Key Facts
• July 20, 2025: Upper House election voting day.
• LDP videos had the highest views, exceeding 8 million since June.
• Sosei Party led in comments with 70,000, averaging 330 per video.
• LDP’s video views surged after July 8 due to ad distribution.
• 68% of LDP comments since June were negative, leading to comment closures.
• Sosei Party’s comments were 66% positive, analyzed using AI sentiment tools.
• LDP and other parties used YouTube Data API for video and comment analysis.
• “Make Together Party” did not post any videos during the analysis period.
• LDP’s most-viewed video featured PM Shigeru Ishiba on inflation measures.
• Ads also boosted views for Constitutional Democratic Party and Komeito videos.
Summary
Ahead of Japan’s July 20, 2025, Upper House election, political parties intensified their YouTube campaigns. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) led in video views, surpassing 8 million, largely due to ad distribution featuring Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. However, 68% of comments on LDP videos were negative, prompting the party to disable comments on all videos after July 7. The Sosei Party, despite fewer views, garnered the most comments-70,000 in total-with 66% being positive. AI sentiment analysis tools, including Hugging Face’s Japanese Sentiment Analysis, were used to evaluate comment sentiment. Other parties, such as the Constitutional Democratic Party and Komeito, also saw viewership spikes due to ad campaigns. The “Make Together Party” did not post any videos during the analysis period. Data was collected using the YouTube Data API, ensuring comprehensive insights into video performance and audience engagement.
