"Over 400 China-Linked Accounts Conducted Online Operations Criticizing Takaichi During Japan's Election"

Nikkei reports from Japan: "Chinese-linked operation accounts identified"
Spread hashtags such as "Sanae Takaichi, traitor to the people"
"Limited impact but sophisticated tactics...countermeasures needed"

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party won a landslide victory in the House of Representatives election (general election), securing the re-election of Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae, amid reports that around 400 Chinese-linked online accounts posted messages criticizing Prime Minister Takaichi during the campaign.

During Japan's House of Representatives election, about 400 China-linked online accounts posted criticism of Prime Minister Takaichi, AFP and Yonhap News reported.

On February 22, Yonhap News cited the Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) as reporting that "after news of the early dissolution of the House of Representatives emerged in mid-January, hashtags such as 'Takaichi Sanae, traitor to the people,' 'Takaichi Sanae must step down,' and 'Takaichi Sanae should resign' began spreading on X (formerly Twitter)." Nikkei reported that it had "confirmed that the accounts posting messages with these hashtags were Chinese-linked accounts created for the purpose of information operations."

According to Nikkei, these "information operation accounts" are characterized by anonymity, with almost no information that could identify the person posting, and they post the same type of content in coordination with other accounts. It was found that many of their posts focused on the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (formerly the Unification Church, hereafter the Family Federation) and Prime Minister Takaichi. In Japan, controversy has continued after it was revealed that the ruling Liberal Democratic Party had close ties with the Family Federation, following the 2022 assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in which the killer cited his mother's large donations to the Family Federation as his motive.

The Chinese-linked accounts are reported to have intensively posted messages in Japanese around January 19, when Prime Minister Takaichi announced her policy to dissolve the House of Representatives. Nikkei stated, "At least 76% of the roughly 400 operation accounts were created after December last year, just before the election," and added, "As of February 4, more than 40% of these accounts had been subjected to viewing restrictions or frozen by X."

Nikkei also wrote that "judging from the scale at which the posts by Chinese-linked operation accounts spread, their impact on this election was limited," but warned that "they are employing increasingly sophisticated methods, such as boosting the volume of Japanese-language messages and using artificial intelligence (AI) videos," and urged the government to swiftly devise countermeasures.

Prime Minister Takaichi took office as the 104th prime minister in late October last year, but on January 23 she took a gamble to strengthen her political base by dissolving the House of Representatives early. In the general election on February 8, the Liberal Democratic Party won a sweeping victory, securing more than two-thirds of the seats, and she was re-elected as the 105th prime minister. Having secured overwhelming support, she is expected to push discussions on revising the pacifist constitution, including specifying the Self-Defense Forces, which function as a de facto military.

Previously, in November last year, Prime Minister Takaichi had sparked conflict with China by stating that, in the event of a Taiwan contingency involving measures such as a maritime blockade, the situation could qualify as a "survival-threatening crisis," under which Japan could exercise its right to collective self-defense. China has been demanding that she retract the remarks and has continued retaliatory measures against Japan, including issuing travel advisories and suspending exports of dual-use items such as rare earths.