Roles of Social Media in Elections: Politicians Become Targets of ‘Online Defamation’

The Yomiuri Shimbun

7:00 JST, March 8, 2025

This is the fifth and final installment of articles on the impact of social media impacts on elections from the perspective of those involved in election campaigns.

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Shun Otokita, 41, then a candidate for Tokyo Constituency No. 1, was surrounded by a crowd of people on Oct. 25, just two days before the House of Representatives election. He had just left a speech meeting in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo.

“Good luck in your next job!” “Congratulations on ending your political career.” Referring to Otokita’s challenging election campaign, these people mocked him as if he had already lost the election.

When Otokita tried to get into a car, his way was blocked. He struggled with some of them and fell, sustaining injuries to his lower back and a finger on his left hand. Police rushed to the scene.

When he was 29, Otokita ran for the first time for the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly as a salaryman and was elected. Although he had neither the connections nor the money, he frequently updated his blog, which was unusual in politics at the time, and became known as a “blogger politician.”

The internet became an indispensable tool for building support. People he met through his blog and social media donated money and helped him distribute flyers.

As Otokita became more well-known on social media, he began to experience harassment, including death threats.

The Oct. 25 incident was unusual in that an anti-Otokita crowd gathered from various places in response to a call on X, and that they filmed videos of themselves using force.

“Morality has collapsed,” said Otokita. “As it’s now possible to earn money by posting videos, politicians running in high-profile elections are being targeted to capture sensationalist videos.”

Since the use of the internet in election campaigns was permitted in 2013, the number of candidates with a social media presence has increased dramatically. The use of violent language in social media posts intended to hurt candidates has continued throughout this period.

Bengo4.com, Inc., which operates a legal consultation website, asked its members in a survey in December if they had ever defamed someone on social media. Of the 1,329 respondents, 93 people, around 7%, answered “yes.”

Asked about the targets of their slander, with multiple answers allowed, “politicians” was the third most common (16.1%), following “ordinary people” (68.8%) and “celebrities” (17.2%).

“It’s likely that those who slander have the mindset that ‘Because they’re a public figure, I can say anything about them,’” said the website operating company.

Social media harassment can affect politicians’ careers.

Satoko Murakami, 59, a member of the Kitakyushu Municipal Assembly, around seven years ago experienced harassment in the form of a false rumor posted on X, then Twitter, that she was a member of an extremist group. She also experienced other types of harassment, such as having underwear and daily necessities that she did not order sent to her office by cash on delivery.

The harassment had stopped but resumed about a year ago, causing Murakami to suffer from insomnia. She even considered retiring from politics rather than running in the January local assembly election as she wanted “to be free from false rumors and defamation.”

Murakami said, “I’m concerned that politicians may give up being politicians and young people who want to be politicians may hesitate to run for office, if no proper measures are taken to stop harassment on social media.”

This summer, political battles will be fought across Japan, including in such large-scale elections as those for the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly and the House of Councillors. Candidates are learning how to effectively use social media to gain voter support.

A “Study Session on Latest Election Strategies Using Internet and Social Media” was held in an office building for members of the House of Representatives on Jan. 30. There were about 50 participants, including secretaries of Diet members, local assembly members and prospective candidates for office.

“YouTube has replaced TV as the influential medium,” said Suguru Takahata, president of the company that operates the election information site “Senkyo.com,” which hosted the event.

Interactive exchanges via social media “facilitates communication between candidates and voters just like candidates’ shaking hands with voters at stump speeches,” Takahata added.

“Young people will be responsible for the future,” said Mikiharu Asakura, 62, a municipal assembly member of Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture. “To get them interested in politics, we need to use social media thoroughly and effectively, as they are very familiar with it.”

As social media becomes a major platform for election activities, and its negative aspects are becoming apparent, how to ensure fair and impartial elections to protect the democracy that has been nurtured and cherished in Japan is becoming an ever more important question.