憲法けんぽう記念きねん日び “選挙せんきょとSNS” 与野党よやとうの選挙せんきょ制度せいど改革かいかく責任せきにん者しゃが議論ぎろん

In NHKs Constitution Memorial Day special, the officials responsible for election system reform from both the ruling and opposition parties exchanged views on topics such as the use of social media in elections and whether or not it should be regulated.

LDP Election System Research Committee Chairman Aisawa said, As an excellent tool, it can contribute to the healthy development of elections, and positive aspects such as an increase in voter turnout can be appreciated.

However, elections must not be distorted by slander, false rumors, or the spread of misinformation.

First, the grip of existing laws such as the crime of publishing false information under the Public Offices Election Act and defamation under the Penal Code should be enforced.

And it is extremely important to take on the challenge of clarifying the responsibilities of social media operators.

I want both the ruling and opposition parties to come up with a solid answer, he said.

Deputy Representative Okushi of the Constitutional Democratic Party said, The influence of social media in elections is increasing. While it is good that information can be easily obtained, there is also the risk that a lot of people may go to vote based on uncertain information being spread.

It is necessary to regulate the relationship between social media and elections, and I think it would be appropriate to have something like third-party fact-checking as the regulating body.

Japan Innovation Party Policy Research Council Chairman Aoyagi of the Japan Innovation Party said, Its good to use social media and other platforms to learn about policies and candidates, but using social media for fake news or making money infringes on the rights of others.

If fake news is disseminated, Japan should also, to some extent, adopt the practice of imposing fines on those businesses, he said.

Komeitos House of Councillors Secretary-General Ishikawa said, In order to widely communicate the views of political parties and candidates to the public, we must further promote the use of social media.

The issue is how to balance this with the Constitution, particularly with freedom of expression.

He said, For items that do not lend themselves to legal regulation, one option might be to indicate an agreement similar to a gentlemens agreement between parties and leave it up to the voters decision.

Deputy Representative Furukawa of the Democratic Party for the People said, At this point, regulations should be approached with caution.

There are also advantages, such as SNS bringing politicians and voters closer together, and if regulations are imposed, it could lead to censorship of expression.

He stated, In the process of constitutional amendment, something like the responsibility of platformers should also be included as a way to guarantee human rights in the digital age.

Communist Party Secretary-General of the House of Councillors Inoue of the Communist Party said, In order to make use of the right to vote, voters need to participate in elections casually and from various perspectives, and SNS is a very important tool for that.

There are various issues, but we should consider our response while also doing what we can under the current laws, and regulations on freedom of expression should be approached with caution, he said.

Reiwa Shinsengumi Co-Representative Oishi of Reiwa Shinsengumi said, We cant establish laws unless we focus on and discuss the mechanism where a large amount of funds flows to someone, leading to the spread of disinformation and things with no public benefit, which even affects elections.

We should clarify this first, he said.

Sanseitō Representative Kamiya of the Sanseitō party said, Freedom of expression must be firmly protected, and the government must not engage in any censorship of speech on social media.

On the other hand, he said, When it comes to slander and the spread of false rumors on social media, we should properly establish rules such as eliminating anonymity, in order to ensure that everyone can freely express their opinions.

Representative Hyakuta of the Japan Conservative Party said, Not just on social media, but also on terrestrial TV, magazines, and newspapers, freedom of expression should of course be protected; however, freedom always comes with limits, so slander and defamation should be restricted by criminal law.

However, he said, You must never impose restrictions from the very beginning.

Social Democratic Party leader Fukushima said, The exercise of the peoples freedom of expression is important from the perspective of democracy.

Spreading misinformation can distort elections, so it must be stopped.

He stated, It is necessary to impose clear responsibility on platform operators to prevent the spread, conduct fact-checking, and check that fact-checking.