cast his ballot 復習
cast one's ballot
10日に行われる選挙についての記事からです。
Young voters hope to reform Japan’s ‘silver democracy’
Eighteen-year-old Hiroto Shimazu says he can’t wait to cast his ballot in Sunday’s Upper House election.
“We’re the ones who will lead Japan in the future,” he said. “I hope there will be more policies in favor of young people like us.”
For the first time in Japan, those aged 18 and 19 will be allowed to vote in a national election after a new law took effect on June 19 lowering the voting age from 20 to 18.
Shimazu, a Tokyo high school student who heads the Teen’s Rights Movement group for young people, also hopes the poll will be a first step toward rectifying Japan’s so-called silver democracy in which politicians are elected who prioritize the interests of the elderly over the young.
The reality, however, may be different.
The revised law has expanded the electorate by 2.4 million people aged 18 and 19, and is designed to give more political say to younger generations. But this number accounts for only 2.2 percent of all 106.6 million voters in graying Japan — 1 in every 4 Japanese is aged 65 or older.
It’s also unlikely that the new voters will turn out at the same rate as older voters in Sunday’s election.
According to a July 3-5 survey by the Yomiuri Shimbun, only 40 percent of respondents aged 18 and 19 said they will “definitely vote” on Sunday, far lower than the overall average of 67 percent.
Political apathy among the young is nothing new in Japan.
In the 2014 Lower House election, voter turnout for people aged in their 20s was a mere 32.6 percent, far lower than the overall turnout of 52.7 percent. In contrast, the rate for those in their 60s was 68.3 percent while 59.5 percent of voters in the 70s cast votes.
According to the Nippon Institute for Research Advancement, 47 percent of voters who voted in the 2010 Upper House election were 60 or older.
In a 2012 research paper, NIRA warned that the “silver democracy” will result in heavier burdens on younger generations as politicians cater to the demands of elderly voters wanting more social welfare benefits, such as a strong public pension system.
This trend — allocating bigger budgets for welfare measures for the elderly and giving far less financial assistance to families with children — has often been criticized.
A 2015 report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development pointed out that spending on pension, medical and public nursing services — all of which mainly benefit elderly people — accounted for more than 80 percent of Japan’s total public social expenditure.
In contrast, Japan’s spending on child care and after-school care to gross domestic product was only a third of that in Britain and Sweden, the OECD said, urging Tokyo to spend more to boost its low birthrate.
以下略
今回取り上げる表現は、"cast his ballot"です。
"cast"は、「キャスト、配役」といった意味でお馴染みですが、他にもたくさん意味があります。ここでは、動詞で使われています。
まず、"cast"を『ジーニアス英和辞典』第4版(大修館)で引くと、第2語義に「(人、物が)(物)を投げる、ほうる」や「…を(投げ)捨てる」といった意味があり、"cast one's ballot"で「投票する」という意味があることが分かりました。
選挙権が18歳まで引き下がってから、全国的には初めての選挙となります。私たちも今まで以上に意識し、一票の重さを感じなければなりません。(Akim)
