Is it true that a comedian dressed as the Joker is running for local elections in Japan?

In March 2021, several media outlets reported that an unusual candidate would take part in the elections in Japan's Chiba Prefecture. We checked whether this is actually true.

They told about a Japanese comedian who decided to go into politics “Ren-TV», News.ru, MediaLeaks, Telegram channel "Lentach" and other Russian and foreign media. Allegedly, the candidate in the Japanese regional elections quickly became popular among social network users, who began to come up with thematic memes and jokes.

The nomination of an unusual candidate for the election of the head of Chiba Prefecture was reported with reference to video, posted on YouTube March 9, 2021. In the video, a man in a costume and makeup reminiscent of a popular comic book and film character briefly talks about his program. In many ways she built on objections to one of the main contenders for the post, Masayuki Hiratsuka, who stated that “COVID-19 is just a cold” and that vaccines against this disease are dangerous. The description of the video states that the candidate wants, in particular, to achieve a turnout of at least 40%, allow all residents of the prefecture to visit Disneyland located there for free and eliminate any discrimination.

According to the same description, the candidate's name is Yusuke Kawai, he graduated from Kyoto University and heads the River Junction company. This confirms and information on the firm's website that says River Junction provides temporary staffing, outsourcing and event management. March 4, 2021 company confirmed Kawai's nomination for governor of Chiba. It was not possible to find confirmation that the candidate combines the management of River Junction and a career as a comedian, as some Russian media claimed. Moreover, March 9 Kawaii published on his YouTube channel a music video called It's Show Time.

Finally, confirmation of this news can be found on the official website, which is dedicated to the upcoming (March 21) elections. This resource reports that 40-year-old Yusuke Kawai will compete for the post, and the candidate’s website provides a link to a video from the same YouTube channel where the viral video was published. At the same time, in the photo in the attached newsletter, Kawai is presented without the makeup that made him famous. In the "Political Party" column next to the candidate's name it is indicated: "The party that will make the entire Chiba Prefecture a land of dreams and magic."

Mostly true

What do our verdicts mean?

Read on the topic:

1. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/joker-face-paint-governor-japan/
2. https://japantoday.com/category/politics/joker-in-the-running-for-chiba-gubernatorial-election
3. https://nypost.com/2021/03/10/japanese-candidate-discusses-platform-dressed-as-the-joker/