Tokyo’s Election Poster Boards are Out of Control

Japan election board poster
A legal loophole has enabled one party to "hijack" the official election boards for the Tokyo governor's race. The result is pure chaos.

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Official election boards are common in Japan. The large white boards set up throughout Japan’s neighborhoods are the only places candidates running for office are legally allowed to post posters promoting their candidacy.

However, one political party is doing the best it can to create chaos with the poster boards. Things have gotten so heated that some upset citizens have resorted to tearing the posters down – a serious crime.

What’s got everyone so upset? Most of the brouhaha boils down to one man.

Japan’s craziest crazy party

Tachibana Takashi and the Protect the People from the NHK Party

Like every democracy, Japan has a number of political parties and candidates whose only goal is attracting attention. Some of these candidates are making a statement on the larger system itself, critiquing how fundamentally broken things are. Others are advancing their own pet causes or conspiracy theories. Most, however, simply want to be seen – and make money off their newfound notoriety.

No party in Japan typifies the last sentence better than the so-called Protect the People from the NHK Party (NHKから国民を守る党; NHK kara kokumin o mamoru tou), or “N-Koku” for short. Founded by Tachibana Takashi, the party’s original mission was a sentiment many in Japan could get behind: preventing national broadcaster NHK from forcing people to pay licensing fees. However, it’s more known for its outrageous stunts and chronic instability than any policy initiatives.

N-Koku has been through several transformations. At one point, it renamed itself to the Female Politicians 48 Party (政治家女子48党; seijika joshi 48 tou), a clear reference to Japan’s popular large-scale idol groups like AKB48. Japanese YouTuber GaaSsy became one of its most famous elected members. However, he lost his seat after fleeing to Dubai to avoid charges of defamation and fraud.

Shortly after this, Tachibana lost control of Female Politicians 48 in a battle with then-party head Ootsu Ayaka over the party’s finances. Ootsu renamed the party to The Collaborative Party – Minna de Tsukuru Tou (みんなでつくる党), or Mintsuku for short. After the dust settled, Tachibana went back to running his own party under the N-Koku banner.

56 candidates. 48 spaces.

Tokyo governor election poster issue
This year’s Tokyo gubernatorial race is largely a battle between Renho and Koike Yuriko. (Pictures by the author)

The Tokyo gubernatorial election this year is largely seen as a race between incumbent Koike Yuriko, who’s looking for a third term, and liberal politician Renho. However, that hasn’t stopped other candidates from joining the race.

And when I say “other candidates,” I mean a lot of other candidates. A record 56 people are standing for election this year.

The record number immediately created problems for the metropolis’ official election boards. Japanese law restricts candidates for office who wish to promote their candidacy to putting posters on these boards. This prevents one candidate with more money and power from gaining an advantage by outspending their rivals. (Politicians can still more or less freely put up posters for themselves and their party for non-election purposes.)

The problem is that the boards in Tokyo are limited to 48 spaces. This means there aren’t enough spaces for all of the candidates.

Instead of expanding the boards, the Tokyo Election Board is asking candidates whose number extends beyond the board to put their posters in clear plastic files and tack them to the side. It’s a somewhat silly measure, especially when you consider Tokyo’s reputation for hellacious weather. At least one lawyer told Tokyo Shimbun that this may legally amount to unfair treatment of candidates.

Source: Unseen Japan official X account

Hijacking the Tokyo gubernatorial election boards

Tokyo governor election poster board in Ikebukuro
In one of the less egregious examples, a poster for the same N-Koku candidate, Fukushima Yuzuki, dominates the majority of slots on a poster board in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. (Picture: razorbeamz from the UJ Discord community; used by permission)

So what does this have to do with N-Koku?

Well, it turns out 30 of the candidates for Tokyo governor are N-Koku candidates.

And this, folks, is where things get wild.

Tachibana had each of the candidates he’s sponsoring agree not to put up their own posters. Instead, he’s told average citizens they can post whatever they want in the party’s spaces in exchange for a “donation.” In effect. he’s selling the spaces, treating the election poster space as a giant advertising billboard.

You might be wondering: Isn’t this illegal? Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be under current election law. Japan provides political candidates a lot of latitude in what they put in their poster spaces out of deference to free speech rights. So long as the posters don’t violate “public morality,” election officials will allow them.

However, some of N-Koku’s ads cross a clear moral line. In one case reported on social media, the party used the space for an ad that read, “Check out my cute little political broadcast!” The poster included a QR code to a shady-looking smartphone app that requires a subscription.

Source: User @sxzBST on X

In another case, kickboxer Panchan Rina used the spaces she secured from N-Koku to advertise JobIt, a job placement service. The commercialization of the poster boards drew an extremely negative reaction from netizens and news commentators in Japan, who argue – rightly – that this was never the board’s intended purpose.

Source: Unseen Japan official X account

Experimenting with the limits of free speech

Tachibana, being the petty person he is, isn’t just using the boards as high-dollar ad space. He’s also using it to attack his White Whale, Ootsu Ayaka. Ootsu herself posted a video on X of a wall of posters with her face on them and copy reading, “Ootsu Ayaka! Give the money back!”

Ootsu Ayaka tweet on X
Source: Ootsu Ayaka’s official X account

Tachibana accuses Ootsu of “stealing” the money that belonged to Female Politicians 48 when she locked him out of the party’s accounts. Ootsu maintains she was the rightful head of the party and that Tachibana’s posters amount to defamation.

N-Koku aren’t the only ones playing fast and loose with the poster rules, though. Candidate Kawai Yusuke, famous for cosplaying as Joker, The Mask, and other characters, gave some of his spaces to self-proclaimed “do-anything girl” Sakurai Miu. Sakurai used the spaces to tack up extremely racy advertisements. The posters address several issues, among them calling for an end to Japan’s law requiring censorship of explicit pornography and for legalizing prostitution.

Picture: Video posted to Kawai Yusuke’s official X account

Kawai and Sakurai agreed to take the ads down after a huge public outcry and under police threat of confiscation. However, complaints continue to flood in about N-Koku’s blatant misuse of the poster board system. Election Board officials say they’ve received over 1,000 complaints as of this week.

We’re not likely to see a major change to the postering law until the Tokyo election on July 7th. After that, however, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see lawmakers roll out proposed amendments to prevent future hijacking of the once-sacred space.

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What to read next

Sources

「こりゃひどい」カオスなポスター掲示板、解消する方法あるの? 苦情1000件でも現状では打つ手なし. Tokyo Shimbun

政治活動・選挙運動における、選挙ポスター掲示/貼付についてのルール. Senkyo.Win

こんなのOK!?ぱんちゃん璃奈が都知事選ポスター掲示場をジャック!その理由とは. eFight

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