LDP, Komeito Eye Steps Against Election Interference; Foreign Bots Said to Spread Misinformation Online

Yomiuri Shimbun

6 days ago

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 election.The 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.'