February 2, 2026
Tokyo – A doctored version of a “campaign broadcast” by the Centrist Reform Alliance for the February 8th House of Representatives election was spread on the X social media network.
The video, which was modified using artificial intelligence to show co-president Yoshihiko Noda and co-president Tetsuo Saito dancing together, has been viewed more than 1.6 million times. Experts have warned that such broadcast tampering could influence voters’ decisions and skew elections.
Candidates, political parties, and political organizations in national and gubernatorial elections use election broadcasts distributed on television and radio to express their claims. The Public Offices Election Act stipulates that broadcasts must be broadcast without editing, but there is no provision prohibiting voters from altering the content and posting it on social media.
In the original campaign broadcast, Mr. Noda and Mr. Saito advocated their policies and urged voters in unison to vote for their party. Then bow to the sign language interpreter. The altered footage shows two men pushing down on a podium, standing up and dancing while holding fans in their hands.
The altered video was posted Friday morning by a personal account believed to be in Japan and had been viewed more than 1.6 million times by around noon Saturday. Many viewers posted critical comments that cast a shadow on the fairness of the election.
The account deleted the video around noon Saturday and posted a comment saying the footage had been altered by AI. The account owner apologized, saying the video was extremely thoughtless and inappropriate and was only meant to be funny.
The Yomiuri Shimbun requested an interview with the account owner, but had not received a response as of 7pm Saturday.
In an interview with the Yomiuri Shimbun, a spokesperson for Chumichi Shinzo-Kou said, “This is extremely regrettable as it goes against the purpose of election broadcasts, which is to convey the opinions of political parties.”
In another case related to the ongoing election, footage of another opposition candidate waving in the street before the official start of campaigning was altered via generative AI to show the candidate wearing a tank top.
Harumichi Yuasa, a professor of information law at Meiji University and an expert on election systems, points out, “If a fake campaign video is created, viewers can easily believe that the content is genuine.If political claims, policies, or facts change, it could influence voters’ judgment and distort the election.”
Yuasa said, “Under the current law, it is illegal to tear down election posters, but it does not respond to the Internet, where AI-based rumors and disinformation are overflowing.The law needs to be reviewed in line with reality.”
