Government Sounding Board Flooded With Identical Comments; Experts Warn of Distorted Picture of Public Opinion
The Yomiuri Shimbun
A text identical to a 'sample opinion' posted on X, at left, was found among comments submitted to the Environment Ministry, at right. The image has been partially modified.
More than 10,000 comments each were submitted to the government on 10 different topics in fiscal 2024, but many featured identical or similar wording to comments posted on social media, The Yomiuri Shimbun has found.
This was the first time for 10 topics to draw that many comments. Experts are warning that it could wrongly give the impression that a majority of the public support certain opinions and create distrust in the government.
Through the public comment system, the government releases drafts of policies and other materials, and seeks opinions from the public to use as a reference in policy-making. The system is aimed at enhancing the impartiality and transparency of the government's administrative management.
The current system was implemented in fiscal 2006 based on the revised Administrative Procedure Law. Comments can be submitted both via snail mail and the government's e-Gov online system. Users can choose whether to provide their names, addresses or other information, and there are no limits to the number of comments one person can submit.
Among the public comments listed on the e-Gov site as of April 20, The Yomiuri Shimbun analyzed submissions on a total of about 34,000 topics, excluding duplications, for which public comments were sought between fiscal 2006 and 2024.
The Yomiuri found that at least 145 topics have drawn 1,000 or more comments since fiscal 2015. At least 10,000 comments were sent on 29 topics over the same period, including 10 topics in fiscal 2024, the highest number so far.
The top 10 on the fiscal 2024 list include the recycling of decontaminated soil, or soil that was removed around the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant and underwent a decontamination process. Also in the top 10 was the government's action plan on measures against infection with novel influenza and the use of My Number Cards as the health insurance certificates.
The topic of decontaminated soil drew a record 207,850 comments from the public. But when the Environment Ministry closely examined the submissions, it found out that 96%, or 199,573 comments, were identical to others in the remaining 4%, or 8,277 comments.
Comments that said only 'disagree' or 'ban the use of contaminated soil outside the prefecture' numbered about 10,000 each.
On nine other topics, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said a considerable number used identical wording, and the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry said there were many comments with identical wording or in which only the ends of sentences were different.
The Yomiuri Shimbun examined posts on X related to these 10 topics and discovered some that presented templates saying, 'example sentence for reference' and 'OK to copy and paste.'
The government invited the public to submit comments on decontaminated soil between Jan. 17 and Feb. 15 this year. At the time, X posts were widely circulated, calling for a large number of comments to be submitted with templates such as 'Contaminated soil should be kept at the place of origin.'
Opinions that are identical to such templates were confirmed to have been submitted to the government.
However, the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry, which oversees the system, says that although the content of submissions is taken into consideration, the number of comments does not influence decision-making.
Relevant ministries and agencies have expressed concern over the massive number of identical comments. 'Such actions will hinder the appropriate implementation of administrative affairs. It might also affect what form the system should take,' said Environment Minister Keiichiro Asao.
'Using the system to make it look like many people have certain opinions could split society,' said Prof. Kazuhisa Kawakami of Reitaku University. 'People should use the system with an appropriate understanding of its aim.'
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