LDP fund scandal, Centrist party security policy rapped on social media

Using social media analysis tool Brandwatch, Jiji Press assessed posts made on X, formerly Twitter, in the three days from Tuesday, when the official campaign period for the election for the all-important lower chamber of the country's parliament began.

Of some 5.27 million posts mentioning political parties, those discussing the six policy fields of foreign nationals, consumption tax, politics and money, national security, the Constitution and social insurance premiums were analysed.

The topic of politics and money was mentioned in 30 % of all LDP-related posts, higher than the average of 19 % for all political parties.

One social media post said that "zombie" LDP members embroiled in the party's high-profile "slush funds" scandal are "plotting a comeback" as lawmakers, while another questioned whether the party really believes that the money issue has been put to rest.

Some posts discussed policies toward foreigners in Japan, with some calling the LDP a "pro-immigration" party.

The majority of the X posts about Sanseito and the Conservative Party of Japan focused on policies toward foreigners, reflecting the two parties' stances on the issue.

About 18 % of the posts related to the Centrist Reform Alliance, formed by the major opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito, the LDP's former coalition partner, were on security policies, higher than the all-party average of 8 %.

Some posts said the new party "lacks a clear policy belief" about national security, after the CDP changed its view that Japan's national security laws, which allow the country to exercise its right to collective self-defence under certain conditions, are unconstitutional.

Many of the posts that mentioned the Democratic Party for the People, the Japan Innovation Party and Team Mirai were on the social insurance premiums, which have gained keen attention from the working generations.

While some voiced hopes for a cut in the premium burden amid inflation, others questioned the responsibility of the JIP after some local assembly members of the party, the new coalition partner of the LDP, were found to have evaded payments of premiums of the "kokumin kenko hoken" national health insurance program.

The number of X posts mentioning the LDP was the largest among all parties, at about 2.05 million, followed by the Centrist Reform Alliance, with some 1.01 million posts, Sanseito, with about 850,000 posts, and the JIP, with some 610,000 posts.

Reiwa Shinsengumi, the Conservative Party of Japan and the Japanese Communist Party each gained some 500,000 posts, followed by the DPFP, the Social Democratic Party, Team Mirai and a new party formed by former internal affairs minister Kazuhiro Haraguchi and former Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]