Each week, here at Osaka.com, we bring you a selection of some of the top stories about Osaka making the local and national news here in Japan. Sometimes it’s serious, sometimes it’s funny, but it’s always direct to you, from Osaka.
Here’s a look at some of the stories hitting the headlines in Osaka this week.
Battle is on as Osaka Prepares to Vote
You could be forgiven for forgetting that there’s a general election this weekend. In Osaka, there is little talk of politics. Even as candidates tour in their loudspeaker-equipped cars and give stump speeches outside local train stations, few of the public seem particularly interested. In this battle for hearts and minds, apathy seems to be the only winner so far.
This election would, on the face of it, seem to be somewhat more competitive than other recent plebiscites. The governing LDP are at risk of losing their overall majority after a string of funding scandals. There is also the battle to win back public trust following the revelations over links to the religious cult the Unification Church, in the wake of former PM Shinzo Abe’s assassination.
The fact that Abe’s protégé, the ultra-conservative Sanae Takaichi did not win the battle to become the LDP’s new leader last month, perhaps points to a different, more progressive direction for the party. However, new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has made a series of walkbacks on policy pledges in the month or so since becoming PM.
Candidates Battle for Attention Amid Scandals
Despite the scandals, and the loss of face, the likelihood is that the LDP will remain in power, albeit perhaps propped up by some new coalition partners. In Osaka though, perhaps of greater interest is the fate of the populist Nippon Isshin No Kai. The party burst onto the national electoral scene after coming to prominence in regional Osaka elections.
However, they face an uphill battle to keep their 10 seats in parliament. Their policy platform is mish-mash of left and right wing populist ideas. On one hand, they support the idea of Japan maintaining its own military, independent of the US, a common theme among conservatives. However, they also favor allowing same-sex marriage and permitting women to choose whether or not to take their husband’s surname after marriage. These stances place them firmly on the progressive left of Japan’s political sphere.
Whilst some Osaka voters say that having such a broad platform is good for building consensus in government, it also leaves the party lacking an identity. Many view them as too right wing or too left wing, depending on which of their policies you find disagreeable.
At Osaka.com we will take an in-depth look at the results in next week’s news update.
Court Battle Looms for Facebook Amid Scam Ad Claims
Osaka’s District Court was one of five courts in Japan this week to accept claims against Meta, the parent company of Facebook. The court actions pertain to ads on the social media site that contained false endorsements from celebrities. Typically, these ads encouraged readers to pay into investment schemes, which, naturally, did not provide any returns to the victims.
At the heart of these 5 court actions, and a similar action lodged in Kobe earlier this year, is the issue of editorial responsibility.
Meta maintains that they are not a publisher and therefore not editorially responsible for the content that appears on their site.
This is debatable as far as content uploaded by the personal accounts of users. After all, that content is produced entirely by the site’s users, and other users can choose who they want to see content from and who they don’t.
However, with advertising, proving such a lack of liability may be an uphill battle for Facebook. Companies pay for these ads, and as such Facebook profits directly from them. Alleging that you don’t control something that is, at the end of the day, one of your primary revenue streams, seems almost nonsensical. Lawyers for the plaintiffs intend to argue that by failing to regulate these ads, Facebook is, at best, incompetent, and at worst, actively misleading its users for the sake of profit.
The cases are expected to last several months.
And Finally…
In an unfortunate bit of sports news, tennis star Naomi Osaka confirmed this week that she will miss the rest of the WTA season. The former grandslam champion hasn’t played competitively since withdrawing from the China Open with a back injury 3 weeks ago. She confirmed on social media that she will indeed end this season early, with a view to being back at her best by next season.
Osaka has struggled to regain form since returning to the sport after a year-long maternity break. However, she remains positive about the future and assures fans that “the best is yet to come.”
That’s all for now, but be sure to check back again same time next week for another round of This Week in Osaka!
