Politician caught with bogus posts of support.

A short while ago, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced he would be stepping down as the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and as the Prime Minister of Japan. He will leave behind a legacy of mediocracy the likes of which hasn’t been seen since his predecessor, “Tax-Hiking Glasses-Face,” or “Uncle Reiwa” before him.

This means that it’s time for another eager politician to take the reins and probably bring about very little change to the many problems facing Japan. There are currently five people in the running, with the two front-runners being former Abe Cabinet member Sanae Takaichi and current agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi.

▼ Koizumi (left) and an especially sleepy-looking Ishiba (right)

For a moment, Koizumi seemed to have the edge on Takaichi until it was learned that his campaign had instructed members to go online and post positive messages about him under the guise of being regular Internet users in an unethical marketing practice known as “astroturfing” or more commonly in Japan as “stealth marketing.”

It was alleged that campaign members had been requested to post messages on video hosting site Nico Nico Douga, such as “He’s definitely going to become leader,” “He’s put in the work and has grown because of it,” and “Don’t be fooled by fake career-chasers.” Although no name was mentioned, that last comment appeared to be a shot at Koizumi’s main rival candidate Takaichi.

On 25 September, Koizumi’s campaign admitted that some members had instructed others to post messages like the ones above, but Koizumi himself gave a press conference saying that he had no prior knowledge of the comments and would work hard to prevent it from happening again as he continues to run for Prime Minister.

Considering the politics currently being practiced around the world, this might seem like innocuous or even expected behavior for politicians. However, in Japan, the outcry against Koizumi has been fierce. “Drop out of the race” (shutsuba jitai) has been the top trending term on Twitter since Koizumi’s campaign admitted to the astroturfing. Individual comments tend to range from condemning Koizumi to indifference about who becomes Prime Minister in any situation.

“How can someone running for Prime Minister be unaware of something like this? Please drop out.”
“You can’t commit election fraud and keep running. Just drop out!”
“The best way to prevent this from happening again is by dropping out of the race!”
“If they had only posted positive things about Koizumi, it probably would have just been embarrassing. But attacking Takaichi is despicable and unforgivable.”
“I believe he wasn’t involved in this. He’s not smart enough.”
“This was an act of disrupting public discourse that shakes the very foundations of our democracy.”
“It doesn’t matter who’s Prime Minister anyway. Might as well have someone who looks good.”
“Honestly, I think if Koizumi steps down, it would show character and improve his image. He’s still young and can try again later.”
“He’s definitely going to become leader. He’s put in the work and has grown because of it. Don’t be fooled by fake career-chasers.”

I was about to say that getting involved in the unethical act of injecting false information into the public is unbecoming of a Prime Minister and that he should fully own up to the transgressions of his team and his own oversights by dropping out, but that last comment made some really good points, and I’m starting to have second thoughts about Koizumi.

Source: Nikkan Sports, Hachima Kiko, Twitter/#出馬辞退, Yahoo! Japan News
Featured image: Pakutaso
Insert images: Wikipedia/PMO
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