By YUTA KAYABA/ Staff Writer
June 6, 2022 at 17:53 JST
A venue for the Liberal Democratic Party’s campaign speech meeting in the metaverse (Yuta Kayaba)
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s Youth Division on June 5 hosted a campaign speech meeting in the metaverse on the internet, the first time for a political party to do so, according to the LDP.
Taro Kono, chairman of the LDP Public Relations Headquarters, and Karen Makishima, minister of the Digital Agency, joined the meeting as avatars.
“People say the Liberal Democratic Party is a conservative party, but we need to actively take in new things, too,” Kono said during the meeting.
The party said 500 people attended the meeting, which was the maximum the system allowed to have in attendance.
Kono and others joined the meeting from a studio in Tokyo through wearing a sensor and virtual reality goggles.
The party’s campaign vehicle and candidates' banners were reproduced in 3-D.
Party officials said it felt as if the meeting were real through reactions from the participants who virtually clapped hands and cheered using penlights.
Kono appeared to be initially confused, but he seemed to become accustomed to operating the system. He made his avatar jump and speak with gestures.
After the meeting, Kono told reporters that a metaverse meeting “is the best (campaign strategy) for the Upper House’s proportional-representation constituency because people can attend from around the country.”
Kono added that a metaverse meeting “can be fully utilized to explain policies.”
Abe, defending Abenomics, rails against ‘idiotic’ LDP draft report
June 3, 2022
Diet Speaker Hosoda denies claims of sexual harassment
May 26, 2022
Survey: Kishida Cabinet approval rating increases to high of 59%
May 23, 2022
Hayashi attends inauguration ceremony in South Korea
May 10, 2022
Abe to lead own LDP faction by taking over largest bloc
November 10, 2021
Sony invests an extra $1 billion in ‘Fortnite’ creator Epic Games
April 13, 2022
Here is a collection of first-hand accounts by “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors.
A peek through the music industry’s curtain at the producers who harnessed social media to help their idols go global.
Cooking experts, chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life.
A series based on diplomatic documents declassified by Japan’s Foreign Ministry
A series about Japanese-Americans and their memories of World War II
