Tokyo gubernatorial elections have long had bizarre moments and unorthodox candidates.

But the July 7 election, featuring rampant nonpolitical advertisements and often lurid themes, was considered such a circus that political parties are calling for changes to the Public Offices Election Law.

“The attention-seeking social media world overflowed into the public space,” Toko Tanaka, a professor of media studies at the University of Tokyo, said in summing up the election.

However, the tricky part in possibly revising the law is how to maintain its key principles: ensuring fairness in elections and protecting freedom of speech.

BILLBOARD CONFUSION

A record high 56 candidates ran for the governor’s seat, creating the first problem for election officials.

Under the law, all official candidates must be given equal-sized squares for their campaign posters on election billboards.

Many billboards in the capital did not have enough space for that many candidates, so makeshift slots were created.

It turned out that many candidates had no intention of using the billboard spaces to promote their candidacies.

NHK kara Kokumin wo Mamoru To, a political organization that ran on an anti-Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) message, fielded 24 candidates and sold their allocated poster spaces to “anyone willing to donate to the group.”

As a result, pictures of cats and dogs, advertisements for local businesses, including sex-industry services, and other things unrelated to the election were displayed alongside incumbent Yuriko Koike and other candidates.

The weirdness extended beyond the poster boards.

Individual candidates and parties are allotted equal time to deliver speeches on “seiken hoso” broadcast programs on TV. Under the Public Offices Election Law, broadcasters are not allowed to edit the contents of the messages.

One female candidate removed her clothing and asked voters if she was cute. A male candidate simply screamed at the camera.

The metropolitan government’s Election Administration Commission said it received about 1,200 complaints and inquiries from residents about the posters in the first two days of the campaign, which officially started on June 20.

But a metropolitan official revealed the difficult position facing the government.

“Just contacting a candidate’s office could be called election interference,” the official said.

Warnings can be issued to candidates if the size of their posters and other things violate laws, “but we can’t go into the content of the posters,” the official said.

“Freedom of election” is a fundamental principle of the Public Offices Election Law.

Although there are regulations concerning the location and size of campaign posters, the content of posters is, in principle, unrestricted as long as it is not false or libelous.

Since the creators of the law never envisioned the campaign poster spaces would be “bought and sold,” there are no regulations regarding such acts.

The rules also stipulate that political opinion broadcasts and election bulletins should not be altered or edited by election officials.

Shoko Omori, a full-time lecturer in political behavior at Hosei University, said the antics during the campaign that took advantage of election freedom could have serious consequences.

The series of problems “may lead to a vicious cycle that lowers trust in politics and the electoral system, creates cynicism, and drives people further away from politics,” Omori said.

THE ‘DON’T’ ELECTION LAW

The law not only emphasizes “freedom” in terms of content, it also stresses “equality among candidates.”

Rules governing election campaigns in Japan are more complicated and stricter than those in other countries.

Therefore, the Public Offices Election Law has been called “a collection of don’ts.”

For example, “door-to-door canvassing” at voters’ homes by campaign staff and volunteers, which is the norm in the United States and Britain, is prohibited in Japan, in part to prevent bribery.

Also, campaigning activities in Japan are not permitted before the official campaign period starts.

To prevent richer candidates and parties from gaining an advantage, the law bans TV advertisements and limits the number of leaflets that can be sent out during campaigns.

Japanese elections are held under public management.

In the Tokyo gubernatorial election, candidates are offered free access to the seiken hoso broadcasts and election bulletins. The poster display sites are provided by local governments.

Including these expenses, the budget for the July 7 gubernatorial election exceeded 5.9 billion yen ($36.5 million).

CAUTION URGED

In light of what transpired during the election, which was won by Koike, major parties called for a review of the rules.

Toshimitsu Motegi, secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said, “It is necessary to consider revising the Public Offices Election Law.”

Keiichi Ishii, secretary-general of Komeito, the LDP’s junior coalition partner, said his party will soon set up a study group to start discussions on revising the law at an extraordinary Diet session in autumn.

Others are more cautious.

Katsuya Okada, secretary-general of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, agreed on the need to change the law but called for careful discussions.

“We must avoid any intervention by public authority as much as possible,” he said.

Masahito Tadano, a professor at Hitotsubashi University who specializes in the Public Offices Election Law, said Japan is not the only country suffering from an “insult” to elections and democracy.

But he also called for a cautious approach.

“The decline in trust in politics has allowed such behavior to seem amusing. While it may be necessary to consider plugging the ‘holes’ for the time being, it would be a mistake to make elections more difficult by tightening the restrictions even further,” he said.

(This article was written by Nobufumi Yamada, Takuro Negishi, Nozomi Matsui and Shiori Tabuchi.)