90% of Voters Misled by False Information in Japan General Election, Survey Finds

Nearly 90% of Voters Believed False Information During Japan’s Election, Study Finds

A significant majority of Japanese voters who encountered false information during the recent House of Representatives election campaign believed it to be accurate, according to a new study by Toyo University. The findings highlight growing concerns about misinformation’s impact on democratic processes in Japan.

The research team, led by socio-informatics professor Morihiro Ogasahara, surveyed 1,800 people aged 18 to 79 across Japan in the three days following the February 8 election. Of the 1,793 valid responses, more than half reported exposure to at least one piece of false information during the campaign period. Alarmingly, 89.4% of those exposed to such content believed it was true.

“Because there was so little time before voting day, even when media outlets conducted fact-checks and dispelled false or misleading information, it may not have spread sufficiently,” noted Professor Ogasahara, explaining why debunking efforts may have fallen short.

The most prevalent piece of misinformation, seen by 44.4% of respondents, claimed that “soaring apartment prices are driven by foreigners purchasing them for speculative purposes.” Nearly 90% of those who encountered this claim mistakenly accepted it as factual. The researchers attributed the high exposure rate to both ruling and opposition parties advocating for regulations on foreign real estate purchases in their campaign platforms, lending a veneer of legitimacy to the unsubstantiated claim.

Other widely circulated false claims included assertions that “abolishing the Children and Families Agency would cover the funding sources for tax cuts,” with 72.8% of those exposed believing it to be true, and that “video footage of a crowd at the Centrist Reform Alliance’s street speech was created using artificial intelligence,” which 67% of those who saw it accepted as fact.

Television emerged as the primary source of misinformation, cited by 32.7% of respondents who encountered false content. News websites and apps followed at 22.7%, while social media platforms not affiliated with political parties or candidates accounted for 20% of exposure. Video-sharing websites represented 6.2% of cases. These findings mirror the results from a similar survey conducted following Japan’s House of Councillors election in 2025.

The high proportion of respondents citing traditional media as their source of misinformation presents a paradox. It suggests that when news outlets report on false claims in order to debunk them, viewers and readers may remember the sensational false claim rather than the correction that accompanied it. This “backfire effect” poses a significant challenge for media organizations attempting to combat misinformation.

The study comes amid growing international concern about the role of misinformation in democratic processes, with social media platforms and artificial intelligence technologies making it increasingly difficult for voters to distinguish between reliable and false information. Japan’s compressed election cycle appears to exacerbate the problem, leaving little time for corrections to reach voters before they cast their ballots.

“In today’s environment, there is a vast volume of unverified information circulating, and this trend intensifies during election periods,” Professor Ogasahara explained. “To ensure that reports to dispel fake or false information that have already spread reach the public faster and without misunderstanding, media organizations are urged to conduct fact-checking even more swiftly during elections and further refine their reporting methods.”

The findings underscore the urgent need for enhanced media literacy among voters and more effective strategies for communicating fact-checks during high-stakes political campaigns. As Japan continues to navigate the challenges of the digital information age, the integrity of its democratic processes may increasingly depend on these efforts.