Internet Firms Beef Up Political Sites as Japan Election Nears

Tokyo, Aug. 13 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Internet companies are
beefing up Web sites dedicated to politics ahead of the country's general
election this month.
The sites are designed to raise political awareness among voters
and encourage them to turn out at the Aug. 30 election for the House of
Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament.
A site set up by Internet portal Yahoo Japan Corp. <4689> in
February 2006 carries political news and offers information about lawmakers.
In addition, netizens can post their assessments on the activities of
lawmakers and bills.
The Yahoo site had an unprecedented 70 million hits a month in the
July 2007 election for the House of Councillors, the upper chamber.
This time around, the site creates a section that allows visitors
to select preferred campaign pledges without being told which pledges belong
to which party, in an attempt to highlight policy over political allegiance.
Yahoo hopes that the site will help boost voter turnout, a company
official said.
Google Inc. has launched a page on its YouTube video-sharing site
where candidates answer the five most pressing questions from the public.
Rakuten Inc. <4755>, an online shopping mall operator, launched a
Web site in July through which people can make donations via credit card to
more than 100 politicians, including Prime Minister Taro Aso and Yukio
Hatoyama, head of the largest opposition Democratic Party of Japan.
The number of donations has already exceeded 150, Rakuten officials
said.
Rakuten President Hiroshi Mikitani said the company wants to
continue to play a role in Japanese politics.