Supporters who collect information about their favorite political parties from YouTube and other social networking sites tend to be more distrustful of the mass media, government, experts and police, a new survey shows. 

The joint survey by The Asahi Shimbun and the University of Osaka also showed that these people are more likely to believe that foreigners get preferential treatment and are suspicious of the efficacy of vaccines. 

The survey about online awareness has been conducted every month since February. A total of eight surveys were conducted through July 12 and responses were received from more than 5,000 people.

The survey asked respondents about their “most favorite political party,” and then collected their views on social systems and their level of trust.

Regarding mass media, respondents were asked to choose from a scale of (1) “I don’t trust them at all” to (3) "undecided" to (5) “I trust them completely.”

Among the 10 political parties that meet the “political party requirements” under the political party subsidies law, respondents who favored the Conservative Party of Japan showed the strongest distrust, with an average of 1.65.

It was followed by those who chose Sanseito with an average of 1.84, followed by those who preferred the Democratic Party for the People with an average of 2.08, and those who chose Reiwa Shinsengumi with an average of 2.16.

The overall average was 2.26, lower than the undecided scale.

Those who supported these relatively new parties, including the four mentioned above, were more likely to agree with the idea that “the mass media intentionally report divisive news for profit” and that “mass media are all bad.”

These respondents obtained much of their information about their favorite political parties from video-sharing sites such as YouTube and social networking sites such as X (formerly Twitter).

Those who favored these four parties were also less trustful of government, police and experts such as university professors across the board.

Furthermore, those who supported Sanseito, the Conservative Party of Japan, and Reiwa Shinsengumi were more likely to agree that “there are many very serious things going on in the world that are not known to the public” and that “there are secret organizations that exert a strong influence on political decisions.”

In the United States, President Donald Trump has a history of increasing voter support by claiming that a so-called “deep state” shadow government exists and pledges to dismantle it.

The survey also asked whether the respondents thought that foreigners are treated overly favorably in Japan today.

Those most likely to agree were those who back the Conservative Party of Japan with an average of 4.26.

Those who favored Sanseito agreed with an average of 4.17, followed by those who supported Reiwa Shinsengumi with an average of 3.65, and those who supported the DPP with an average of 3.57.

The overall average was 3.25, which shows that even when averaged across the board, respondents felt that foreigners are being given preferential treatment to some extent.

Several nongovernmental organizations that are involved in human rights recently issued a joint statement rejecting such a perception, stating that “Japan does not even have a basic law guaranteeing human rights to foreigners, nor do foreigners have the right to vote or receive welfare benefits as a legal right."

The survey asked respondents about vaccinations against infectious diseases such as COVID-19 on a scale with 1 being “should be recommended” and 5 being “should not be recommended.”

The average for those who favored Sanseito was 3.41, and the average for those who liked the Conservative Party of Japan was 3.36.

The average for those who preferred the Social Democratic Party was 3.23, and the average for those who liked Reiwa Shinsengumi was also 3.23.

The overall average for this was below the undecided 3 at 2.88, closer to the idea that vaccines “should be recommended” than “should not be recommended.”

These attitudes also differed depending on where they primarily obtained information about their favorite political party.

Those who supported Sanseito, the Conservative Party of Japan and Reiwa Shinsengumi heavily utilized video-sharing sites and social networking sites.

In comparison, those who supported the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, Komeito, and Nippon Ishin among others, were more likely to obtain their information from TV and newspapers.

Among these, trust in such traditional media was high. Faith in the government, police and experts was also high.

However, a larger percentage of those who supported the DPP said they obtained their information mainly from TV and newspapers, along with video-sharing websites and social networking sites.

On the other hand, respondents had a high level of trust in their relatives and neighbors, regardless of which of the 10 parties they backed.

In this regard, there was little difference by party support, suggesting that many people have a strong sense of trust in those close to them.