Attention Economy in Election

In the Tokyo gubernatorial election, officially called on June 20 and will be voted on July 7, strange phenomena appear in the campaigns of unusually too many candidates. On the boards for campaign posters installed along the streets in Tokyo, a lot of the same posters are posted on the blocks allocated to each candidate. A party that raised a number of candidates seemed to have sold anyone who donated to the party the space for advertising. It is an aspect of deteriorated democracy in Japan.

In every local and national election, each local election commission prepares public poster boards in the streets to let the voters know who have run for the election. Voters select one candidate to vote for, looking into the information on the posters such as name or face.

 

Candidate #1 attaches a poster at block #1 on the board. Candidate #2 does that at block #2. Tokyo Election Commission prepared those blocks for 48 candidates on one board. Those boards were built at 14 thousand places in Tokyo.

 

Although one board has only 48 blocks, 56 candidates actually ran for the election, exceeding the anticipation of the commission of Tokyo. It was unrealistic for the commission to immediately build additional boards right after they noticed the number of candidates. The commission asked candidates who were not allocated any block to attach theirs to periphery of the boards.

 

Why did so many candidates run for the election? A party protesting public broadcaster, NHK, raised 19 candidates for one seat of Tokyo governor. They, with their related organization, occupied 24 blocks out of 48 on each board. The party reportedly collected donations for them and distributed those blocks on the board to those donors. In other words, they have sold the blocks to the donors.

 

On some boards in downtown Tokyo, there appeared exactly the same 24 posters on one board, which were not related to the candidates of Tokyo gubernatorial election. It is supposed that someone who donated to the party was allowed attaching any posters on the blocks allocated to candidates of the party. The Public Offices Election Act does not have a provision to restrict such explicit disturbance of election campaign. Secretary General of the Liberal Democratic Party, Toshimitsu Motegi, indicated revision of the law.

 

There appeared another poster which showed a photo of a nearly-naked woman. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police warned the candidate that the poster would violate the nuisance prevention ordinance of Tokyo. One of the hopeful candidates, Renho, received a fax threatening with notice of killing her. Renho’s campaign released a comment that they would not give in those challenges against election which construct the basis of democracy.

 

A candidate from Party of Wing disturbed other candidates’ campaign with loud chanting and chasing campaign cars in the by-election of Tokyo 15^th district of the House of Representatives in April. Although the head was arrested after the by-election, he ran for the governor of Tokyo as a detainee.

 

It is generally called “attention economy,” which finds value in collecting attentions paid by public in a highly advanced data society. When one could get attention through election campaign, which requires relatively low cost, it may yield a great profit. Selling the space on election board or uploading the scene of disturbing other candidates on social networking service may make a business with sacrifice of democracy, whether or not they notice it.