Sanae Takaichi Denies Distributing Smear Videos After Being Accused of Using AI Short Videos in Election Campaign
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi denied allegations in a House of Councillors plenary session that her camp extensively distributed videos attacking other candidates via social media using AI short videos during the LDP presidential election and general election. Her office fully denies any such actions.
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- 📰 Published: May 8, 2026 at 18:42
- 🔍 Collected: May 8, 2026 at 19:02 (19 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 8, 2026 at 22:16 (3h 14m after Collected)
Tokyo, May 8 (CNA) Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi today, in a plenary session of the House of Councillors, denied allegations that her camp extensively distributed videos attacking other candidates via social media during last year's LDP presidential election and this year's House of Representatives general election. She stated, "There has been absolutely no act of publishing negative information about other candidates, or producing and distributing such videos."
Constitutional Democratic Party Senator Tomoko Kojima pointed out during questioning that, according to some media reports, Takaichi's camp was suspected of extensively distributing defamatory videos against other candidates on social media during last year's LDP presidential election and this year's House of Representatives general election. "If true, it would not only cast doubt on the legitimacy of the election but could even shake the foundations of democracy, which is an extremely serious issue."
Takaichi responded, "Regarding the content of the reports, I have confirmed with my office staff. Takaichi's office and Takaichi's camp, during last year's LDP presidential election and this year's House of Representatives general election, only posted through official accounts managed by the office, and did not use other accounts to publish information. There has been absolutely no act of publishing negative information about other candidates, or producing and distributing such videos."
The reports cited by Tomoko Kojima were from "Weekly Bunshun" in April, which exposed that during last year's LDP presidential election, a TikTok account named "true_politics.real" had extensively distributed short videos attacking Takaichi's opponents Shinjiro Koizumi and Yoshimasa Hayashi, mocking them with exaggerated narration and subtitles.
The report quoted Ken Matsui, who participated in Takaichi's camp's online propaganda. He stated that at the time, Takaichi's camp mass-produced short videos using AI and distributed them on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, X, and YouTube. He claimed that Takaichi's team had set an operational policy of "70% attacking Koizumi, 10% attacking Hayashi, and 20% promoting Takaichi."
"Weekly Bunshun" also pointed out that Takeshi Kinoshita, Takaichi's closest public secretary and head of Takaichi's office, had communicated via messaging software regarding video uploads and promotion. Matsui stated that Takaichi's camp almost immediately deleted all accounts and traces after the election.
Furthermore, the report also alleged that Takaichi's camp, during this year's House of Representatives general election in February, also targeted several politicians from the opposition "Centrist Reform Alliance" for negative propaganda, including Sumio Mabuchi, Jun Azumi, Katsuya Okada, and Yukio Edano.
In response to the accusations from "Weekly Bunshun," Takaichi's office reiterated, "Other than official accounts, no other accounts were used, and no negative information about other candidates was ever published or related videos produced," fully denying involvement in online smear campaigns. (Editor: Wei Shu) 1150508
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Constitutional Democratic Party Senator Tomoko Kojima pointed out during questioning that, according to some media reports, Takaichi's camp was suspected of extensively distributing defamatory videos against other candidates on social media during last year's LDP presidential election and this year's House of Representatives general election. "If true, it would not only cast doubt on the legitimacy of the election but could even shake the foundations of democracy, which is an extremely serious issue."
Takaichi responded, "Regarding the content of the reports, I have confirmed with my office staff. Takaichi's office and Takaichi's camp, during last year's LDP presidential election and this year's House of Representatives general election, only posted through official accounts managed by the office, and did not use other accounts to publish information. There has been absolutely no act of publishing negative information about other candidates, or producing and distributing such videos."
The reports cited by Tomoko Kojima were from "Weekly Bunshun" in April, which exposed that during last year's LDP presidential election, a TikTok account named "true_politics.real" had extensively distributed short videos attacking Takaichi's opponents Shinjiro Koizumi and Yoshimasa Hayashi, mocking them with exaggerated narration and subtitles.
The report quoted Ken Matsui, who participated in Takaichi's camp's online propaganda. He stated that at the time, Takaichi's camp mass-produced short videos using AI and distributed them on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, X, and YouTube. He claimed that Takaichi's team had set an operational policy of "70% attacking Koizumi, 10% attacking Hayashi, and 20% promoting Takaichi."
"Weekly Bunshun" also pointed out that Takeshi Kinoshita, Takaichi's closest public secretary and head of Takaichi's office, had communicated via messaging software regarding video uploads and promotion. Matsui stated that Takaichi's camp almost immediately deleted all accounts and traces after the election.
Furthermore, the report also alleged that Takaichi's camp, during this year's House of Representatives general election in February, also targeted several politicians from the opposition "Centrist Reform Alliance" for negative propaganda, including Sumio Mabuchi, Jun Azumi, Katsuya Okada, and Yukio Edano.
In response to the accusations from "Weekly Bunshun," Takaichi's office reiterated, "Other than official accounts, no other accounts were used, and no negative information about other candidates was ever published or related videos produced," fully denying involvement in online smear campaigns. (Editor: Wei Shu) 1150508
Choose to stand with facts, every sponsorship you make is a force to protect press freedom.
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The text, images, and audio-visual content on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, publicly transmitted, or utilized without authorization.