Fake “public poll” results on voters’ support for key candidates in the Okinawa gubernatorial election, which will be publicly announced on Sept. 13 and be held on Sept. 20, are circulating. They all show similar figures, predicting that of the two key candidates, support for one candidate is double that for the other. Those figures include a “survey that was said to have been conducted by the Asahi Shimbun.” But the Asahi results were found to be “fake” information as the outlet responded to our inquiry saying that “the information is not at all true and we did not conduct a survey.” There are also figures that claim to be sourced from the Democratic Party for the People, but the party also denied this by noting that it did not carry out such a survey.

Figures are said to be based on a “poll done by the Asahi Shimbun” that was conducted on Sept. 1 and 2. They showed the results of the two main candidates, one scoring 52% in support and the other 26%. On the credibility of the data, the Asahi Shimbun’s public affairs department denied the paper had conducted the survey. “The data is not true at all,” said the department. “To begin with, we did not even conduct a survey.”

Besides the Asahi, there are also figures that are said to be based on polls conducted by political parties. According to these polls, “support for one candidate is 56.8% while support for the other is 21.3%” and “one candidate leads the other by 34 to 35 points.”

One poll is attributed to the DPFP, saying that it “surveyed 2,000 people” on Aug. 25 and 26 and that “one candidate leads the other by 13 points. The DPFP responded to our inquiry as follows: “We cannot confirm that a survey was conducted. We are unaware of a survey.”