- Tokyo residents say the campaign is going above and beyond traditional election campaigns, with more than 14,000 billboards set up just for the election period featuring pictures of nearly naked women, dogs and AI characters.
- Online campaign videos have also been criticized, with some voters finding the unorthodox campaign tactics irritating but some politicians saying it’s the only way to gain attention with a record 56 candidates in the running.
- Tokyo wields outsized political and cultural power in Japan and its policies influence national politics.
Tokyo will elect a new governor this weekend, but residents say they are seeing more personal advertising than ever before – featuring nearly naked women in provocative poses, pets, AI characters and a man practicing his golf swing – outweighing serious electioneering.
It’s impossible to ignore. Because internet campaigning is still relatively new, candidates traditionally promote themselves using the more than 14,000 campaign billboards. These makeshift billboards are only up for the short duration of the election, giving them valuable exposure in a city already saturated with advertising.
But this year’s anomalies – particularly the fact that non-candidates rented billboard space – have led residents to inundate campaign offices with angry calls and messages.
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“It’s unpleasant and embarrassing as a Japanese person. I see a lot of foreign tourists passing by the billboard and wondering what’s going on,” said Mayumi Noda, an office worker. “As a voter, I think this is outrageous and disrespectful to the other candidates who are running seriously.”
A record 56 candidates are running in Sunday’s election, including incumbent Gov. Yuriko Koike, who is seeking her third four-year term. Many of the candidates are fringe figures or influencers seeking greater name recognition.
With a population of 13.5 million, Tokyo wields enormous political and cultural influence within Japan: its budget is equal to that of some countries, and Tokyo policies influence national politics.
A passerby looks at a billboard displaying election posters for the Tokyo gubernatorial election on July 1, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Just hours after the official election campaign began on June 20, residents were greeted with an astounding number of posters, some of which were unclear whether the people behind them were candidates or simply publicity stunts.
One billboard displayed a lewd poster for an adult store. Another featured nearly nude female models in provocative poses and the message “Stop restricting free speech.” Photos of pet dogs and female kickboxers were displayed. A candidate calling himself AI Mayor used an image of a metallic humanoid.
Election videos have also come under criticism. In one video, female candidate Airi Uchino says, “I’m very cute, so please watch the election broadcast,” and repeats her name in a high-pitched anime-like voice, asking voters to be her friends on social media. Uchino then takes off her clothes and puts on a beige tube top.
In another video, a male candidate representing the so-called “Golf Party” talks about his policies while occasionally practicing his golf swing.
Under the 1950 Public Offices Election Law, candidates in Japan are free to say anything they want, so long as they do not endorse other candidates or publish content that is obviously false or defamatory.
The intensification of campaigning this year is partly linked to an upstart conservative party that has fielded 24 candidates in the Tokyo gubernatorial race and is renting out half of the 48 squares on Tokyo’s election billboards for candidates to put up posters to anyone, including non-candidates, for a fee.
Such unexpected approaches are not regulated.
Rental rates start at about $155 per location per day, party leader Takashi Tachibana said.
“If it’s not unique, it won’t attract media attention,” Tachibana said in a YouTube comment posted on the party’s website.
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“The purpose is to behave immorally and reprehensibly in order to attract attention,” said Ryosuke Nishida, a professor at Nihon University and an expert on politics and media. “The reason some people find these performances funny is because they believe their opposing opinions will not be taken into account by politicians or existing political parties and will not be reflected in their politics.”
In a park near Tokyo’s busy Shimbashi Station, passersby glanced at a campaign sign with a poster of a dog plastered halfway across it.
“I don’t decide who to vote for by looking at the faces on the posters,” said plumber Kunihiko Imada, “but I still think these signs are being misused.”
