Japanese Political Parties Struggling to Use Social Media Effectively

   Tokyo, Dec. 31 (Jiji Press)--Japan's political parties are groping for ways to capitalize on social media ahead of next summer's election for the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the country's parliament, wondering how they can have their content go viral and how they can prevent themselves from leaning toward populism.
   In elections in 2024, social media proved to be a powerful campaign tool.
   Independent rookie Shinji Ishimaru, former Akitakata mayor, garnered the second most votes in the Tokyo gubernatorial election in July thanks to his successful online strategy. In the snap House of Representatives election in October, the small opposition Democratic Party for the People quadrupled its seats to hold the balance of power in the all-important Lower House. Motohiko Saito, who had lost his job as Hyogo prefectural governor over power harassment allegations, was reelected in November after social media posts calling for his comeback surged.
   Those unexpected election results shocked political parties that had stuck to old-fashioned campaigns.
   In December, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party asked the head of an election-related website management firm and another expert to give party lawmakers online lectures on how the internet has been used for elections recently.

(2024/12/31-10:00)

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