Japan populist party faces complaint over alleged false online post

The Mainichi

2 days ago

YOKOHAMA (Kyodo) -- A local chapter of the Japanese Communist Party said Wednesday it has filed a criminal complaint against the minor populist Sanseito party over an allegedly false social media post ahead of the July 20 House of Councillors election.
The post, made on July 7 by the 48-year-old Sanseito candidate in Kanagawa Prefecture, wrote, "Many of my colleagues were murdered by Communist Party members, and the methods were brutal. I still live in fear." He is a former Tokyo Metropolitan Police officer.
The JCP said that it delivered a written protest on July 8, demanding an apology and retraction, but received no response, prompting it to file the complaint with prefectural police on Tuesday for defamation and dissemination of false information.
The branch argued that leaving the post unchallenged would undermine the fairness of the election, with its chief saying, "There is no truth to the claim that many police officers were killed by Communist Party members."
"While policy debate should be open and free, lies and hate speech must not be tolerated," the chief added.
In response to media inquiries, the Sanseito candidate defended the post by citing two incidents from the 1950s, including one in which a police officer was fatally shot.
"It is a fact that the suspect in the case was a Communist Party member. There's nothing wrong with saying so," he said.
Under Japanese laws, knowingly making false statements about others in connection with an election can constitute a criminal offense. The case has drawn attention amid heightened scrutiny of misinformation and inflammatory rhetoric during campaigns.
In the run-up to the upper house election, Sanseito has gained traction by advocating stricter controls on foreign residents under its "Japanese First" banner, ranking second in popularity in some recent media polls.