The world's top economies and financial watchdogs have repeatedly warned Japan to take action against its snowballing debt, but it's the younger generations of Japanese who stand to be most affected by the repercussions as a shrinking and rapidly aging population bleeds social security dry.
Teenagers continue to go unheard by politicians because they constitute a smaller proportion of the population. But Yamato Aoki, 21, is one of a small group of young Japanese who are trying to get teens more involved in political discourse to shape government policies.
While other organizations, such as ivote and Teen's Rights Movement, have tried to raise political awareness in high schools by holding mock elections, Aoki has created a forum that allows high school students to actually exchange opinions with Diet lawmakers.
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