Votes for noodles: Japanese food chain offers free ramen to get young to ballot box

As young population does not form important voter base, policies ‘favoured by elderly inevitably get prioritised’, say experts

Representative image: Popular ramen brand Ippudo has promised to provide endless refills or one boiled egg topping for free for two weeks starting this Sunday (AFP via Getty)

A noodles brand in Japan is offering free ramen to young people in a bid to boost their participation in upcoming elections.

Ippudo has promised to provide endless refills or one boiled egg topping for free for two weeks starting this Sunday in return for someone voting. The service would be limited to those casting their vote in the House of Councillors election on Sunday.

“We hope this will create an opportunity for people to cast their ballots, even if voting has not become customary for them. We want them to view it like an outing, and enjoy ramen after voting,” a company executive told Japan’s daily newspaper Mainichi.

The turnout of young voters has been particularly low over the past few years in Japan, compared to the typically-high rates among the elderly. This has made it hard for the youth to have their voice heard in a rapidly ageing society.

Last October, only 36 per cent of those in their 20s voted in a single-seat constituency. It has been consistently under 50 per cent for this age group in the past three decades.

As the country’s young population does not form an important voter base, the policies “favoured by the elderly inevitably get prioritised”, said Hiroshi Yoshida, a professor of the economics of ageing at Tohoku University, according to The Guardian.

“Politicians view elderly people, whose turnout is high, like important customers from whom they can win votes.”

The rising cost of living will be a thorny political issue this year as opposition parties have placed the blame for the price hikes on prime minister Fumio Kishida’s policies.

However, according to a Nikkei business daily poll published last Monday, Japan’s ruling coalition is headed for victory, with Mr Kishida’s Liberal Democratic Party projected to extend the number of seats.

The less powerful of parliament’s two chambers, members of the 245-seat House of Councillors serve for six years, with an election for half the seats every three years. This Sunday, 125 seats are being contested, making 63 a simple majority.