Tech companies including Yahoo and Facebook are set to run campaigns in Japan to encourage the youngest generation of voters to cast their ballots in the country's upcoming July elections.
This is the first time the country has lowered the minimum voting age from 20 to 18 years.
In the elections for the upper house of the Japanese Parliament on July 10, about 2.4 million youngsters aged between 18 and 19 will be able to cast their votes for the first time, following an amendment to the electoral law last year.
Yahoo Japan will launch a webpage listing the 20 most relevant issues for young voters in a bid to help them decide which party to support, according to a public broadcast by NHK on Sunday.
Among the topics are work conditions, fiscal policy and the recent reform of Japan's pacifist Constitution.
The online portal aims to help the teens pinpoint the party that best fits with their own views.
Social network Facebook plans to also send a message to its 18 and 19-year-old users on election day to remind them about their right to vote.
Facebook's Global Politics & Government Outreach manager Katie Harbath says youths will be encouraged to vote when they see on Facebook that their friends plan to do so.
Other internet companies like Cyber Agent and messaging app Line - both highly popular among this age group in Japan - are also expected to follow suit with similar initiatives.
In July 2015, the country's parliament reduced the minimum voting age from 20 to 18 years, the biggest reform in the Japanese electoral system since 1945 and an amendment that puts Japan on par with most other democracies.
The government is also contemplating lowering the minimum age for contesting for public office to 18.
Currently, a person in Japan enters into full adult legal rights and responsibilities at the age of 20.
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