Japan is Lagging in Identifying and Responding to Misinformation
In an era where accurate news is crucial for upholding democracy—and where the landscape is so inundated with misinformation that up to 40 percent of news shared on social media is considered to be misinformation—Japan is falling behind other major countries in effectively combating the spread and educating the public on media literacy.
A recent study conducted by Nikkei and Singapore's Nanyang Technological University (NTU) revealed that in an effort to better understand public perceptions of fake news, Nikkei and NTU's Center for Information Integrity and the Internet conducted a survey earlier this year, polling around 7,000 people in 10 Asian countries and regions. The survey revealed that 75 percent of Japanese respondents encounter fake news, but only 19 percent feel equipped to verify its authenticity, including the utilization of fact-checking websites. By contrast, Vietnam, which ranked highest in the survey, reported that 81 percent of its population knows how to confirm news stories. Even in South Korea, which placed ninth, 34 percent of respondents expressed the same confidence.
Japan lags behind in establishing entities dedicated to monitoring the accuracy of online content, while the proliferation of fabricated news and images continues due to the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI). In Japan’s Shizuoka prefecture, a typhoon in 2022 caused record evacuations and even some landslides as a result of the excess water. However, fake photos of inundated towns spread rapidly online. These photos were later found to be manipulated.
“It’s important to prevent confusion stemming from false information and unfounded rumors,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said at a press conference in response to the misinformation. “The government will call on people to be careful about information that is not based on facts.”
“In times of disaster, false information tends to spread because people want information. It’s important not to spread it carelessly,” said Jun Sakamoto, a Hosei University professor of media and information literacy studies. However, Japan seems to be not improving in this practice.
One of the primary reasons for Japan's lag in combating misinformation is the scarcity of fact-checking sites compared to other countries. Despite efforts to curb the spread of misinformation by individual initiatives, Japan currently has only five accessible fact-checking websites, including one operated by the Japan Fact-check Center (JFC). The United States, which has three times the population of Japan, has almost 16 times the amount of fact-checking websites (78 total). Part of the problem is that Japan relies on traditional media, such as newspapers, which cannot work quickly enough to interfere with online misinformation. According to the 2017-2022 World Values Survey, 69 percent of Japanese respondents expressed trust in conventional media, one of the highest in the world.
The Nikkei-NTU survey highlighted that 31 percent of Japanese respondents experienced an increase in exposure to fake news over the past year, with only four percent reporting a decrease specifically in regard to the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. The majority of this misinformation (28 percent) was related to the pandemic and other health issues, followed by 17 percent in international news, specifically Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The advancement of generative AI poses an additional challenge in combating misinformation. Photos and videos are now easily generated, and their perceived authenticity makes it increasingly difficult for individuals without media literacy to discern their authenticity.
As seen in the United States, the spread of misinformation can be employed to manipulate the public ahead of elections. Everything from conspiracy theories about Hillary Clinton eating babies to Donald Trump’s bold-faced lies haunted the 2016 election, while misinformation about voter fraud was allowed to spread unchecked before the 2020 election. After the 2016 and 2020 elections, the United States established a special body within the Department of Homeland Security to monitor fake news. Understanding the need for protection, Japan's Foreign Ministry plans to implement an AI system for analyzing disinformation during this fiscal year.
As digital technology advances and facilitates the dissemination of harmful messages and the creation of dubious websites, Japan must take immediate action. It is crucial to prioritize initiatives that help people to discern disinformation accurately. Japan is a democracy, and democracy is repeatedly being undermined in the information age due to everything from misinformed grandmas to sinister interference from other governments. If Japan continues to lag, they could see catastrophic results.
