A relatively new source of money could further complicate the debate on tightening the Political Fund Control Law.

A growing number of lawmakers and political parties are earning income from online streaming on social media platforms, but the law has no provisions on how--or even if--these funds should be reported.

Opposition parties are seeking to ban corporate and group donations to lawmakers to prevent corruption and favor-giving. But some experts said the funds gained from online activities could pose a bigger problem, given that they currently can be made anonymously.

Political fund reports filed for 2024 and disclosed in November showed lawmakers and parties have taken different approaches to revenue stemming from online videos and streaming.

ONLINE TIPPING

“Good evening, everyone,” Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People, said at the start of his YouTube livestream in early November.

After announcing that the ruling and opposition parties had agreed to abolish the old temporary gasoline tax, which DPP had long pushed for, viewers posted more than 800 comments.

One viewer even sent 10,000 yen ($64) through the Super Chat feature, essentially an online tipping service on YouTube.

When a viewer sends a comment along with a monetary tip, the comment is highlighted to stand out.

Part of the payment is collected by YouTube as a service fee. Those who posted the video receive the remaining amount.

If certain requirements, such as a minimum number of subscribers and total views, are met, the creators can also earn a share of advertising revenue generated by their videos.

Tamaki’s office said he has gained revenue from his videos since October last year, and he once made more than 1.1 million yen from a single livestream.

Shinji Ishimaru, who finished a surprising second in the Tokyo gubernatorial election in July 2024, used social media videos as a key part of his campaign strategy.

He reported on X that he received more than 3.2 million yen in online tips during a livestream in June 2024.

However, both Tamaki and Ishimaru did not list these earnings on their political fund reports for 2024.

The Political Fund Control Law requires lawmakers and parties to report income and expenses related to political activities.

However, the law lacks clear provisions on whether video posts and livestreaming constitute political activities.

The internal affairs ministry has said each lawmaker should decide whether their videos qualify as such.

Tamaki’s office said it declared the video revenue combined with advertising income as “personal income” in its tax return and paid the appropriate tax amount.

“If we treat them as political revenue, they become non-taxable income,” a staff member of Tamaki’s office said. “We prioritize paying taxes, since how to handle such video revenue is not clearly defined.”

PARTIES TAKE DIFFERENT APPROACHES

Political parties have also been posting videos on their official YouTube channels, and they have different ways of handling incoming revenue.

In its 2024 political fund report, Sanseito listed about 2.27 million yen as “advertising income” stemming from advertising revenue and online tips on its official channel.

Reiwa Shinsengumi reported about 15.6 million yen as advertising revenue from its official channel in its political fund report for 2024.

The Political Fund Control Law prohibits direct donations to individual lawmakers, anonymous donations as well as contributions from foreign nationals or foreign companies.

Political experts say online tips are essentially equivalent to donations, and the fact that such tipping can be done anonymously could open up a loophole in the regulations.

Reiwa Shinsengumi said it has taken the law’s rules into account and does not accept online tips by keeping that feature turned off.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party, the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the DPP have also turned off monetization features on their official channels.

A representative at the CDP’s headquarters said the party wants “to prevent videos from becoming increasingly extreme in pursuit of views and revenue, which could distort democracy.”

DANGEROUS LOOPHOLE

Harumichi Yuasa, a professor at Meiji University who has expertise in the relationship between social media and politics, said legal frameworks have not kept pace with new technologies.

“Confusion has arisen because the definition of ‘political activities’ remains unclear while new money flows have emerged,” he said.

Yuasa also warned that because anyone can make online tips anonymously, foreign influence over Japanese politics could surface through financial contributions, the very thing the law seeks most to regulate.

“For now, the amounts are small, but anyone could maliciously use such a system,” he said.

He also noted that YouTube provides no payment details when transferring revenue to creators, making it impossible to distinguish between advertising revenue and tips.

“If the inflow of political funds becomes opaque, the outflow will, too. We need rules that involve the platform operators,” he said.