87％ of Poll Respondents Seek Review of Election Posters; Numerous Unrelated Signs Put Up on Election Signboards

By Takeo Maeda / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

14:36 JST, July 1, 2024

Many posters with images unrelated to the ongoing gubernatorial election in Tokyo have been posted on election signboards, prompting 87% of the respondents to a Yomiuri Shimbun poll to say the handling of election posters should be reviewed.

No particular gender, age or party preference was noted among the respondents who approved of a review.

Seven percent said they did not think a review was necessary, and 6% did not respond to the question. People who were less interested in the gubernatorial election overall also tended to be less concerned about the issue of posters, the survey found.

Members of both ruling and opposition parties also see a problem with the way posters are displayed. “It’s necessary to consider countermeasures, including a revision of the Public Offices Election Law,” Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Toshimitsu Motegi said on Tuesday.

Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Katsuya Okada said the same day that the latest incidents were “inexcusable” and proposed discussions among the parties involved in the Tokyo gubernatorial election.

However, Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura, who serves as coleader of the Japan Innovation Party, said on June 21, “It’s better to rethink the nature of elections, given that we live in an age in which inflammatory online posts can make money.”