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Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and her government have become the focus of a coordinated, long-term online smear campaign orchestrated by thousands of social media accounts, according to new research.
A study by Tokyo-based Japan Nexus Intelligence, which analyses digital public discourse, found that about 3,000 accounts had been actively posting malicious content about Takaichi since late January.
The activity surged roughly a week before campaigning for the House of Representatives election began on Jan 27, the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported on Monday (Feb 23).
Posts in both English and Japanese circulated a range of claims, including that “the prime minister has opened the path to military expansion and historical revisionism”, that she “bought votes from the Unification Church” and that “social security burdens on the younger generation are increasing”.
The Japanese-language messages exhibited awkward phrasing and linguistic quirks that suggested machine translation, as well as the use of simplified Chinese characters not found in Japan. The account names blended Japanese katakana script with Chinese characters, known as kanji.
Roughly one-third of the accounts generated original posts, while the rest amplified them through reposts. Most had only a few entries each, a pattern analysts said reflected an effort to avoid detection.
“Using the same account for mass posting risks detection and suspension by platform operators,” Nyuguchi Nanasae, a senior analyst at Japan Nexus Intelligence, said in the survey report.
“They likely suppressed posting volume while using multiple accounts,” Nyuguchi said. “The activity continues, suggesting a long-term operation.”
A separate investigation by the Nikkei Shimbun on Sunday documented similar disinformation efforts in the weeks leading up to the vote.
Using data analysis tools from US firm Meltwater, Nikkei identified 394 accounts propagating anti-Takaichi hashtags such as “Traitor Takaichi”, “Resign Takaichi” and “Takaichi is a cult follower”.
Most of those posts also used simplified Chinese characters and a grammar more typical of Chinese-language usage, the newspaper said.
Three-quarters of the accounts were reportedly created after December, indicating a rapid build-up ahead of the election period.
The analysis found that 59 images accompanying the posts were generated by artificial intelligence. Many portrayed China’s military and economic prowess or highlighted divisive themes within Japanese society, including anger over US military bases in Okinawa, alleged election fraud and the problem of karoshi, or death by overwork.
A central narrative linked Takaichi to the Unification Church, repeatedly referencing a “TM Special Report” – a document leaked amid South Korean prosecutors’ investigations into the church – which purportedly detailed lobbying activities by church officials in Seoul and Tokyo.
Nikkei’s report concluded that the overall influence of the online campaign was limited.
Still, Takaichi’s administration plans to strengthen Japan’s intelligence apparatus by elevating the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office into a new National Intelligence Bureau to counter foreign information threats.
This article was first published on SCMP.
