> Education ministry intends to control high school students’ political activities [October 6, 2015]
> Minimum voting age changed to 18 [June 18, 2015]