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Yomiuri Shimbun
a day ago
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Council on Elections Asks Voters to Be Mindful of Fake Information; No New Legislation Ready Before Upper House Election
A council on election campaigning comprised of seven ruling and opposition parties on Friday issued a statement calling on voters to be mindful of dis- and misinformation on social media ahead of the upcoming House of Councillors election. The statement only went so far as to urge platform operators to strengthen countermeasures on their own initiative, with no relevant legislation to be put forward before the upper house election. The campaign begins on Thursday, with voting to take place on July 20. Before any effective countermeasures can be enacted, there are thorny issues that need to be resolved, including those associated with the 'freedom of expression' guaranteed by the Constitution. The statement also requested that voters confirm the source and authenticity of information they obtain on social media and expressed hope that they 'would utilize social media and other means to contribute to the development of democracy in Japan.' It also stated that the council would 'strive to meet the expectations of the people.' Ichiro Aisawa, chairman of the LDP's Research Commission on the Election System, who is responsible for organizing the discussions, at a press conference on Friday emphasized that the council would continue to consider concrete measures for strengthening regulations. The council — which consists of representatives from the Liberal Democratic Party, Komeito, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the Japan Innovation Party, the Democratic Party for the People, Reiwa Shinsengumi and the Japanese Communist Party — has been considering specific measures to strengthen regulations on social media related to elections. Discussions on such measures among the council began in December, in response to disturbances that cropped up in local elections in various parts of the country earlier last year. In the Tokyo gubernatorial election, for example, campaign posters lacking in dignity, including one showing an almost naked woman, were an issue. In response, the ruling and opposition parties enacted a revised Public Offices Election Law in March that calls for a certain level of decency in campaign posters. However, with regards to measures to deal with dis- and misinformation on social media, the council has only been able to include the phrase 'necessary measures will be taken' in the supplementary provisions of the law. Thus, no specific countermeasures have been included. At the council meeting held on June 4, the LDP, which is leading the discussions, presented some measures to cope with dis- and misinformation on social media. However, some challenges that face their enactment have been pointed out. A proposal to establish a provision that would urge platform operators to immediately delete posts when a complaint about defamation is lodged by a candidate or others may infringe on the 'freedom of expression' of those who posted it if the post is deleted without their consent. Aisawa was also asked at the press conference when the council would reach a conclusion on the matter. But he only said, 'I would like to refrain from making any statement [on this matter].' Hiroshi Ogushi, executive deputy president of the CDPJ, also did not go into details, saying only, 'We pledge to continue our discussions vigorously even after the Diet session in the autumn in order to reach a conclusion.'
Yomiuri Shimbun
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Japanese Cross-Party of Lawmakers Question Social Platformers on Regulating Election Misinformation; Google LLC, X Corp., LY Corp., Attend Discussion
The Yomiuri Shimbun Ichihiro Aisawa, chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party's Research Commission on the Election System, delivers a speech at an in-depth cross-party discussion on election campaigns at the Diet building on Thursday. Ruling and opposition parties on Thursday began a cross-party, in-depth discussion to tackle election-related disinformation spread on social media and questioned operators of social platforms about what initiatives they have taken to counter it. Major political parties have generally been consistent in agreeing on the importance of creating some regulations and discussing the details. 'Disinformation is clearly spreading online and is heavily affecting voters,' said Ichihiro Aisawa, chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party's Research Commission on the Election System. He expressed deep concern over the confusion caused by false and misleading information seen in elections across the country last year. An additional clause of the revised Public Offices Election Law, which came into effect on May 2, stipulates that 'necessary measures shall be taken' against disinformation, leading political parties to discuss the matter. Representatives from YouTube operator Google LLC, X Corp. and LY Corp. attended Thursday's closed-door meeting that lasted over an hour in the Diet. The operators explained their initiatives in three areas: monetization of campaign-related content, fact-checking and identification of social media posters, according to the sources present at the meeting. The three operators explained their initiatives at a similar meeting held by the LDP in March. In the materials submitted at that time, each company insisted that it has voluntarily had its staff, specialized agencies and artificial intelligence systems delete text and video content deemed to be false or harmful. Regarding monetization, LY said it would withhold payments if it confirmed violations of its terms of service, such as the spread of misinformation through short videos. These efforts were likely reported as well at Thursday's meeting to seek understanding. However, such voluntary efforts have limited effectiveness. Lawmakers who attended the meeting reportedly discussed issues such as account verification, methods for removing false information and possible deterrent effects of suspending monetization. 'There are two aspects to this issue: freedom of expression and how to control the spread of false information,' said Hiroshi Oogushi, Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan Executive Deputy President. 'This is a very difficult issue, but we want to achieve results.' He added that ways to fact-check would be further discussed in the future.
Japan Times
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Parties remain apart on social media rules for elections
During a television debate Saturday, senior officials of ruling and opposition parties broadly agreed on the need to regulate election misinformation on social media, but were far apart over specific measures. "We first need to use existing laws and regulations, such as the public offices election law and the Penal Code," Ichiro Aisawa, chairman of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's Research Commission on the Election System, said. "It is very important to clarify the responsibilities of social media service providers." Noting that people may vote based on what they read on social media, even when accuracy is unknown, Hiroshi Ogushi, executive deputy president of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, said that "it is necessary to introduce regulations in light of the links between social media and elections." Hitoshi Aoyagi, policy chief of opposition Nippon Ishin no Kai, agreed, saying, "Freedom of expression does not mean that anything is allowed." Hirotaka Ishikawa, secretary-general of Komeito in the House of Councillors, said, "It is very important to strike a balance between the enhancement of regulations and freedom of expression." Meanwhile, Motohisa Furukawa, acting leader of the opposition Democratic Party for the People, said, "We should be cautious about (social media) regulations at this point." "Social media has the advantage of reducing the distance between politics and voters," he said, suggesting that the government should first ask related businesses to take countermeasures. Satoshi Inoue, the Japanese Communist Party's secretary-general in the Upper House, said, "We should put efforts into ensuring that people's voices are accurately reflected in politics by guaranteeing suffrage and freedom of expression." Akiko Oishi, co-leader of Reiwa Shinsengumi, an opposition party, said there have been cases in which derogatory information was spread by those with abundant financial resources. "We should establish an appropriate legal framework," she added. The TV debate took place as the country marked Constitution Day on Saturday.
03-05-2025
- Politics
Japan Parties Apart on Social Media Regulations over Elections
News from Japan Politics May 3, 2025 18:44 (JST) Tokyo, May 3 (Jiji Press)--Senior officials of Japan's ruling and opposition parties in a television debate Saturday broadly agreed on the need to regulate false social media information regarding elections but were apart over specific measures. Ichiro Aisawa, chairman of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's Research Commission on the Election System, said, "We first need to use existing laws and regulations, such as the public offices election law and the Penal Code." "It is very important to clarify the responsibilities of social media service providers," he said. Noting that people may vote based on social media information whose authenticity is unknown, Hiroshi Ogushi, executive deputy president of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, said that "it is necessary to introduce regulations in light of relations between social media and elections." Hitoshi Aoyagi, policy chief of opposition Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party), agreed, saying, "Freedom of expression does not mean that anything is allowed." [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
