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Yomiuri Shimbun
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Social Media and Elections: Outdated System / Surrogate Candidates Threaten Fairness of Japan's Elections, Causing Local Govts to Lose Patience
This is the fourth installment in a series that examines the challenges faced by the nation's election system, which has been criticized as outdated. *** 'As a candidate, I will seek to be elected.' This is the sort of oath that candidates running for the Tottori-Shimane constituency in the House of Councillors election this summer must now submit, after a decision by the joint election commission for Tottori and Shimane prefectures. Though the oath seems to state the obvious, officials decided on the measure to prevent so-called double-horsepower campaigning, according to the commission's director general. In double-horsepower campaigning, candidates run in elections not to win, but to help another candidate secure victory. The Public Offices Election Law limits the number of election campaign cars and flyers per candidate. Double-horsepower campaigning effectively doubles the amount of resources for a candidate, threatening the fairness of elections. Swaying the Hyogo election Double-horsepower campaigning was a prominent part of the Hyogo gubernatorial election in November, which was won by Gov. Motohiko Saito. The election was held after a whistleblower accused the governor of using his position to commit misconduct, such as harassment of others in the workplace, also called power harassment. The Hyogo prefectural assembly passed a no-confidence motion against Saito, who subsequently lost his position. In the gubernatorial election that followed, Takashi Tachibana, leader of the NHK Party political group, became a candidate. 'I will offer legally valid support for Mr. Saito,' he said. After Saito would deliver a speech, Tachibana would show up and tell those still left in the audience that Saito had never requested gifts or engaged in power harassment, and that TV stations were attempting to brainwash people. A third-party panel, which investigated the allegations against Saito, reported in March that it had found 10 cases of power harassment by the governor. Although the panel did not find any illegality in the alleged acceptance of gifts, it asserted that it was generally true that he had brought back many local products he received during his work trips. In the latter half of the election campaign, from Nov. 8 to 16, Saito's team posted advance notices on X about street canvassing at 40 locations. On eight of these days, Tachibana scheduled his election campaigning to take place at 16 locations that seemed to track Saito's schedule. He was in Tokyo for one day to see Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who was meeting with parliamentary groups in the Diet building. 'I wanted to know what was true about the allegations against Mr. Saito, and Mr. Tachibana gave me the answers,' said a woman in her 60s who supports the Hyogo governor. On a given day during the campaign period, posts on X referring to Saito and Tachibana outnumbered by about 80% to 820% those referencing former Amagasaki City Mayor Kazumi Inamura, who was running against Saito, according to analysis by University of Tokyo Prof. Fujio Toriumi. On seven of the 17 days in the campaign period, posts touching on Tachibana alone exceeded those referring to Inamura. 'Tachibana is an influencer who has a large number of followers,' said a person who was close with the Inamura team. 'I believe he significantly impacted the election results.' Dubious legality When Tachibana announced his candidacy for the Chiba gubernatorial election in March, he did not seek support for himself. Instead, he indicated he would back Gov. Toshihito Kumagai. But he withdrew because Kumagai said his support would be 'unwelcome.' During the election campaign, Tachibana gave roadside speeches outside Chiba Prefecture, such as in Hyogo and Osaka prefectures, and continued to relate his own theories about the problems in Hyogo Prefecture, which were unrelated to the gubernatorial election. The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry has noted that surrogate candidacies may be against the Public Offices Election Law, since it limits the number of election campaign cars and flyers per candidate. However, the law has no specific clause banning the practice, and it does not account for candidates not seeking to win themselves. 'Double-horsepower campaigning obviously harms the fairness of elections and poses serious problems,' said Prof. Airo Hino of Waseda University. 'If elections continue to be conducted inappropriately, it will increase distrust in the electoral system. Effective countermeasures should be taken at the earliest possible stage.' Slow to act 'We must move quickly to determine how election campaigns should be run, and do so in a way that will satisfy everyone,' Ishiba said in February as he answered a question at the Diet. At a meeting of the election campaigns council on April 1, ruling and opposition parties agreed to give top priority to discussing how to handle double-horsepower campaigning. However, changes are not expected to be made in time for the upper house election this summer. As for the written oaths introduced in Tottori and Shimane prefectures, they are not legally binding. 'Individual constituencies shouldn't have to do this,' said Shimane Gov. Tatsuya Maruyama at a news conference on April 22. 'We're forced to clean up the mess caused by the failure at the national level to establish an election system.'
Yomiuri Shimbun
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Surrogate Candidates Threaten Social Media and Elections: Outdated System / Fairness of Japan's Elections, Causing Local Govts to Lose Patience
This is the fourth installment in a series that examines the challenges faced by the nation's election system, which has been criticized as outdated. *** 'As a candidate, I will seek to be elected.' This is the sort of oath that candidates running for the Tottori-Shimane constituency in the House of Councillors election this summer must now submit, after a decision by the joint election commission for Tottori and Shimane prefectures. Though the oath seems to state the obvious, officials decided on the measure to prevent so-called double-horsepower campaigning, according to the commission's director general. In double-horsepower campaigning, candidates run in elections not to win, but to help another candidate secure victory. The Public Offices Election Law limits the number of election campaign cars and flyers per candidate. Double-horsepower campaigning effectively doubles the amount of resources for a candidate, threatening the fairness of elections. Swaying the Hyogo election Double-horsepower campaigning was a prominent part of the Hyogo gubernatorial election in November, which was won by Gov. Motohiko Saito. The election was held after a whistleblower accused the governor of using his position to commit misconduct, such as harassment of others in the workplace, also called power harassment. The Hyogo prefectural assembly passed a no-confidence motion against Saito, who subsequently lost his position. In the gubernatorial election that followed, Takashi Tachibana, leader of the NHK Party political group, became a candidate. 'I will offer legally valid support for Mr. Saito,' he said. After Saito would deliver a speech, Tachibana would show up and tell those still left in the audience that Saito had never requested gifts or engaged in power harassment, and that TV stations were attempting to brainwash people. A third-party panel, which investigated the allegations against Saito, reported in March that it had found 10 cases of power harassment by the governor. Although the panel did not find any illegality in the alleged acceptance of gifts, it asserted that it was generally true that he had brought back many local products he received during his work trips. In the latter half of the election campaign, from Nov. 8 to 16, Saito's team posted advance notices on X about street canvassing at 40 locations. On eight of these days, Tachibana scheduled his election campaigning to take place at 16 locations that seemed to track Saito's schedule. He was in Tokyo for one day to see Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who was meeting with parliamentary groups in the Diet building. 'I wanted to know what was true about the allegations against Mr. Saito, and Mr. Tachibana gave me the answers,' said a woman in her 60s who supports the Hyogo governor. On a given day during the campaign period, posts on X referring to Saito and Tachibana outnumbered by about 80% to 820% those referencing former Amagasaki City Mayor Kazumi Inamura, who was running against Saito, according to analysis by University of Tokyo Prof. Fujio Toriumi. On seven of the 17 days in the campaign period, posts touching on Tachibana alone exceeded those referring to Inamura. 'Tachibana is an influencer who has a large number of followers,' said a person who was close with the Inamura team. 'I believe he significantly impacted the election results.' Dubious legality When Tachibana announced his candidacy for the Chiba gubernatorial election in March, he did not seek support for himself. Instead, he indicated he would back Gov. Toshihito Kumagai. But he withdrew because Kumagai said his support would be 'unwelcome.' During the election campaign, Tachibana gave roadside speeches outside Chiba Prefecture, such as in Hyogo and Osaka prefectures, and continued to relate his own theories about the problems in Hyogo Prefecture, which were unrelated to the gubernatorial election. The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry has noted that surrogate candidacies may be against the Public Offices Election Law, since it limits the number of election campaign cars and flyers per candidate. However, the law has no specific clause banning the practice, and it does not account for candidates not seeking to win themselves. 'Double-horsepower campaigning obviously harms the fairness of elections and poses serious problems,' said Prof. Airo Hino of Waseda University. 'If elections continue to be conducted inappropriately, it will increase distrust in the electoral system. Effective countermeasures should be taken at the earliest possible stage.' Slow to act 'We must move quickly to determine how election campaigns should be run, and do so in a way that will satisfy everyone,' Ishiba said in February as he answered a question at the Diet. At a meeting of the election campaigns council on April 1, ruling and opposition parties agreed to give top priority to discussing how to handle double-horsepower campaigning. However, changes are not expected to be made in time for the upper house election this summer. As for the written oaths introduced in Tottori and Shimane prefectures, they are not legally binding. 'Individual constituencies shouldn't have to do this,' said Shimane Gov. Tatsuya Maruyama at a news conference on April 22. 'We're forced to clean up the mess caused by the failure at the national level to establish an election system.'
Yomiuri Shimbun
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Voters' Distrust of Online Election Information Growing; Social Media Facilitates Spread of Radical, Dubious Claims
The Yomiuri Shimbun A man living in Hokkaido who created a video defending Motohiko Saito in the Hyogo Prefecture gubernatorial election is seen in Sapporo on April 22. A nationwide poll recently conducted by The Yomiuri Shimbun showed that many voters distrust election-related information on social media. With the House of Councillors election approaching in the summer, the ruling and opposition parties need to accelerate discussions on how to regulate election campaigns' use of social media. From delusion to diffusion During the gubernatorial election in Hyogo Prefecture last November, NHK Party leader Takashi Tachibana repeatedly asserted on social media that Gov. Motohiko Saito did not engage in the workplace 'power harassment' that he was being criticized for. Based on Tachibana's words and actions, a 31-year-old man living in Hokkaido came to believe that the allegations of harassment were a conspiracy. The man posted a video of highlight clips from a Saito street speech on X, formerly known as Twitter. Celebrities responded to the video and spread it, resulting in the video being viewed more than 15 million times. The number of the Hokkaido man's followers skyrocketed as well. The Hokkaido man also repeatedly attacked members of the so-called Article 100 Committee, which was set up by the prefectural assembly to investigate Saito, calling them 'liars' and saying they should quit. However, in January of this year, when Tachibana posted that a former Hyogo prefectural assembly member who had died had been scheduled to be arrested, the prefectural police chief denied the claim as 'completely untrue.' In March, Saito acknowledged and apologized for the first time for the workplace harassment that the prefecture's third-party panel found he committed. The man in Hokkaido came to regret his actions, saying: 'I was overly credulous about social media and spread false information. I'm sorry if there were voters who believed it.' The Yomiuri Shimbun A sense of crisis In the Yomiuri opinion poll, 69% of respondents said they did not trust election-related information on social media. The survey also revealed that 84% of the respondents were 'concerned' about the impact of disinformation on social media. Voters appear to have significant worries about the current situation, in which disinformation online can influence the outcome of an election. 'This may be a result of the sense of crisis and disgust among voters nationwide after the Hyogo Prefecture gubernatorial election, which was influenced by disinformation and slander on social media,' said Masaaki Ito, a professor at Seikei University and an expert in sociology. Social media is structured in such a way that the more views a post receives, the more advertising revenue it earns. The tendency for the spread of radical, questionable information meant to attract attention continues to this day. 'Even if voters are vigilant, if disinformation floods into social media, public opinion may be led in the wrong direction,' Ito said. Legislation postponed Debate in the Diet has been slow on measures to prevent the spread of false and misleading information via social media during elections. The revised Public Offices Election Law passed in March only establishes a new provision requiring a certain level of decency for election posters. The regulation of social media related to election campaigns has been postponed in the form of a supplementary provision stating that 'necessary measures will be taken.' At a meeting of the ruling and opposition parties this month, it was agreed that priority should be given to discussing social media regulations. However, many are cautious about the legislation, and it will not be easy to consolidate their opinions. It is not expected to be ready in time for the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly elections in June or the upper house elections in the summer.
Japan Times
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Controversial candidate draws criticism in Chiba election
Political figure Takashi Tachibana has drawn criticism for his controversial campaign activities in Sunday's gubernatorial election in Chiba Prefecture, in which he ran as a candidate. Tachibana, leader of the NHK Party political group, said that the purpose of his participation in the poll was not to win the governor post in Chiba Prefecture. He mainly campaigned in Hyogo Prefecture, hundreds of kilometers away. Recent polls have seen a range of actions that the Public Offices Election Act did not anticipate, leading to increased calls for better regulation. "People of Chiba, please vote for Takashi Tachibana," he said in a street speech in Amagasaki, Hyogo, on March 10. Except for the apparent token reference to Chiba, his speech was mostly about criticism of harassment allegations against Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito. Tachibana's campaign activities in Chiba were limited to a street rally in Funabashi on Feb. 27, when the official campaign period began, and a rally in Chiba's namesake capital on March 8. On Friday, he participated in a protest rally criticizing the Finance Ministry in the Kasumigaseki central government district in Tokyo. He was attacked and injured by an assailant there, leading to the cancellation of his speech in the busy Shibuya district, also in Tokyo, slated for Saturday. According to the internal affairs ministry, campaigning outside the electoral district does not violate the Public Offices Election Act. However, the Chiba Prefectural Election Commission has received numerous complaints from officials in places such as Hyogo Prefecture regarding Tachibana's activities. Some questioned why campaign activities were allowed in prefectures other than Chiba, while others asked whether Tachibana's candidacy could not be stopped. An election board official said, "If the requirements for candidacy are formally met, we have no choice but to accept it." In the Hyogo gubernatorial election last autumn, Tachibana ran, but he called for voting for Saito, not himself. Before the Chiba election campaign period, Tachibana said that he would plead for voters to cast ballots for incumbent Gov. Toshihito Kumagai. But he did not put this into practice because Kumagai rejected any support from Tachibana. "Tachibana stood out most" among the candidates in the Chiba election, said a member of campaign staff for a candidate that was not Tachibana. Hiroshi Shiratori, political science professor at Hosei University, said he does not think that voters approve campaigning activities in districts other than the places where the elections are held. But "I think it would be impossible to restrict such activities by revising the law," given freedom of expression, Shiratori added.
