Japan Press Weekly

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2013 January 30 - February 5 TOP3 [POLITICS]

Liberalizing online election campaign is commonsense move: JCP Ichida

Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi on February 4 told reporters that it is a matter of course to lift the ban on the use of the Internet in election campaigns.

At present, the Public Offices Election Law prohibits election campaigners including candidates from making use of e-mail and SNS such as Facebook or Twitter.

Ichida said, “The current election law puts a ban on canvassing door to door at all times and delivering to each family leaflets on which a candidate’s name is printed during election campaigns. The law should be revised to allow each political party to present its policies and discuss them with voters without any restrictions, especially during election campaigns.”

Referring to possible problems associated with the removal of the ban, such as spoofing or violent abuses on the Internet, Ichida stated that it is necessary to consider implementing regulations to prevent such abuses.

The governing Liberal Democratic Party has recently compiled a bill to amend the law. The LDP plans to call for cooperation from other parties aiming at passing the bill by this summer’s Upper House election.