Demography and Democracy: How Population Aging Alters Democracy – The Case of Japan

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As demographic change is advancing in many liberal democracies, the implications of this dynamic for democracy increasingly receive attention. It is often hypothesized that due to a shift towards a greying society, elderly voters’ interests are over-, and the younger generation’s interests are underrepresented, with probable consequences for intergenerational equity, societal sustainability and a general ability to implement reforms. Against this background, this research project sets out to analyze the actual political implications of population aging and to examine potential responses to this demographic shift from within the political system. The project takes up the case of Japan, the democracy with the oldest electorate in the world. The analysis is conducted along two dimensions, political participation/representation and policymaking, and adopts a system- and an agent-level perspective in each dimension. The system-level perspective refers to the effects of population aging on the political system whereas the agent-level perspective refers to the responses of selected actors, specifically the young electorate and political parties, to an aging democracy. The project deploys a mix of qualitative methods which include documentary research on official statistics and unpublished campaign material of political parties, expert interviews, and focus group interviews, thus aiming for case study based in-depth insights. By applying a multi-perspective approach that covers the institutional and the individual level of political dynamics enfolding in Japan’s greying democracy, the project will generate knowledge on how population aging alters political participation/representation and policymaking, and consequently, the fundamental workings of democracy itself.

democracy-japan@lrz.uni-muenchen.de

Our project in a nutshell (download) (PDF, 453 KB)

Principal Researcher: Gabriele Vogt
Associate Researcher: Yosuke Buchmeier
Research Fellows: Anne-Sophie L. König, Stefanie Schwarte, Antonia Vesting
Research Assistant: Alexander Dekant
Collaborators: Ken Hijino (Kyoto Universität), Hanno Jentzsch (Universität Wien), Takashi Kibe (International Christian University), Michaela Kreyenfeld (Hertie School), Philip Manow (Universität Siegen), Sachie Oka (Kyūshū University), Seiki Okazaki (Kyūshū Universität), Silke Übelmesser (Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena)

Grants:

• Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), Projektnummer 510553228

Selected publications:

Journal papers:

• Buchmeier Y. and G. Vogt (2024): The Aging Democracy: Demographic Effects, Political Legitimacy, and the
  Quest for Generational Pluralism. In: Perspectives on Politics, 22:1, 168-180 (online since 27 July 2023), https://doi.org/10.1017/S1537592723000981 Open Access

Media contributions:

• Zu viel Pflege in Heimen: “Oberösterreich hat die Entwicklung verschlafen” (by Sigrid Brandstätter). In: OÖN, Oberösterreichische Nachrichten (2025/03/17). (Vogt)
• Older Voters Are Taking Over in the World's Wealthy Democracies (by Timothy W. Martin and Dasl Yoon). In: The Wall Street Journal (2024/04/09). (Buchmeier)
• Demografischer Wandel: Immer länger arbeiten? Womit Japan Deutschland inspirieren kann – und womit nicht (by Jacqueline Westermann). In: Märkische Oderzeitung, Südwest Presse u.a. (2023/04/04). (Vogt)

Selected events:

Conferences, Workshops, Guest Lectures etc:

• Wohlfahrtsstaaliche Reformen und Parteienpolitik in Japan (guest lecture by Masaki Kondo, Kyoto Universität). At: Ludwigs-Maximilians-Universität 2025/01/23, München.
• The Instagram Countryside: Social Media and Demographic Change in Rural Japan (guest lecture by Cornelia Reiher, Freie Universität Berlin). At: Ludwigs-Maximilians-Universität 2025/01/16, München.
• Liberal Democracies under Demographic Pressure: Insights from Germany and Japan (Jointly organized symposium in the JDZB series "The Future of Democracy"). At: Japanese-German Center Berlin (JDZB) 2024/05/14-16, Berlin.
• Toward Gender Parity in Japan – Political Barriers, Women’s Activism and Cultural Shift (by Mari Miura and comments by Anne-Sophie L. König and Stefanie Schwarte). At: Ludwigs-Maximilians-Universität 2023/12/20, München.
• All Quiet on the Eastern Front – Why is Japan’s Democratic Backsliding Invisible to the West? (by Koichi Nakano and comments by Yosuke Buchmeier and Jane Khanizadeh). At: Ludwigs-Maximilians-Universität 2023/12/20, München.
• Women in Politics and Academia – Perspectives from Germany and Japan (Panel Discussion with Mari Miura, Laura Seelkopf and Verena Blechinger-Talcott). At: Stiftung Lyrik Kabinett 2023/12/19, München.
• Joint FU/LMU Doctoral Workshop on Japanese Politics (With doctoral students under the supervision of Verena Blechinger-Talcott and Gabriele Vogt) At: Stiftung Lyrik Kabinett 2023/12/18-19, München.
• Regieren in der Dauerkrise – Deutsche und japanische Perspektiven (Panel Discussion with Karl-Rudolf Korte, Koichi Nakano and Gabriele Vogt). At: Stiftung Lyrik Kabinett 2023/12/18, München.

Presentations:

• Democracy under Demographic Pressure: Evidence from Japan. At: Tokyo College, 2025/03/28, Tokyo/Japan. (Buchmeier, Vogt)
• Altenpflege in Japan. Zukunftsstrategien zwischen Robotik, Zuwanderung und Aktivierung. At: Expertenforum zur Betreuungsarchitektur 2040, Regierung von Oberösterreich, 2025/03/12, Linz/Austria. (Vogt)
• Trust, Democracy and DEI: Where we stand today and why we are not doomed (yet). At: 16th German-Japanese Young Leaders Forum Alumni Conference, 2025/03/07, Tokyo (Video). (Vogt)
• An Aging Democracy: How Young Japanese Engage with Politics. At: u:japan lecture at the Department of East Asian Studies, University of Vienna, 2025/01/09, Vienna/Austria. (Vogt)
• Navigating Leadership: The Self-Perception and Role of Female Mayors in Japan's Local Politics. At: QuaMaFA and Free University of Berlin Workshop, 2024/12/17, Free University of Berlin, Berlin/Germany. (Schwarte)
• Local Government and Citizen Participation in Planning: Impressions from the Field. At: QuaMaFA and Free University of Berlin Workshop, 2024/12/17, Free University of Berlin, Berlin/Germany. (Vesting)
• Underrepresented and Unheard? Political Participation of the Youth in Japan’s Aging Democracy. At: Institute of Asian and Oriental Studies, University of Zurich, 2025/11/28, Zurich/Switzerland. (Vogt)
• Negotiating Political Participation in Aging Japan: Insights from Focus Group Interviews with University Students. At: Social Policy Research Colloquium at Hertie School and Research Training Group DYNAMICS at Humboldt University, 2024/11/25, Berlin. (Vogt)
• Japans Demokratie und der demokratische Wandel (As part of a symposium on "Democratic Asia: Japan and its neighbors in the context of international politics"). At: Akademie für Politische Bildung Tutzing (APB Tutzing) 2024/11/23, Tutzing. (Buchmeier)
• Participatory city planning in times of demographic change: Creating sustainable cities from the bottom up. At: VSJF Annual Conference 2024 – Sustainability in Japan, 2024/11/14, Japanese-German Center Berlin (JDZB), Berlin/Germany. (Vesting)
• 日独対話、交流会. At: Citizens’ Group for Peace and Democracy, 2024/11/04, Fukuoka/Japan. (Vogt, König, Schwarte)
• Enjoying a Longer Life in Germany and Japan (Roundtable discussion with Leo Sakaguchi, Clemens Tesch-Römer, Gabriele Vogt, Chika Yamamoto). At: 15th German-Japanese Young Leaders Forum 2020-2023 Alumni Conference on “Aging Societies”, 2023/09/29, Berlin.
• Democratic challenges in the face of demographic aging: evidence from Japan. At: 17th International Conference of the European Association for Japanese Studies (EAJS), 2023/08/18, Ghent University, Ghent/Belgium. (Buchmeier)
• Zur Zukunft der Demokratie III: „Demokratie auf dem Land: Trends politischer Partizipation in den Regionen“ (Roundtable discussion with Yosuke Buchmeier, Petra Hahn, Hannes Hasenpatt, Eri Ōtsu, Sebastian Polak-Rottmann, Shunsuke Takeda, Gabriele Vogt). At: Japanisch-Deutsches Zentrum Berlin and Deutsches Institut für Japanstudien, 2023/05/11, Online.
• Wie bewältigen Japan und Deutschland den demografischen Wandel? Ein Zwischenstand 2023 (Roundtable discussion with Christine Hieb, Shingo Shimada, Hildegard Theobald, Gabriele Vogt). At: Japanisch-Deutsches Zentrum Berlin and Smart Living & Health Center e.V., 2023/04/20, Berlin.