No.303 SIM音読用英文

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Japanese Politicians Cut Off From Internet During Campaign
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When Japanese lawmaker Kan Suzuki was elected

to the Upper House eight years ago,

he knew he wanted to take his political discussion

to the Web.


The member of the Democratic Party of Japan

started writing a personal blog


and began broadcasting a weekly Webcast called "Suzukan-TV."

Suzuki says his goal was to connect politicians

with average voters.


This allowed for direct interaction.


The Webcast quickly became a forum

where thousands tuned in

to discuss policies

and exchange ideas.


But when Suzuki ran for re-election two years ago,

he ran into a problem -

a complicated election law

that bans Internet use

during the campaign season.


He was forced to halt his blog and Webcast

at the most critical time.


Suzuki says when voters are doing their own research,

when the need for information is the greatest,

the law asks politicians to take a break

from this kind of communication.


Politicians such as Suzuki

who maintain Web sites

during the legislative session

must freeze content

during the campaign period.


So they pin up posters

on election commission-sponsored bulletin boards

and spread their message by megaphones.


One of the most digitally connected countries in the world

remains locked in the 20th century

at a time when global leaders are using 21st century tools

like Twitter and Facebook

to win votes.


This voter says

Japan has all the technological tools in the world,

but the laws have not kept up with the times.


There is something wrong with that picture.


At least one party agrees.


Suzuki says his Democratic Party has proposed four different bills

to change the law

and allow Internet campaigning.


None of the bills have come up

for discussion in the parliament.


He says that if the law is preserved,

people will continue to show apathy

toward politics.


That works to the benefit of the ruling party.


But recent polls show

that ruling party is in trouble.


The Liberal Democratic Party suffered an embarrassing defeat

in the Tokyo Metropolitan Election a few weeks ago,

and it is expected to lose its half-century hold on Japanese politics

in the August 30th general election.


For VOA News, Akiko Fujita in Tokyo