China-Linked Accounts Ran Anti-Takaichi Barrage

Hundreds of China-affiliated X-accounts in orchestrated campaign against Japanese prime minister, claiming she is a Family Federation follower

Tokyo, 22^nd February 2026 – Published as an article in the Japanese newspaper Sekai Nippo. Republished with permission. Translated from Japanese. Original article.

China Conducted Organized “Anti-Takaichi” Campaign

Nikkei Analyzes X, Links to Former Unification Church

by the editorial department of Sekai Nippo

On 22^nd February, Nihon Keizai Shimbun (日本経済新聞) [See editor’s note 1 below] reported that during the recent House of Representatives general election, approximately 400 accounts believed to be China-affiliated carried out an organized “anti-Takaichi campaign” on X (formerly Twitter). The report has since become a topic of discussion on social media.

See also Big Loss for anti-Church Centrist Alliance

See also Dissolution Case: Rule of Law on Trial 4th March

See also Japan: When “Public Welfare” Is Used Politically

See also Religious Freedom Threat: China-Led Alliance

See also Politics Fueled Japan’s Attack on Federation

See also Figures from Hostile Lawyers Hugely Inflated

See also Malicious Statistical Manipulation by Lawyers

According to the newspaper’s investigation, in mid-January, when reports of the dissolution of the Diet surfaced, posts were intensively made using AI-generated images with messages such as “Sanae Takaichi (高市早苗) must resign” and “Sanae Takaichi is a follower of a cult.” The campaign allegedly linked her to the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (formerly known as the Unification Church) and systematically spread a negative campaign aimed at undermining the Takaichi administration.

An analysis of the posts identified the accounts as China-affiliated influence-operation accounts. During the election period, the Japanese Communist Party and Reiwa Shinsengumi [See editor’s note 2 below] reportedly amplified criticism of the government in tandem with the campaign.

It was also found that some of the same accounts had previously promoted Okinawan independence [See editor’s note 3 below].

Hidehiro Mitani (三谷英弘), State Minister of Justice, posted on his X account:

“This time it did not have a significant impact on the overall outcome, so in that sense we were fortunate. However, the era has already arrived in which foreign forces anonymously incite domestic political division and harm national interests. Countermeasures are urgently needed.”

Satoshi Hamada (浜田聡), former member of the House of Councillors, commented that the core issue is a struggle between, on the one hand, the International Federation for Victory over Communism (an anti-communist organization of the former Unification Church), which earnestly seeks the enactment of an anti-espionage law, and, on the other, anti-Japan political parties such as the Communist Party, along with certain media organizations and the Japan Federation of Bar Associations [Zenkoku Benren (全国弁連), also known as Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales], who seek to block such legislation. Having recognized this structure, he stated,

“It is impossible for me to side with the latter (anti-Japan parties or the media).”

See also Big Loss for anti-Church Centrist Alliance

See also Dissolution Case: Rule of Law on Trial 4th March

See also Politics Fueled Japan’s Attack on Federation

See also Japan: When “Public Welfare” Is Used Politically

See also Religious Freedom Threat: China-Led Alliance

See also Figures from Hostile Lawyers Hugely Inflated

See also Malicious Statistical Manipulation by Lawyers

Featured image below: Anti-Takaichi campaign and Chinese influence. Illustration: Chat GPT, 23td February 2026.

[Editor’s note 1: Nihon Keizai Shimbun is Japan’s leading financial newspaper, commonly known as Nikkei. Founded in 1876, it provides authoritative coverage of business, markets, technology, and economic policy. Widely read by executives and policymakers, it shapes corporate discourse domestically and increasingly influences global financial journalism.]

[Editor’s note 2: Reiwa Shinsengumi (れいわ新選組) is a left-wing populist political party in Japan, founded in 2019 by actor-turned-politician Taro Yamamoto. Reiwa Shinsengumi is a minor party in terms of seats but has gained visibility through a strong social media presence and high-profile campaign tactics.]

[Editor’s note 3: Okinawa is Japan’s southernmost prefecture, a subtropical archipelago. Once the Ryukyu Kingdom, it bears scars from World War II and hosts major U.S. military bases.]

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