TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Elections in 2024 in Japan, both regional and national, highlighted social media's influence, with underdog candidates surprisingly winning after positive portrayals and convincing narratives boosted their popularity online.

As more people acquire information from social media rather than traditional news outlets such as TV, what circulates online should no longer be a "black box," analysts said, adding the press and political parties must promote a balanced digital space.

A recent telephone survey by Kyodo News, meanwhile, showed that 85.5 percent of respondents expressed concern about the spread of unverified information on social media during election campaigns, casting doubt on the rapidly evolving circumstances.

Information about candidates running in elections in Japan is widely shared online, often posted by individuals trying to attract reactions and earn advertising revenue. Frequent exposure to such content seems to be affecting how people vote.

In the Hyogo gubernatorial election in November, Motohiko Saito was reelected as governor despite automatically losing the job after a no-confidence motion was unanimously adopted by the prefectural assembly, accusing him of abuse of power.

Many news organizations expected Saito to struggle, as the race was held amid an assembly investigation into accusations against him, including the punishment of a subordinate who reported misconduct to the whistleblower's office and later died by apparent suicide.

During the campaign period, however, narratives on social media claiming that there was "no abuse," that "reform-minded" Saito was forced to resign, and that a "lone victim" was fighting "vested interests" as a "hero" may have led to his triumph, analysts said.

Saito's victory backed by his online popularity was reminiscent of the strong run in July in the Tokyo gubernatorial race by relatively unknown Shinji Ishimaru, a former mayor of a small city in Hiroshima Prefecture, who had no support from any major political party.

Although he finished behind Gov. Yuriko Koike, who was reelected with the ruling bloc's support, Ishimaru used live YouTube streams and short TikTok videos to secure second place ahead of Renho, a popular female politician backed by Japan's main opposition party.

In the House of Representatives election on Oct. 27, a small opposition group, the Democratic Party for the People, quadrupled its seats to 28, with its founder Yuichiro Tamaki, an active YouTuber since 2018, admitting he studied Ishimaru's social media tactics.

The analysts warn adept social media strategies by candidates could boost voter turnout or enhance their recognition, but opinions on the platforms can become biased and extreme when users seek attention to drive advertising revenue, harming proper democracy.

"What's important is that some people are using elections to make money" by posting related information online and "Japan's legislation does not prohibit it," said Jun Iio, a professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies.

Iio's observation is echoed by many other pundits as Saito's victory marked an unprecedented development with the entry of Takashi Tachibana, head of the fringe political group NHK Party, who said he did not want to be elected himself but aimed to help Saito succeed.

Tachibana, a controversial politician with over 600,000 YouTube subscribers, released more than 100 videos on the platform during the campaign, criticizing "old media" for "hiding the truth," while presenting what the pundits call information of unknown authenticity.

The clips were watched nearly 15 million times, more than ten times the number of views on Saito's own social media channel, the Net Communication Research Institute said, adding videos posted by Tachibana's followers also garnered millions of views.

The institute, a think tank analyzing internet communication, said, "The Hyogo gubernatorial election can be considered a turning point" where traditional media outlets "ceded the leading role in election coverage" to online platforms.

Another contention Iio raised is that news organizations, which take pride in providing evidence-based information, exercised restraint in their coverage during the campaign period to ensure "fair" reporting of publicly run elections.

"I think it means they are not fulfilling their duty" as journalists to improve how social media should be used during elections in a bid to prevent distorted information from being exploited by people attempting to benefit from the trend.

Efforts to thwart the spread of false rumors, slander and other forms of social media abuse designed to undermine candidates have become a new challenge in safeguarding the soundness of Japanese democracy during elections.

Kazumi Inamura, a former mayor of a Hyogo city who was initially seen as the front-runner in the gubernatorial race, said her loss to Saito was due in part to social media propagating misinformation, including a fabricated promise to allow foreign residents to vote if she was elected governor.

Yoshiaki Hashimoto, professor emeritus in social psychology at the University of Tokyo, said online content is dangerous because it contains more lies than traditional media, while those targeted find it difficult to defend themselves.

On social media, "once users resonate with a message, whether true or false, they tend to accept only information they are willing to regard as fact, blocking out anything that contradicts their perceptions," Hashimoto said.

He also cited the "echo-chamber" phenomenon, saying, "Users who believe in information in the same direction tend to exchange it and bond with each other, while becoming increasingly confrontational toward others who disagree."

In 2025, key political events, such as the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly and House of Councillors elections, are scheduled, with Hashimoto urging candidates to avoid slander on social media and focus more on clarifying their policy pledges.

Hashimoto said that if there is "unreliable" information on social media, news organizations should actively report it, along with evidence, to those who are convinced it is true, after thoroughly checking its accuracy.

(By Junko Horiuchi)