Election billboard misuse
I read about this in the newspaper, and now I've seen it with my own eyes all over the city. Election billboard abuse, fraud and misuse ahead of the July 7 Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly elections. Habitually, political candidates paste their campaign posters to assigned spots in these billboards that are erected in neighborhoods during an election campaign.
Now, for the first time ever, we are seeing posters that are not politicians or candidates, but self-promoting snake oil salesmen, professional wrestlers, advocates of various social causes, and others. I can tell the difference between a candidate and a conman, but it's extremely annoying because that's not what the billboards are for. The billboards are for legitimate political candidates and campaigns. But there seems to be a loophole in the law. Apparently, the law does not actually say that the billboards are for political candidates, only that the spaces are reserved for fee-paying customers. I hope the loophole is corrected by the next election cycle.
I don't know what kind of publicity these people think they're getting. Maybe they think that any publicity is good publicity. But they're not winning any favorable regard from me.