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Yomiuri Shimbun
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Public Comment System: Does Flood of Submissions to Government Reflect Public Opinion?
Comments have been submitted en masse to government ministries and agencies via the public comment system on such topics as nuclear power plant policy. These submissions are believed to have been organized via social media, making it difficult to say that they accurately reflect public opinion. The public comment system was introduced in 2005 for the government to solicit a wide range of opinions from members of the public while it was formulating policies and rules. Anyone can submit their comments by mail or through the government's e-Gov online system. People submitting comments do not have to provide their name or address, and there is no limit to the number of comments one person can submit. Most policies elicit no comments, and if there are any, the number tends to be small. However, The Yomiuri Shimbun has found that in recent years, more and more topics have been receiving over 1,000 comments. In fiscal 2024, there were 10 topics that drew more than 10,000 comments each. For example, about 200,000 submissions, a record high, were made on the topic of reusing soil removed during decontamination work following the accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. The majority of the comments were negative. However, 96% of these comments were copies of sample texts, and more than 10,000 submissions contained identical sentences. In one case, a single person submitted 1,300 comments. It is believed that individuals and groups opposed to reusing the soil called for submissions on social media. Certain comments were also found to have been submitted on topics related to infectious diseases such as COVID-19. These were likely an attempt to pressure the government by creating the impression that a significant majority of the public supports the views in these comments. However, the government does not make policy decisions based on the number of comments it receives. Understandably, the government added a note to a form on the public comment system. 'Even if comments with the same content are submitted in large numbers, the number of comments will not be taken into consideration,' the note reads. The government should actively disclose the number of comments with identical text as well as the number of comments submitted by the same individuals and make it possible to determine whether intentional manipulation has taken place, while also making the original purpose of the system more widely known among the public. Of course, limiting opportunities for the public to express their opinions is not ideal. However, it is also true that officials in charge at the ministries and agencies are significantly burdened by the current situation, as they have to read through all the comments and manually prepare responses. To reduce the administrative burden, a system should be introduced that automatically sorts comments with the same wording. The public comment system provides an important opportunity to improve the fairness and transparency of government workings, but it is frequently criticized as nothing more than a way to rubber-stamp policies that have already been decided on. With this issue of mass submissions having cropped up, isn't now the time to review the system? (From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 19, 2025)
Yomiuri Shimbun
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
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.'
Time of India
26-04-2025
- General
- Time of India
Over 9,000 apply for first round of college intake
Panaji: The directorate of higher education (DHE) has received over 9,000 applications from students across Goa for the first year of various undergraduate general stream programmes and the BEd course. The DHE's centralised admission process is currently under way for the first year of BA, BSc, and BCom among other programmes. The process of receiving applications will end on April 30. The DHE has commenced the UG admission 2025 process for colleges under its administrative purview. The applications are received from students through the e-Samarth portal. 'Around 40 colleges across the state are participating in the admission process, offering more than 30 undergraduate programmes,' said Mahadev Gawas, project director, Goa state Samarth e-Gov project unit. 'Students seeking admission to the BA LLB programme are required to appear for the GU-CLAT 2025 examination , scheduled to be held on May 11, 2025. The payment of the examination fee is mandatory and must be made through the official website of DHE Goa or Goa University.' Applicants whose Class XII results are yet to be declared are also eligible to apply, he said. 'In addition, admissions for the BEd programme 2025 have started. Candidates with a valid GU-ART 2025 score are required to apply online through the DHE Goa website,' Gawas said. 'Applications without the GU-ART score will not be considered for admission. The portal will remain open for BEd applications until May 6. Students are encouraged to visit the DHE Goa website and the Samarth portal for further details and timely submission of their applications, he said. Admissions are open for UG programmes such as BA, BCom, BSc, music, theatre, home science, BVoc, BCA, BBA, BA BEd, BSc BEd, BPEd, BA LLB, and BSc agriculture.
