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Japanese Political Candidates Go Dark Online

Posted by kdawson on from the sounds-relaxing-actually dept.

maximus1 writes "A 59-year-old election law prevents Japanese candidates from blogging and twittering during the campaigning window. So, on Tuesday, 1,370 Japanese will stop all online activity. Candidates get a brief slot on public television, usually in the early or late-night hours when few are watching, to make their pitch. The rest of the time is spent campaigning in neighborhoods, walking through the streets, and making speeches outside railway stations. If opinion polls are to be believed, the Aug. 30 election could be the law's last stand. Voter turnout among the young is poor, and some believe it's because the old-fashioned method of campaigning has failed to energize a population that is surrounded by digital media from the day they are born. 'The Internet must be made available for election campaigns as soon as possible,' the Asahi Shimbun, Japan's second-largest newspaper, wrote in a recent editorial."

17 of 91 comments (clear)

  1. To paraphrase... by rumith · · Score: 3, Funny

    In Japan, only old people vote.

  2. can we get that here, please? by petes_PoV · · Score: 4, Insightful
    What an excellent idea. Instead of saturating the media with insincere sound-bites from politicians who are judged more by their hair, makeup and height than their policies or competences, people actually get to meet the individuals they'll be voting for and are able to judge the person who wil represent them.

    Maybe what we need is a news blackout on anything political as soon as an election is called. Make the candidates work for their election and getting comment from real people.. They'll still lie through their teeth, but they'll have to do it up-front and personal, to the voters - which is a much less forgiving environment.

    --
    politicians are like babies' nappies: they should both be changed regularly and for the same reasons
    1. Re:can we get that here, please? by CRCulver · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Instead of saturating the media with insincere sound-bites from politicians who are judged more by their hair, makeup and height than their policies or competences, people actually get to meet the individuals they'll be voting for and are able to judge the person who wil [sic] represent them.

      People will still have little to judge the politicians on than their personal appearance. It's not like the politicians actually have time to discuss serious policy when they do these neighbourhood walks. It's just smiles, handshakes and exhortations "Vote for me".

    2. Re:can we get that here, please? by eheien · · Score: 5, Informative

      I'm guessing you don't live in Japan, because if you did you'd probably think otherwise. Unless you like hearing endless parades of megaphone blasting vans, with high pitched voice women screaming nothing but "Please vote for Tanaka! Thank you! Please vote for Tanaka! Thank you!".

      And if you want to talk about judging politicians by their hair, former Prime Minister Koizumi was known as "Lionheart" because of his hairstyle. Most Japanese I've spoken to identify him merely by his hair, and can't name a single policy he enacted. In almost all respects, I'd say the Japanese system is a good example of what to avoid rather than emulate.

    3. Re:can we get that here, please? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      On the contrary, the megaphone vans is an excellent system for weeding out bad candidates.

      In the days before an election, I'd sleep in in the morning, with a notepad next to my bed. Every time I'm awakened by one of those vans, I write the candidate's name on the notepad and go back to sleep. Come election day, I go to the voting booth and pick the best guy on the ballot who is NOT on the notepad. Serves the sleep-disturbing selfish dickwads right.

    4. Re:can we get that here, please? by Rogerborg · · Score: 2, Insightful

      So, basically you only want career politicians (or students or similar worthless types) to get into office?

      In your scheme, how does someone who's currently working in an actual job find the time to knock on enough doors?

      --
      If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
    5. Re:can we get that here, please? by Attila+Dimedici · · Score: 3, Insightful

      What an excellent idea. Instead of saturating the media with insincere sound-bites from politicians who are judged more by their hair, makeup and height than their policies or competences, people actually get to meet the individuals they'll be voting for and are able to judge the person who wil represent them.

      Maybe what we need is a news blackout on anything political as soon as an election is called. Make the candidates work for their election and getting comment from real people.. They'll still lie through their teeth, but they'll have to do it up-front and personal, to the voters - which is a much less forgiving environment.

      Right, that way only incumbents will be able to easily get their names in front of people. Even better, then the politicians can pass all the laws that will make people howl during the news blackout. Man, you are a genius, the politicians would love a law like that.

      --
      The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
    6. Re:can we get that here, please? by SydShamino · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The same problem happens all over the U.S. already, though, through policies enacted by the "enraged public":

        - In Texas, legislators are paid around $30k per year, but can't hold a regular job during lege years. I think you have to be self-employed, independently wealthy, or retired to run and hold office.
        - Across the country, term limits force someone who perhaps left their actual job to immediately start looking for another job. Of course, many companies won't want to hire a regular 8-to-5 grunt who just happened to have been a state senator first, because the person will just leave again. And that assumes the person, after two, four, or six years or longer in the government has the technical skills to return to their old profession.
        - Not to mention that campaigning today requires nearly full-time work from the candidates anyway, which again means they have to be self-employed in a business that mostly runs itself (i.e. law partner, insurance agent), or be independently wealthy, or already be a politician.

      The summary is that the election system is designed to allow, for the most part, only certain types into office. Regular people who need a job to pay their bills can't and won't be able to run for and hold office.

      --
      It doesn't hurt to be nice.
  3. Real Reason for the Law by BBCWatcher · · Score: 5, Informative

    The law was put in place primarily as an incumbent protection scheme, to prevent those pesky opposition candidates from unnecessarily agitating those pesky voters. Many forms of overt political expression are banned or curtailed. Even billboard advertising, for example, is highly restricted. The law worked: the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has ruled Japan for about 99% of the post-war period. However, on August 30th, the LDP is looking especially past its sell-by date, so it could well be a historic change election.

    1. Re:Real Reason for the Law by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      This is definitely not true. The laws which regulate the election advertisements where largely introduced in the 1990s by the LDPs opposing parties. In this time the LDP was for the first time since more than three decades removed from the government by the voters, because of several bribery scandals. The coalition of several other parties then reformed the election system to reduce the power of the LDP. In this reform the laws regulating campaigning before an election where severely tightened.

    2. Re:Real Reason for the Law by Abcd1234 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Indeed. Specifically, laws which restrict campaign advertising and so forth put the parties on even footing, as otherwise a large incumbent party could easily out-spend and out-advertise the smaller parties.

      Of course, the Internet is a whole other ballgame. Anyone can publish on the web, and so while I can understand the restrictions placed on, for example, TV advertising, they make little sense when applied to the Internet.

    3. Re:Real Reason for the Law by Attila+Dimedici · · Score: 3, Insightful

      This is definitely not true. The laws which regulate the election advertisements where largely introduced in the 1990s by the LDPs opposing parties.

      From the summary, "A 59-year-old election law prevents Japanese candidates from blogging and twittering during the campaigning window." I checked the article actually says the same thing. Now according to the math I was taught 1990 was only 29 years ago, so I either the article got it wrong when the law was passed, or you are talking about something other than what the poster you responded to (and both the summary and the article) was.

      --
      The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
    4. Re:Real Reason for the Law by JanneM · · Score: 2, Interesting

      If that happens it would be remarkable, given that the party (MinshutÅ) expected to win is a spin-off from the LDP. Like the LDP it consists of factions, and the two that are by far the largest back members (Hatoyama and Ozawa) who started off in the LDP. Better to think of it as LDP Lite.

      Actually, whatever the faults of the DPJ (and they are legion), there is a great deal of value simply in changing ruling parties at all. The nearly unbroken rule is by now bad for Japan and bad for the LDP as well. They're so enmeshed with the bureaucracy (and the bureaucracy so politicized) that they really can't change themselves or the current system any more.

      I wrote up a summary of the parties and issues at play in the current election here: http://janneinosaka.blogspot.com/2009/07/all-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about.html

      For real in-depth coverage (and I mean in depth) in English, check out Tobias Harris' blog here: http://www.observingjapan.com/

      ps. The Happiness Realization Party is really quite insane. They want preventative nukes and predict Atlantis will reappear in 2400 once the US (but, note, not Canada or Mexico) sinks into the ocean, at which point Martin Luther, Jesus and aliens from outer space will return to earth. That kind of thinking par for the course for a religion of course, but somewhat outside the mainstream for a political party. ds.

      --
      Trust the Computer. The Computer is your friend.
  4. Wait, what? by danhm · · Score: 4, Funny

    Japan outlawed political candidates from using Twitter 59 years ago, eh?

    1. Re:Wait, what? by lxs · · Score: 3, Funny

      Well Japan was always ahead of the rest of the world technologically.

  5. Walking? by Asahi+Super+Dry · · Score: 3, Funny

    Walking around neighborhoods? More like driving around in vans with obnoxious loudspeakers. The campaign posters are funny, too. It's obvious that they're heavily regulated as to content and layout. Candidate name, picture, office desired, party name, brief generic slogan. It's like the elections are designed to be boring. I'm almost glad I can't vote...

  6. Only for Documents and Figures by s09 · · Score: 5, Informative

    That old law is just prohibiting distribution of documents and figures, and actually some candidates just put audio files on their web and did not get arrested. So, if you want to make some yen, you can launch strictly-sound-only-twitter service.