2026 POLLS: Winter Election Highlights Stump Speech Security Challenges

Tokyo, Jan. 28 (Jiji Press)–With the Feb. 8 House of Representatives election drawing near, the short winter election battle following the abrupt dissolution of the lower chamber of Japan’s parliament has highlighted security challenges during stump speeches. The National Police Agency has enhanced its measures on the protection of dignitaries in response to the fatal shooting of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during an election stump speech in 2022. For the upcoming election, the agency has asked the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and other parties to choose indoor venues for speeches, which can be secured more easily, and not to make sudden schedule changes. While indoor speeches are expected to increase due to the cold weather, stump speeches may be given on the streets due to the difficulty of securing venues during the short election period. In last summer’s election for the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet, many venues accepted only individuals who completed baggage checks and metal detector tests, allowing them to enter audience areas surrounded by pipe fences. While the same method is expected to be adopted widely for the Lower House election, there are concerns that security checks on water bottles containing hot beverages and disposable heat pads may take time. Those who have water bottles with them are required to take a sip in front of venue staff. In addition, heat pads, which contain iron powder, may trigger metal detection machines. The agency has requested that female staff be allocated at venues, as heat pads worn on clothes require pat-downs. Speeches by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, the first Japanese woman who has assumed the post, are expected to attract large audiences. “We won’t ban heat pads, but we want to ask for cooperation with inspections, such as by taking them out of pockets and bags,” an agency official said. On lone offenders, the agency has established a center integrating information related to such threats for the upcoming election, similar to the one set up for last year’s Upper House poll. The center is responsible for aggregating suspicious information collected by police nationwide for use to prevent terrorist attacks. During the Upper House election, the police identified 889 dangerous posts on social media and online bulletin boards, including those that hinted at attacking important individuals. The police responded by issuing warnings and through other measures. As the majority of the posts were made on X, the agency has requested the Japanese branch of the social media platform operator to cooperate and carry out the emergency disclosure of account information, ahead of the Lower House election. Monitoring the internet is a manual task undertaken by police members. The agency had included in the fiscal 2025 supplementary budget funds to test an information analysis system using artificial intelligence. But the system was not ready in time for the upcoming poll. “While this is a sudden election, we’ll make every effort to identify and address suspicious information, also for the sake of future AI analysis,” a senior agency official said. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]