Legacy Media Still Trusted in Japan, But Portal Sites Main Source for Latest News

What media do you trust most? The Tokyo-based Kioichō Strategy Institute conducted an online survey of 1,000 people in Japan aged 18 and older to ask this question. The responses, which allowed for multiple answers, showed that traditional media were overwhelmingly dominant, with “newspapers” and “television” mentioned, respectively, by 40.3% and 35.7% of the respondents. In contrast, the level of trust remained low for forms of media that have been gaining influence in recent years, such as “video platforms” and “social media,” which were trusted by 5.8% and 5.1%, respectively.

The survey asked respondents where they obtained the latest information, such as news. The two most common sources, both mentioned by over 70%, were “portal sites” (77.4%) and “television” (71.5%), as compared to just 34.5% for “newspapers.” Meanwhile, 31.7% relied on video platforms and 28.0% on social media.  

Only 40% of respondents in their twenties obtained news from portal sites, compared to over 60% for the other age groups. The percentage of those receiving their information from television or newspapers increased as the age of the respondents increased, while less than 20% of those in their twenties obtained information from newspapers.

The survey respondents were also asked whether they had confidence that the information they receive is not false or misleading. A total of 43.7% said they were either “confident” or “somewhat confident” that their information was not false or misleading, while 48.2% responded that they were either “not confident” or “not very confident.”

A debate arose in Japan over the use of social media during elections, in the wake of allegations that unreliable and defamatory information about candidates had been spread during the 2024 gubernatorial election in Hyōgo Prefecture.

In response to the question of whether social media should be regulated during an election campaign, a total of 75.7% said that it “should be regulated” or “should be somewhat regulated.” Support for regulation was stronger among the older age groups in the survey.

The breakdown by political affiliation shows that 82.4% of the supporters of Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) supported regulation, followed by 78.9% and 78.3% among the supporters of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, respectively. Supporters of the Democratic Party for the People were less in favor, with 61.1% backing regulation.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)