Survey Reveals Widespread Belief in False Information During Japan’s Election

Nearly 90% of Japanese Voters Believed Election Misinformation, Study Finds

A comprehensive survey conducted by Toyo University has revealed an alarming trend in Japan’s information ecosystem: almost 90% of people who encountered fake information during the last House of Representatives election campaign believed it to be true.

The nationwide study, which polled 1,800 respondents across Japan, found that more than half of participants reported exposure to false information during the election period. Among those exposed, an overwhelming 89% accepted the misinformation as factual.

Professor Morihiro Ogasahara, who spearheaded the research, highlighted the concerning implications. “In today’s environment, there is a lot of unverified information circulating, and this trend intensifies during election periods,” he explained. The professor emphasized that media organizations must implement more efficient fact-checking systems and improve their efforts to educate voters about information verification during electoral campaigns.

One particularly widespread false narrative claimed that “high apartment prices are caused by foreigners buying them for speculative purposes.” This misinformation reached approximately 44% of survey respondents, with nearly 90% accepting it as fact despite its unsubstantiated nature.

Other popular fabrications that gained traction included assertions that “closing the Children and Families Agency would save enough money for tax cuts” and that “a video showing a crowd at a political speech was artificially generated using AI technology.” These falsehoods also achieved high believability rates among those who encountered them.

The survey identified television as the primary source of information for 33% of respondents, followed by news websites and apps (23%), and social media platforms (20%). This multi-channel distribution of misinformation presents a significant challenge for fact-checkers and media literacy advocates.

Particularly troubling was the finding that even when media outlets attempted to correct misinformation through fact-checking efforts, the false narratives often remained more memorable to consumers than the corrections. This “continued influence effect” of misinformation has been documented in previous studies and represents a persistent challenge in combating false information.

The study comes amid growing global concerns about misinformation’s impact on democratic processes. Japan, despite having high literacy rates and a developed media landscape, appears increasingly vulnerable to the same information integrity challenges faced by democracies worldwide.

Media experts suggest the findings should prompt a reevaluation of how news organizations approach fact-checking and information verification, particularly during sensitive political periods. Some advocate for more proactive approaches, including real-time fact-checking during political debates and improved media literacy education in schools.

The research also highlights the complex relationship between traditional and digital media in the spread of misinformation. While social media is often blamed for facilitating false information, the study indicates that mainstream news sources also play a significant role in inadvertently amplifying unverified claims.

As Japan prepares for future elections, these findings underscore the urgent need for multi-stakeholder approaches to combat misinformation—involving media organizations, technology platforms, educational institutions, and government agencies working within appropriate constitutional boundaries.

The original research was reported by Ryota Saito of the Tokyo City News Department and published by The Mainichi, one of Japan’s major national newspapers.