Power, Politics and Children’s Citizenship: The Silencing of Civil Society

Abstract

Children remain marginalised in theoretical analyses of citizenship and political rights, with their partial citizenship status attracting minimal attention. We consider the ontological need for political engagement, children’s political agency and intergenerational justice. We discuss how Derrida’s hospitality concept may inform analyses of power structures that serve to exclude children from the demos. We then examine the case of Japan where education law neglects children’s political rights, though respect for human rights and popular sovereignty are core constitutional values. Analysis of parliamentary debates addressing Article 12 and children’s right to be heard and organise collectively reveals a long-standing ideological divide concerning children’s political participation. The Committee on the Rights of the Child has explained Japan’s reluctance to implement Article 12 as reflecting “traditional” attitudes. The reality is more complex. From the late 1950s, Japan experienced a wave of student-led protests, focusing on the US-Japan Anpo Security Treaty. Subsequently, the Japanese government prioritised public order over students’ political rights, and global economic competitiveness over citizenship rights. Article 12 remains a site of struggle between those wishing to extend children’s citizenship rights and those who wish to maintain their partial citizenship, fearing social unrest and a focus away from global economic competitiveness.