Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers
Misinformation and false rumors regarding the candidates in the Okinawa Prefecture gubernatorial election -- in which voting and ballot counting will take place on Sunday -- have become widespread on social media. The election campaign is effectively a head-to-head race between newcomer Genta Koja, 42, a former deputy mayor of prefectural capital Naha who cooperates with the central government and the ruling parties, and incumbent Governor Denny Tamaki, 66, who opposes them. Both camps have been hard-pressed to verify information on social media while also refuting and countering false claims.
"Building an Okinawa that serves the national interest." On Aug. 21, six days before the official start of the election campaign, an image featuring this slogan alongside a photo of Koja -- whose backers include the ruling Liberal Democratic Party -- was posted on X (formerly Twitter). Although his campaign had never issued such a message, the post went viral, sparking a wave of criticism directed at Koja, including comments such as, "Is he going to prioritize the interests of the nation over the people of Okinawa?"
According to the non-profit organization Japan Fact-check Center, the image is believed to have been created using generative AI. After the campaign team requested its removal, the poster apologized, writing, "I made this on my own because I thought he (Koja) would be good for Japan." Although the image was deleted, copies of it continue to circulate online.
Air base relocation
The planned relocation of the U.S. Futenma Air Station in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, to the Henoko district in Nago, also in Okinawa, has been one of the key issues in the election campaign. Though Tamaki opposes the relocation, a false post claiming he has decided to proceed with it has been spreading on X. The post is accompanied by an image from a news broadcast with a caption quoting Tamaki as saying, "Some say it is a wonderful and bold decision."
The decision to relocate the base was made by the national government in 1999, under an LDP administration. The image was taken from a news clip from 2010 showing Tamaki -- who was then a member of the House of Representatives belonging to the now-defunct Democratic Party of Japan -- discussing efforts by the government of that time, a DPJ administration, to explore relocating the base outside the prefecture.
The false post suggesting Tamaki had decided to support moving the base to Henoko was viewed approximately 2.24 million times, and it was flooded with comments slandering Tamaki, calling him "an outrageous opportunist" and similar epithets.
Desperate to put out the fire
The two campaigns are on high alert regarding social media.
A senior official with the Koja campaign said, "It's crucial to put out these fires before they spread," and that as soon as a false post is found, campaign members who are assembly members will use their personal accounts to refute it or demand its removal. The official cautioned, "If we let (these rumors) run rampant, there will be no stopping the spread of false information."
The Tamaki campaign maintains that disseminating information via Tamaki's X account -- which has over 120,000 followers -- is "most effective." An accident occurred in March in which two small boats capsized off the coast of Henoko, causing the deaths of a female high school student and one of the boat captains. As the vessels were operated by a group that is opposed to the air base relocation, a series of posts have appeared online slandering Tamaki as an "accomplice" to the accident. The campaign has said it will "take decisive action against malicious posts."
In addition to Koja and Tamaki, four newcomers -- including some running as independents and one affiliated with a party -- are also in the gubernatorial race.
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This article is from The Yomiuri Shimbun. Neither Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch, Barron's nor The Wall Street Journal were involved in the creation of this content.
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