Disinformation Spreads About Team Mirai, Ballot Readers; Online Posts Falsely Claim Fraud in Feb. 8 Election

By Ryo Takeuchi and Ayato Suzuki / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers

15:14 JST, March 2, 2026

False claims that a political party and a municipal ballot counting system were involved in fraud spread on social media after the Feb. 8 House of Representatives election. Such allegations could undermine the election’s credibility, and voters are being urged to verify sources to avoid being misled.

Posts on X such as “Team Mirai’s [election] results are highly unnatural” and “The big gains by the party are proof of election fraud” went viral for about a week after the vote, conveying skepticism about the vote tally for Team Mirai, which achieved a significant gain of 11 seats in the lower house election.

One post stated: “Where did those votes come from? The party didn’t field any candidates in Hyogo Prefecture.” Team Mirai did not field candidates in single-seat constituencies in the prefecture, but gained over 150,000 votes in the proportional representation race.

This post had been viewed 4.4 million times as of Feb. 19.

Team Mirai received 6.36% of the votes in the proportional representation sector in Hyogo Prefecture, compared to 6.66% nationally. Exit polls conducted in the prefecture by The Yomiuri Shimbun and others on election day also indicated that 7% voted for Team Mirai in the proportional representation race, matching this figure closely.

A representative from the prefecture’s election administration commission told The Yomiuri Shimbun that it had received no reports about cheating.

University of Tokyo Prof. Fujio Toriumi analyzed 83,000 posts that contained the words “Team Mirai” and were posted on X between Feb. 8-10. It found that 2,840 posts were skeptical of the party, 2.59 times the 1,095 posts that expressed support.

Team Mirai issued a statement Friday saying, “To the best of our knowledge, there is absolutely no truth to such claims [of election fraud].”

Ballot readers also targeted

Disinformation alleging fraud in vote-counting has occurred in many elections.

Regarding the Feb. 8 election, posts spread naming Musashi Co., a company that provides equipment to support election procedures, as a “system for electoral fraud.”

The Tokyo-based company provides about 3,000 ballot reading and sorting machines across about 1,200 municipalities nationwide. Their ballot reading system is configured in consultation with election authorities, and the interior of the sorting machine is designed to be visible from the outside.

During actual vote counting, sorted ballots are verified by municipal employees. Furthermore, three to 10 observers registered by candidates or political parties are present at each counting station.

Hayato Kojima, chairman of a Tokyo-based general incorporated association that has expertise in the electoral system, said, “Once disseminated, information is difficult to refute, and this also undermines trust in the electoral system and those responsible for election administration.”