Some candidates in Tokyo's upcoming gubernatorial race have been criticized for making a mockery of the electoral process by posting sexually explicit posters or covering large parts of official campaigning boards with their materials.
A record 56 people have entered the race ahead of the July 7 election, including 19 from the fringe "NHK Party" which called on its candidates to "hijack" campaign boards with their posters.
As part of its disruptive plan, the NHK Party also offered to allow anyone who donated to the group to use space on the boards, installed by authorities around neighborhoods for the election campaign, to push any issue they please.
"It's ridiculous that you can simply pay money to buy space on a campaign board," a woman in her 40s from Osaka Prefecture said while looking at one of the boards. "It feels like they are making a mockery of the election."
Passersby in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward were seen gathering Thursday evening to look at a campaign board festooned with numerous identical NHK Party posters showing a female self-described kickboxer, which took up half of the available space.
The tactics of the NHK Party, which opposes compulsory fees charged by Japan's national broadcaster, have caused concerns about the potential impact on actual election hopefuls.
The problems extend beyond the NHK Party, however.
Another candidate received a warning from police for allegedly violating the Tokyo government ordinance against public disturbances after putting up posters which featured a nearly-naked woman in an erotic pose.
Top government spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, said Friday the campaign boards are "set up for candidates to put up their posters" and not something that can be used by people not running for governor.
"If this is not (seen as) a problem, then anything goes," said a 50-year-old man who was sidetracked by the sight of the NHK Party posters. "This does not communicate their policies at all," he said.
Another woman in Shinjuku Ward echoed the sentiment in front of a separate set of NHK Party posters, saying they could "shift the focus away from real candidates" and impact election results.
NHK Party leader Takashi Tachibana in April told a press conference that he wished to "give people not running for election a chance to state their case."
In response, an online petition against "campaign board hijacking" had garnered more than 27,000 signatures as of Friday.
Related coverage:
Tokyo governor race begins with Koike, opposition-backed Renho clash
Tokyo Gov. Koike faces complaint over allegedly fake univ. diploma
