4 days ago
Trial to run political ads at convenience stores canceled
A planned trial run for displaying Japanese political advertisements on convenience stores' electronic signage screens has been canceled, an association promoting the digitalization of election campaigns said Monday.
The first attempt to run such ads using a retailer's digital signage had been scheduled to start Tuesday and last for a week at FamilyMart Co stores in Tokyo, in a bid to encourage young people to become more interested in politics amid low voter turnout.
"The dates were not met as we carefully considered whether to participate in the trial," a company official said, adding the major convenience store chain will continue studying ways to contribute to improving voter turnout using digital signage.
The trial was to have taken place before the start Friday of campaigning for the Tokyo metropolitan assembly election. Companies in Japan have so far refrained from utilizing their digital signage to run political advertisements.
The initiative was announced on May 20 by the association for digital transformation of policy and public affairs. Members of the group include lawmakers, people in the advertising industry and legal experts.
They held a press conference in the Diet attended by senior members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and opposition parties including the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the Japan Innovation Party and the Democratic Party for the People.
© KYODO
