Perspective... Japan's election hopefuls shakily embrace the art of online campaigning

Taking a leaf out of Barack Obama’s campaign handbook, some candidates in the upcoming elections have been experimenting with online media.

Lawmakers are blogging, and the two main parties have designed websites. They’re even putting videos on YouTube and other sites, although it has to be said that most of these show shaky recordings of press conferences or speeches, somewhat lacking the delivery of Obama’s ‘YouTube presidency’.

Even Google’s Q&A election service - first used in the US elections - has made an appearance to allow candidates to respond to questions. The idea that questions are answered in an open environment (even if they have been vetted) certainly raises expectations of a new era in government communication in Japan.

There’s just one problem. Just as election campaigning really begins to count, a draconian law will make it illegal for politicians to update their blogs, share their political views by email or put new videos online in the 12 days before the election. This is odd. Here is a wired country, where 70 per cent of consumers are online. Yet electioneering is still largely done the old-fashioned way, with leaflets, bowing by candidates on the streets and roving sound vans. Only a handful of politicians tweet - far from the organised effort of Obama’s campaign, which used online videos, social networking sites and text messages to motivate vast numbers of voters and raise money.

Even in the rest of the region, governments have been actively using social media to reach new generations of voters. Often, they do more than consumer brands and may soon represent best practice. In Singapore and Malaysia, for instance, governments are pushing to get all ministries involved in social media. In India, political parties are hosting online discussions on social issues, such as women’s rights and poverty - issues that governments have to engage on. Korea and Australia are the most advanced, generating conversations at local levels that filter upwards.

So, how easy will it be for Japan to switch to Election 2.0 and catch up with the rest of the region?  There’s little doubt that the online politicking law won’t hold past this election. Even so, it won’t be an easy shift, not least because instead of merely having to contend with the press, political parties - often led by sexagenarians in grey suits - will suddenly have the whole blogosphere and Twitterverse commenting on their every move. The next generation of voters will demand more. And candidates will have to accept that they won’t always have control over the potentially critical or embarrassing responses that users may post online.

However, Japan’s challenge will be using online intelligence effectively to develop an engagement strategy that’s backed by clear social media policies. Yes, Obama’s campaign harnessed social media, but it was ‘old’ technology, including email, that propelled it to victory. In all of this, there’s a lesson for marketers and agencies, and the heart of it is the relationship a brand has with its consumers; telling them what it’s doing, soliciting their ideas and letting them feel that they have a voice.

Got a view?
Email [email protected]



This article was originally published in 13 August 2009 issue of Media.