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Yomiuri Shimbun
30-07-2025
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
LDP, Komeito Eye Steps Against Election Interference; Foreign Bots Said to Spread Misinformation Online
The ruling coalition on Tuesday agreed to consider strengthening regulations to prevent foreign interference in elections through social media, including possible legal reforms, following the appearance of suspicious posts that spread during the campaign for the July 20 House of Councilors government is also considering strengthening its information-gathering system. The secretaries general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito held talks in Tokyo and reached the agreement. 'Preventing foreign interference in elections is one of the most important issues,' said Komeito Secretary General Makoto Nishida at a press conference following the meeting. False information and misinformation could distort election results. The LDP and Komeito plan to discuss the issue with the opposition parties, eyeing steps including possible revisions to the Information Distribution Platform Law.'We will continue to discuss specific measures in the future,' LDP Secretary General Hiroshi Moriyama said at the press conference. In the upper house election, cases of anomalous dissemination of social media posts were reported to the government by private data analysis companies and others. According to government officials, it is believed that an automated posting program called a bot was used, and posts critical of the government were widely disseminated through a large number of 'likes' and repeated reposts. In Europe and the United States, Russian interference in elections has become an issue. The Japanese government suspects that foreigners were involved in the case of the upper house election.'Our country is also a target of such operations,' said Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kazuhiko Aoki at a press conference on July 16. The Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office and the National Security Secretariat collect and analyze data related to the spread of false and misleading information believed to be from foreign forces, and not only during elections. However, the system is considered weak compared to that of other countries. 'The government does not have a department specifically assigned to this issue. We need to strengthen our system,' digital minister Masaaki Taira said at a press conference on Tuesday. Within the government, there is a plan to establish a system to tackle the issue centered on the Cabinet Secretariat. The government will consider effective measures in the future. The government plans to strengthen its ability to respond to election interference in cooperation with like-minded countries such as other members of the Group of Seven advanced nations. The government is considering plans to establish a specialized department for 'countering interference in domestic affairs' to share information with like-minded countries and to conduct analyses in collaboration with universities while respecting the 'freedom of expression' guaranteed by the Constitution. 'We aim to further strengthen our response capabilities by collaborating with countries that share the same concerns,' Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said at a press conference on the same day. 'We will work closely with relevant government agencies to take necessary measures.'
Asahi Shimbun
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Asahi Shimbun
Monetary aid in reach for more communities near nuke plants
Residents who live near a nuclear power plant are checked for radioactive contamination during a drill in Ishikawa Prefecture in 2023. (Asahi Shimbun file photo) The government and ruling parties plan to increase access to financial assistance for local governments hosting nuclear power plants by broadening the geographical scope of eligibility. Secretaries-general and other officials of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito agreed on June 17 to provide aid to local governments within 30 kilometers of a nuclear plant, instead of the current 10 km or less. Cabinet Office officials also said they are considering revising the special measures law for development of areas around nuclear power generation facilities and other regulations. The change is designed to ensure that local governments can receive increased assistance if they are required to develop evacuation plans for nuclear accidents. 'We need to eliminate the discrepancy and provide support measures for completing evacuation plans,' Makoto Nishida, secretary-general of Komeito, told a news conference after meeting with his LDP counterpart and others on June 17. A case in point may involve Japan Atomic Power Co.'s Tokai No. 2 nuclear power plant in Ibaraki Prefecture, where around 920,000 individuals reside within 30 km from the premises, the highest concentration in the nation. While the central government has required 14 municipalities within the zone to draw up evacuation plans, six are still wrestling with how to safely move so many people. Under the special measures law, which was established in 2000, the central government offers financial assistance that is more generous than standard provisions when local governments hosting nuclear plants build roads and ports or reduce taxes to attract businesses. Local governments within 10 km of a nuclear plant are eligible in accordance with priority zones where it is required to establish countermeasures for potential nuclear accidents. However, following the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in 2011, these priority zones were expanded from a range of 10 km or less from a nuclear plant to within 30 km. As a result, some host governments have called for expanding the areas where greater assistance is provided, saying that the burden of taking countermeasures for nuclear accidents has only grown. The government has shifted its policy to making maximum use of nuclear power. Officials apparently hope that the change will make it easier to win local consent on restarting nuclear plants and other nuclear-related policies. (This article was written by Satoshi Shinden and Anri Takahashi.)
10-06-2025
- Business
Ruling Bloc Election Pledges to Feature Benefits Program
News from Japan Jun 10, 2025 17:02 (JST) Tokyo, June 10 (Jiji Press)--Japan's ruling parties Tuesday agreed on plans to feature a benefits program in policy pledges for this summer's election for the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of parliament, as part of efforts to address inflation. The agreement was reached in a meeting among senior officials, including Hiroshi Moriyama, secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party, and Makoto Nishida, secretary-general of Komeito, the LDP's coalition partner. Under the program, the government is seen providing several tens of thousands of yen per person. The benefits may be provided in cash or My Number points to promote the use of My Number personal identification cards. Details such as the timing and possible income restrictions are set to be worked out later. LDP parliamentary affairs chief Tetsushi Sakamoto told reporters after the meeting that the government aims to "return increased tax revenue to the people through benefits." Sakamoto said that a consumption tax cut proposed by opposition parties would "lead to a significant decrease in tax revenue and take time." [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
