The Role of Internet Public Opinion in Shaping Local Elections: A Case Study of the 2021 Nagoya City Mayoral Election
Abstract
Internet public opinion builds on the concept of public opinion and refers to the multiple small public spheres represented online. This article analyzes internet public opinion on X (formerly Twitter) during Japan’s 2021 Nagoya mayoral election. This local election has been in the spotlight due to a signature fraud scandal involving the incumbent, despite his eventual victory. Therefore, we selected this unique case study to analyze content and user interactions. To achieve this, we employed morphological analysis, word co-occurrence network analysis, and social network analysis on the collected tweets. The results reveal that, compared to policy pledges, political scandals garnered considerable attention from local citizens and high-profile celebrities. This dynamic influenced public discourse, leading to a bias on X favoring the newcomer over the incumbent. Additionally, this analysis underscored the considerable impact of mass media as critical sources.
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17951/ms.2024.8.9-24
Date of publication: 2025-01-27 13:06:17
Date of submission: 2024-09-28 09:27:55
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