2023 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
Modern Political Campaigning in Japan: Voters, Politicians, and Media Integration
| Project/Area Number |
23K01227
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| Research Institution | University of Tsukuba |
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Principal Investigator |
タック川崎 レスリー 筑波大学, 人文社会系, 教授 (70580497)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2023-04-01 – 2026-03-31
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| Keywords | elections / online campaigning / political campaigns / voters / campaign communications |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
The principal investigator (PI) conducted a literature review about voter use of different online and offline media in Japan and other countries. The Research Associate (RA) assisted in preparing prepare a literature review on focus group/group interviews.
The PI prepared the question sheet and questionnaire for the focus group/group interviews. The RA assisting in translating the question sheet and questionnaire from English into Japanese. Approval for the questions and preliminary questionnaire was obtained from the University of Tsukuba’s HASS Ethics Committee.
The PI and RA identified potential companies to assist in conducting the focus group/group interviews.
The PI is outlining one research paper concerning the website feature analysis for Lower-House members of the Japanese Diet.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
The research is progressing. The questions and preliminary questionnaire were prepared with great attention to research ethics and respecting the privacy and personal opinions of participants. The preliminary literature review has been conducted, and the methodology continues to be refined.
Potential research companies have been identified and the research overview statement is being prepared.
The master politician list of national-level Lower House politicians has been created and is regularly updated with information and links to their online and social media channels. As per the original schedule, the PI is preparing a list of politicians to be interviewed and will apply for ethics committee approval.
As per the original schedule, a paper comparing Japanese member media use is under preparation.
The project website is under construction at this time.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
Summer 2024 (June to September 2024): Participant interviews (focus groups/group interviews) and preliminary survey will be conducted by a chosen research company; data from the interviews will be transcribed and analyzed using NVivo; social media data will be collected using NodeXL; one paper will be drafted with the interview results.
Fall 2024 (September to October 2024): The paper comparing Japanese Lower House member website feature analysis will be prepared and proposed for presentation to the JSAC (Japan Studies Association of Canada) annual conference at end October 2024.
Fall and Winter 2024 (September 2024 to March 2025): The PI will conduct interviews with sitting politicians in Tokyo and other parts of Japan.
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| Causes of Carryover |
The grant money will be used as follows: (1) to conduct the focus group/group interview with a preliminary questionnaire/survey; (2) for travel expenses to conduct interviews with politicians in Japan; (3) for RA assistance with the research project; and (4) for travel expenses to present the research results at an international conference.
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