TOKYO, May 28 (Xinhua) -- A smear campaign scandal involving Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and her election team continues to deepen, raising fresh concerns not only about political ethics in Japan but also about the broader direction of the country's domestic and foreign policies.
A series of revelations by Japanese media outlets suggest that one of Takaichi's close secretaries allegedly instructed private individuals to produce and disseminate malicious smear videos targeting political rivals during both last year's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leadership race and the February lower house election.
The videos reportedly targeted rival politicians with aggressive personal attacks, including Takaichi's main LDP leadership rival Shinjiro Koizumi, in which he was called an "incompetent puppet." There were also videos accusing opposition politician Katsuya Okada of "lying as naturally as breathing" after he questioned Takaichi's erroneous remarks of "Taiwan contingency" in parliament.
Takaichi initially flatly denied the allegations, saying she chose to trust her secretary over the accusers. However, the video producer later released text messages and online chat records allegedly showing Takaichi's direct communications with her aide. Faced with mounting evidence, Takaichi shifted her stance, claiming she did not know about the operation.
Yet insiders have pointed out that the secretary in question has worked closely with Takaichi for years and that, under rules established by Takaichi herself, secretaries are not permitted to independently handle official political matters. Election campaigns, which determine a politician's political survival, are among the most important affairs for any Japanese politician. Claims that Takaichi knew nothing about such activities have therefore drawn widespread skepticism.
The apparent lack of ethical boundaries displayed by Takaichi's camp is alarming enough on its own. More troubling, however, is what it may suggest about Japan's broader political trajectory, particularly in the realm of security and information policy.
Japan's planned revision of its national security documents places increased emphasis on "cognitive warfare," which in the current Japanese political context includes the use of information operations and hostile narratives targeting specific countries. Japan's Self-Defense Forces (SDF) have also begun institutionalizing such practices as part of military strategy.
Recent restructuring efforts by the Takaichi administration include the creation of several information operations and warfare units in the SDF. According to Japan's Defense Ministry, these units will engage in activities related to "cognitive warfare," including shaping public opinion favorable to the ministry and the SDF, stirring hostility toward designated countries, and weakening anti-war sentiment within society.
A recent example can be seen in how Japanese authorities and right-wing media used a fatal boat sinking accident near the site of a controversial U.S. military base relocation project to stigmatize anti-war and peace education activities.
Two people died after two boats used in protests against the relocation of a U.S. military base capsized off Henoko in Okinawa Prefecture on March 16.
It reflected a broader trend of portraying peace advocacy as problematic or unpatriotic.
Meanwhile, the rise of xenophobic populist forces in Japan has also been closely tied to campaigns attacking foreigners and foreign countries. This top-down strategy of organized smearing, combined with bottom-up nationalist fervor, is seriously poisoning Japan's perception of the outside world and worsening the psychological sense of security among foreign residents living in Japan. ■
