Private Sector Initiatives to Boost Youth Voter Turnout! Exploring the Background and Impact

In this article, members of Dentsu Inc. Creative Area "A" (*1), which seeks to discover and implement the "new answers" for the next world, covered the "UPRATE" initiative. This initiative, led by the NPO "NO YOUTH NO JAPAN" (hereafter NYNJ), focused on the U30 demographic (teens and twenties), and was conducted in collaboration with private companies during the July 2022 House of Councillors election to boost youth voter turnout.

We spoke with NYNJ Representative Director Momoko Nojo, TimeTree CPO Yasu Yoshimoto, and MG Japan Services (Tinder Japan) Senior Director Kumi Nagano about the background behind launching the initiative, the significance of private companies engaging to boost election turnout, and the response and outcomes.

<Table of Contents>

▼80% Youth Voter Turnout! From Studying in Denmark Where Elections Are a "Major Event"
Founded NYNJ

▼Implemented Three Initiatives Using Apps "Integrated into Daily Life"

▼ "Activities that demonstrate how companies engage with users and society"
Why private companies decided to participate in tackling the high hurdle of "elections"

▼Approximately 2,700 reactions on SNS! Positive evaluations for undertaking the initiative itself

▼Ultimately, turning elections into a "moment"! We aim to increase contact points through diverse corporate participation and achieve "benefits for all three parties"

※1 = "A" refers to
The "Creative Area" where creators and producers gather to find and implement the "new answers" for the next world. Launched in 2022 centered around Kenta Suzuki of dentsu zero, it has spontaneously initiated numerous ideas. Currently active as an internal lab.

&nbsp;

From left: NYNJ's Mr. Nōjō, Tinder Japan's Mr. Nagano, TimeTree's Mr. Yoshimoto, and Dentsu Inc. 'A' member Kōhei Tsukada, who served as interviewer

Youth voter turnout at 80%! Established NYNJ from experience studying in Denmark, where elections are a "major event"

"A": I'm Kohei Tsukada from Dentsu Inc., serving as interviewer. "A" is a lab where members gathered who want to improve society starting from the environment surrounding young people. This time, based on a discussion I had with NYNJ representative Mr. Nojo and member Chika Takizawa (who is also my junior at Dentsu Inc.), we decided to introduce the "UPRATE" initiative in Dentsu News.

First, as part of our introductions, could Mr. Nojo tell us about the background of NYNJ's establishment, and could Mr. Yoshimoto and Mr. Nagano share about their respective companies' businesses?

Nojō: In Japan today, youth voter turnout remains below 40%, no matter how high it gets. Political topics carry an almost taboo atmosphere, and there's a sense of resignation in the air. Personally, I've always been interested in elections and politics. However, when I studied abroad in Denmark during university, I witnessed firsthand how the entire city transformed into a festive atmosphere during election periods, with voter turnout among those in their 20s exceeding 80%. That experience strengthened my desire for people of my generation in Japan to take a greater interest in and engage with politics. So, during the 2019 House of Councillors election, I started NYNJ's activities by first using Instagram to share accessible information about politics, society, and elections.

Yoshimoto: TimeTree offers an app service that allows users to share calendars with anyone. This app is often used within intimate groups like families or couples. For example, between spouses, misunderstandings frequently arise when schedules aren't fully shared, leading to "he said, she said" situations. TimeTree solves these user challenges. With over 23 million registered users in Japan, it's deeply integrated into many people's daily lives. We were constantly thinking about how to leverage this to solve social issues when we were approached about this project.

Nagano: Tinder is one of the world's largest dating apps. The majority of our "members" (Tinder users) are aged 18 to 25, precisely the generation we want to encourage to vote through this initiative. We were also constantly thinking about how we could give back something positive to the members using our service, and we were fortunate to be approached for this opportunity.

Implementing three initiatives using an app that "blends into everyday life"

"A": A key point of "UPRATE" is that it encourages young people to vote through "private companies," not local governments or public administration. Could you tell us the background behind developing this initiative?

Nojō: The catalyst was realizing our previous approach had limitations in reaching the intended audience. While NYNJ's official Instagram has about 100,000 followers, most are college students or working adults already interested in elections and politics. Through our ongoing activities, we truly felt the difficulty of implementing measures to reach those one step further—people who haven't yet gone to vote.

When we looked at initiatives overseas, we noticed collaborations with companies providing services or spaces where young people gather, aimed at sparking interest in elections. Japan is a country where trust in companies is particularly high. We felt that younger generations have more contact with services provided by companies than with government or local authorities. We thought that collaborating with companies that have many such touchpoints could lead to new ways to increase voter turnout.

"A": So that led to collaborations with two companies. What specific initiatives were implemented for the 2022 House of Councillors election?

Yoshimoto: We implemented two initiatives. First, we displayed "House of Councillors Election Voting Day" as an event in the schedules of all domestic users within the TimeTree app. We displayed it not just on the day itself, but started showing it a few days prior to remind users and aim for increased awareness. It was displayed in the same format as Mother's Day, Father's Day, or Valentine's Day. Displaying such an event within our app was a first for us.

The second was our "Today" page, which curated content related to the current day. We prepared election-related content there to highlight that it was voting day.

Nagano: On Tinder, when you open the app, members' profiles appear one after another. If you like a profile, swipe right to match; if not, swipe left to move on to the next person. We randomly inserted eye-catching cards encouraging voting into this stream. If someone found it interesting and swiped right, they were directed to NYNJ's official Instagram.

We created three types of cards, displayed them roughly every week, and designed it so interested users could actually access election information. While we also promoted it through our official SNS channels, the organic posts from members who saw the cards themselves generated significant buzz.

"Activities that demonstrate how a company engages with users and society"

&nbsp;

Why a private company decided to participate in tackling the high hurdle of "elections"

"A": Currently, it seems uncommon for private companies to participate in initiatives to boost voter turnout in Japan. Why did you decide to join the "UPRATE" initiative this time?

Nagano: As mentioned earlier, it stemmed from considering "what we could give back to Tinder's core user base, the younger generation." Elections are crucial for their future, yet voter turnout remains consistently low. However, I believe this isn't due to disinterest, but rather a sense of resignation or simply "not knowing" how elections work... information isn't reaching where it should. We thought the Tinder app could potentially address this situation.

Nojō: At NYNJ, we also questioned whether the current low voter turnout is solely a youth issue. We believe changing the environment surrounding young people can also boost turnout. In Denmark, when voter turnout dropped in the past, the current Prime Minister—who was a Member of Parliament at the time—launched a project to address it. One particularly effective measure then was placing polling stations inside McDonald's.

In Japan, we wanted to collaborate with companies that have strong affinity with young people and had compiled a list of 'companies we want to collaborate with' – Tinder was on that list. However, for this collaboration, it was actually Mr. Nagano who approached us first.

Nagano: The biggest concern for Tinder was how to approach this without creating noise when something completely different from users' original purpose emerged. Since young people are using it, it had to be fun, playful, and bold – otherwise, it wouldn't resonate. We couldn't find the right balance internally, so we reached out to NYNJ, whom we found on Instagram, to see if we could collaborate.

"A": What was the background for TimeTree joining UPRATE?

Yoshimoto: Our brand promise is "To make tomorrow a little better." Through our calendar service, we aim to help people choose better plans for tomorrow. When UPRATE proposed this, we saw election participation as precisely one way to choose a better future for society. We also strongly resonated with their genuine desire to solve social issues, not just promote their organization.

Displaying events only relevant to a select few on calendars can become noise for unrelated users, potentially hindering the user experience. Elections impact and concern many people. Our CEO agreed this aligned with our company's goals, leading us to participate. We saw it as a way to communicate our purpose in society—to show what kind of society we aim for through our business activities.

"A": For both companies, this was a first-time initiative and, in a sense, a challenge. I was deeply impressed by the perspective of advancing business activities toward the society we aim to create.

Nojō: We also believe that encouraging people to "go vote" itself, rather than urging votes for a specific party, truly shows that companies care about improving society. We'd be delighted if accumulating such examples could inspire other companies to start thinking about "what they can do with their own services."

Approximately 2,700 reactions on SNS! Positive feedback on the initiative itself

"A": Regarding this initiative, we saw users posting comments on SNS about TimeTree and Tinder, and in Tinder's case, it was featured in web media. Could you tell us about the internal and external reactions after the initiative?

Nagano: There were about 2,700 posts on Twitter (now X), reaching approximately 3 million people. The fact that so many people saw the cards, found them interesting, and tweeted about them in their own words was a significant achievement. While the three card designs had completely different styles and each had its own appeal, the one featuring a photo of Raiteu Hiratsuka generated the most response.

Nojō: While it's natural for NYNJ to encourage voting, I think the unexpected twist of Tinder releasing a card featuring Raitei Hiratsuka was so intriguing that it really sparked the conversation. When Tinder conveys the call to "Go Vote" in this kind of format, it likely helped young people perceive taking elections seriously not as "uncool," but as something "cool." Seeing that kind of atmosphere reflected in the response was truly gratifying.

Yoshimoto: For TimeTree, having it displayed on the calendars of over 20 million users definitely had a huge impact on awareness. Honestly, when we launched the campaign, we had no idea if it would get positive reactions or just be seen as noise. But looking at the tweets afterward, the majority were positive, with many calling it a "great initiative." It felt like a significant number of people appreciated the effort itself and took a favorable view of us.

Nojō: Election initiatives don't immediately translate to sales or downloads, so it's great if it gave even a little return! However, if this had been a sudden initiative by a company that didn't already have a genuine stance or vision for tackling social issues, the reaction might have been different. It seemed the positive response came precisely because the two companies involved were seen as consistent with their existing communication towards society and users.

Ultimately, we want to make elections a "moment"! By increasing contact points through diverse corporate participation, we aim for a "win-win-win" outcome.

"A": In today's Japan, while there's a tendency to be cautious about themes like elections and voting, there's also a growing societal expectation that companies should address social issues. As a company participating in the "UPRATE" project, could you share the significance of private companies engaging in such activities and how it contributes to your own marketing and branding?

Yoshimoto: Today, companies are being scrutinized by consumers for what they aim to achieve and the essence of their business. Therefore, it's essential to align our business with that perspective.

We provide TimeTree as one means to help users solve their challenges. While we don't specifically focus on social issues in that context, we do have a world we aspire to create and a vision we want to realize as a company. Building a three-way relationship that includes society, beyond just users and our operations, creates an opportunity for others to understand our aspirations. The action itself becomes part of communicating our vision and purpose. We feel participating was worthwhile as a platform to convey our corporate value to society.

Nagano: For a company to exert its strength, it's crucial for each member to actively contribute in their area of expertise. In our case, our strengths lie in "the younger generation" and "connections." Our business survives and thrives because of our members. Therefore, considering and undertaking activities that align with this strength is meaningful both for our members and for our company.

Nojō: Thank you. While we are, of course, seriously committed to elections and youth voter engagement as means to improve society, we also hope this activity will become a "win-win" that brings multifaceted benefits to the company going forward.

For example, in the U.S., during presidential elections, various companies create and distribute stickers or change their store wraps. They do this because they understand that engaging with the election brings benefits to their own company. Recently, "International Women's Day" has spread as a key "moment" (opportunity) for corporate campaigns. By making it something diverse companies can easily participate in, it also creates the advantage of advancing the discussion. We want to make elections a similar kind of moment.

"A": Exactly. As diverse companies increase their touchpoints, I feel it creates a win-win-win situation where engagement and loyalty toward the participating companies' services themselves grow. It seems difficult for a single company to advance such activities alone. Through articles like this one, we can spread this concept to other companies. By sharing ideas, each company can then pursue activities in a way that suits them best. If private companies can establish such cooperative frameworks going forward, it should help accelerate these efforts significantly.

Nojō: Since many companies shape the daily lives of younger generations, I want to gradually increase opportunities for them to access information about voting. By continuing this, I hope this initiative becomes part of their routine during election time.

Members participating in this interview. From left: Emiri Sagawa, PR Manager at Tinder Japan; Ryosuke Nishio (TimeTree); Yoshimoto; Nagano; Nagano; Tsukada; Yuta Miyoshi (Dentsu Inc.); Chika Takizawa