Political Culture in Japan and the World

 Political Culture in Japan and the World

Almond’s definition of political culture is “the particular pattern of orientations to political action” (as cited in Welch, 1993, p.2). My own views are shaped by living in very different places. I was born in Syria, lived in Jordan, then in Canada, and now in Japan. An example of political culture I want to discuss is how countries set different legal ages for ‘responsibilities.’ In Japan, individuals can start voting at age 18, but the legal drinking age is 20. Canada also has the voting age at 18, and the drinking age is 18; in some provinces, it’s 19. In my opinion, the drinking age and voting age shouldn’t be the same. A person doesn’t need a fully developed brain to make an informed political decision; many people can learn about government and global issues. However, alcohol can slow down brain development, which continues until the age of 25. Protecting youth health is very different from restricting their political voice.

Although my experience does influence how I view politics, I left Syria at the age of 7 because of the civil war, which was caused by people not being able to voice their political needs and limited freedoms. People were killed for demanding change. In times of need, people are not going to think about “leisure freedoms” like drinking at a certain age, but about real issues like having their voices heard. Many protesters were young people in high schools and universities. These two topics are not the same; therefore, they shouldn’t have the same age restrictions.

Refrences 

Welch, S. (1993). The Concept of Political Culture. Palgrave Macmillan.

Comments

  1. HaydenDecember 8, 2025 at 10:16 PM

    I really enjoyed you blog. Specifically, the comment you made about "leisure freedoms" is very accurate. People's value hierarchies change according to different contexts and what you describe is a great example.

    ReplyDelete

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