Japan's political parties seek to regulate social media use during elections

Japan's ruling and opposition parties are seeking to regulate social media to curb the impact of illegal or false information during elections, local media reported.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party, its junior ruling coalition partner the Japan Innovation Party, and four opposition parties on Wednesday submitted to parliament a bill to revise regulations on social media use in elections, Tokyo-based Kyodo News reported.

The bill aims to introduce measures to obligate media operators to curb the impact of illegal or false information on electoral fairness.

It states that internet users must not spread false information about candidates or distort facts in a way that undermines fairness in an election.

Other measures include requiring users to indicate when they have posted images or videos that have been created or modified using artificial intelligence.

The proposed revisions are likely to clear the parliament during the current session through July 17.

Once enacted, the government plans to enforce the changes by March 1, 2027, ahead of unified local elections in the spring seen as the next key electoral event in Japan's political calendar.