[ADRN Issue Briefing] Misinformation and Polarization in Japan
2020-12-01
Knowledge-Net for a Better World
December 2020
Misinformation and Polarization in Japan:
The Suga Administration and the Science Council of Japan
Maiko Ichihara
Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Law at Hitotsubashi University
"The Suga administration: What will be the future of Japanese democracy?"
It has been nearly two months since Yoshihide Suga took over as Japan's Prime Minister after a decade under Shinzo Abe. Although it has only been a short time, Suga has already been criticized for refusing to appoint six of the 105 candidates for the Science Council of Japan. In this article, Professor Maiko Ichihara points out that this case illustrates two important dangers Japan's democracy faces today including 1) the regression of the government's democratic norms and practices, and 2) the polarization of Japanese society. Professor Ichihara argues that the Japanese government needs to avert "deterioration of populism" and "social confusion" by addressing the issue of misinformation and polarization.
