Tokyo Governor Candidate Reaps Criticism Because It Shows Section Material At Campaign Posters, Some Are Commemorated By The Police

JAKARTA - Several candidates who will take part in the Tokyo governor election, Japan have drawn criticism for displaying campaign posters with Section material, some even being summoned by the police.

Several candidates in the upcoming Tokyo governor election have been criticized for making fun of the election process by posting posters with sexy material, or covering most of the official campaign boards with their material.

A total of 56 people have signed up to take part in the elections to be held on July 7, including 19 people from the NHK Party calling on their candidates to "hijack" campaign boards with their posters.

The NHK Party offers to allow anyone who donates to them to use space on board, which authorities install around the environment for election campaigns, to raise any issues they want.

"It's ridiculous that you can pay money to buy space on the campaign board," a woman in her 40s from Osaka Prefecture said while looking at one of the boards.

"It feels like they are making fun of the election," he continued.

Pedestrians in Chiyoda District, Tokyo, were seen gathering on Thursday night to see campaign boards decorated with many identical NHK Party posters showing a woman claiming to be a kickboxing athlete, filling half of the available space.

The NHK Party's tactics, which oppose mandatory contributions imposed by Japan's national broadcasters, have raised concerns about potential impacts on candidates who will take part in the election. However, the problem does not only happen to the NHK Party.

Other candidates received warnings from police for allegedly violating Tokyo's government regulations against public disturbances after posting posters featuring a nearly naked woman in an erotic pose.

The government's lead spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, said on Friday the campaign board "was made up so candidates could put up their posters" and not something that could be used by people who did not run for governor.

"If this is not seen as a problem, then anything is fine," said a 50-year-old man who was distracted by the view of the NHK Party's poster.

"This does not communicate their policies at all," he said.

Another woman in Shinjuku District voiced the same sentiment, saying the posters could "transfer focus from the real candidates" and influence the election results.

Meanwhile, NHK Party leader Takashi Tachibana said in April at a press conference he wanted to "give an opportunity to people who are not running for their opinion."

In response, an online petition opposing the "piracy campaign board" has garnered more than 27,000 signatures as of Friday.

Separately, a Tokyo governor candidate has been warned by police for his election poster featuring a nearly naked woman, reported Mainichi.

The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) issued a warning on June 20 to candidates in the election, whose campaign officially started on the same day, for allegedly violating metropolitan disruption prevention regulations for displaying indecent posters on election poster boards.

According to sources, the posters that became the subject of the commemoration featured a nearly naked woman, who was not a candidate and who called herself a "girl poster for the metropolitan governor election."

It is believed the posters consisted of several compositions, with one of the posters reading, "Stop restrictions on freedom of expression."

The police summoned the candidate to MPD headquarters on the evening of June 20 to warn him.

In the early hours of June 20, before the man formally submitted his candidacy to the metropolitan election commission, he posted a poster image on the X account believed to be his, saying, "This poster will be installed throughout Tokyo for governor election."