LDP Blames Russia and Social Media After Election Rout

Following its historic defeat in the 2025 Upper House election, Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has chosen a familiar scapegoat: foreign interference and social media. Rather than confronting widespread public dissatisfaction with its immigration stance, tax policies, or lack of reform, LDP figures are now floating claims of Russian disinformation campaigns and calling for increased regulation of online platforms.

Foreign Interference or Political Deflection?

Minister for Digital Transformation Masaaki Taira appeared on the YouTube show UOYA Channel. During the interview, he warned that the next target of foreign forces would be the LDP presidential election. He acknowledged that freedom of speech must be protected. But he added, "If the results of our democracy are manipulated by outside influences without the public even realizing it, we have a serious problem." Taira urged a collective response involving the public, the government, and social media companies.

His comments coincided with reports that multiple X (formerly Twitter) accounts linked to Russia were suspended during the campaign period. However, the government has yet to disclose why or provide evidence of coordinated interference.

Taira pointed to four types of disruptive narratives. These included efforts to undermine political stability, damage the Japan–United States alliance, erode Japan's international credibility, and attack faith in democratic institutions. But his comments lacked specifics.

Shadowy Claims Without Substance

This theme of shadowy threats with no proof was echoed earlier by LDP candidate Hiroyuki Kishi, who lost his race. In a post-election discussion on July 23, Kishi claimed that the rise of Sanseito could not have been "purely organic."

He referred to his experience on the campaign trail, where he said he was targeted and also took various countermeasures. Kishi insisted that there had "definitely" been Russian information warfare involved. However, he offered no evidence and explicitly stated that he would not elaborate further. It "would take too long," he claimed.

The Russia Contradiction

The irony of these statements is that while the LDP points fingers at alleged Russian operatives, it just helped re-elect Muneo Suzuki. Suzuki is a politician with long-standing ties to Moscow who has appeared regularly on Russia's Sputnik network. Once serving prison time for corruption, Suzuki made his political comeback on the LDP ticket. He won a seat in the proportional representation race. Critics have called him "Russia's most loyal friend in Japan." His return is a stark contradiction to the LDP's alarmist narrative.

As one commentator put it: "If you're going to call others Russian agents, what about the man who practically lived on Sputnik?"

Meanwhile, several high-profile LDP candidates who supported social media regulation, including Keizo Takemi, were soundly defeated. Their warnings about online disinformation fell flat with voters who saw them as thinly veiled efforts to suppress dissent. Takemi in particular came under fire for criticizing populist calls for tax relief as irresponsible and for suggesting that SNS should be regulated to prevent the spread of such views.

Doubling Down Instead of Reflecting

Still, the party appears set on doubling down. On July 29, LDP Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama and Komeito Secretary-General Masanori Nishida met in Tokyo. They shared concerns over the spread of defamatory or unverified information on social media during the election campaign. Both parties agreed to expedite discussions on appropriate social media usage during election periods.

*(From left) LDP Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama and Komeito Secretary-General Masanori Nishida at the National Diet (©Sankei by Ataru Haruna)*

LDP Diet Affairs Chief Tetsushi Sakamoto disclosed the details to reporters.

Instead of learning from its defeat, the LDP appears poised to double down. Calls for regulating platforms like X and YouTube are growing louder within the party. But this raises serious concerns about freedom of expression in Japan, especially when vague threats of "foreign interference" are used to justify censorship.

Rather than engaging with critics or addressing the real causes of voter dissatisfaction, the party seems intent on silencing the platforms that gave those voters a voice.

Until the LDP comes to terms with why it lost and who it really serves, no amount of censorship will stop its slide.

Author: Daniel Manning