Legal Expert Points Out Issues in Takashi Tachibana’s Sudden Poster Fee Padding Allegation

Tachibana established a company specializing in poster printing and advertising

Takashi Tachibana, leader of the party formerly known as “Protect the Nation from NHK Party” (now renamed “NHK Party”), is facing a new allegation.

TBS’s Hōdō Tokushū program has been investigating financial dealings related to elections and recently exposed a new controversy. The May 10th broadcast titled “Profiting from Election Posters: The Reality of Inflated Public Expense Claims in Election Hacks” delved into the issue.

When asked why he runs for office, Tachibana has often answered bluntly:

“To make money. Elections are profitable.”

While elections are typically thought to be expensive ventures, the report explored how profit is possible. The scheme centers on inflating the cost of election poster production.

Here’s how it works: most candidates commission printing companies to produce their election posters. Though candidates pay for these, if a candidate surpasses a certain vote threshold, the printing company can bill the local government directly for poster expenses, covered by public funds.

The problem lies in the reimbursement structure — the maximum reimbursable amount is set much higher than actual production costs. Companies are permitted to bill up to that cap, even if the real expenses are far lower. This effectively allows overcharging, or padding the costs, without legal consequence.

TBS Hōdō Tokushū interviewed one such printer, who admitted to charging an extra ¥900,000 above actual costs and receiving payment without issue.

Tachibana is reportedly profiting from this system too. In July 2019, he established Net Election Co., Ltd., a company specializing in poster printing and advertising. This firm has been handling election posters for NHK Party candidates, including those for Tachibana himself. For example, during his unsuccessful run for mayor of Izumiotsu, Osaka last December, his vote share exceeded 10%, qualifying the poster costs for public reimbursement.

According to the report, the amount billed for the posters was the maximum allowed by Izumiotsu city: ¥392,140 for 140 posters, working out to ¥2,801 per poster.

Whether this actually constitutes overcharging is unclear, but according to an employee at a major printing company:

“Even for photo books, the printing cost per copy is around 1,000 to 1,500 yen. That’s an outrageous price. It depends on the lot size, but for a single-sheet poster, it should generally start at around 100 yen. Even with waterproof processing for election posters, it would be at most around 500 yen.”

In other words — clearly overpriced.

This, it seems, is the profitable system Tachibana has referred to himself in past videos. But is it really acceptable to inflate costs beyond actual expenses?

In fact, there have been past cases of politicians abusing this system, leading to criminal investigations.

In the 2004 Gifu Prefecture Yamagata City Council election, seven candidates were sent to prosecutors on suspicion of fraud for conspiring with printing companies to overcharge a total of about 1.5 million yen for poster costs.

Similarly, in the 2010 Fukuoka Prefecture Fukutsu City Council election, four candidates (three elected, one not) billed the city the maximum reimbursable 353,000 yen for posters, while the actual production cost was only 94,500 yen. They reportedly used the inflated difference to print supporter postcards and business cards, and even pocketed cash amounts ranging from 30,000 to 70,000 yen — triggering public outcry over fraud.

So what about Tachibana?

Tachibana employed an exceptionally cunning tactic

Attorney Kyosuke Nishiwaki, who discussed this issue on his own YouTube channel, was asked for his view:

“It’s a tricky area, but there have been past cases where this kind of scheme led to criminal charges. In those instances, candidates conspired with printing companies to inflate poster costs and diverted the extra funds to other expenses or received kickbacks. Those cases were relatively straightforward. In Tachibana’s case, however, it’s exceptionally shrewd. Because his affiliated company directly invoices the local government, it’s not a matter of inflating an actual expense after the fact — they simply declare, from the outset, this is what it cost.

Even if the real cost was 10,000 yen and they billed 20,000 yen, as long as that’s the initial price quoted, it’s not technically padding the bill. Though the amount might seem exorbitant compared to market rates, Tachibana could argue it’s natural for a company to turn a profit. The issue then becomes whether there’s legitimate substance to the transaction.

According to a former N Party insider interviewed on Houdou Tokushuu, ‘Net Election Co., Ltd.’ doesn’t even own its own printing equipment, outsourcing all production to other printers.

If that’s true, the company’s merely skimming profits as a middleman. Tachibana’s defense might be that while they outsourced printing, his company handled design and production management, justifying their share. That’s likely why he established ‘Net Election Co., Ltd.’ — to support such a claim. This, however, raises two problems:

If the company exists only to skim profits without providing real services, it could constitute fraud for swindling public funds, violating the intent of the system. On the other hand, if they genuinely handled design and planning, under the Public Offices Election Act, any work involving discretion or judgment about an election for money — even a single yen — risks being considered vote-buying. It’s the same issue that arose in the Hyogo gubernatorial race’s ‘Melchu’ affair.”

Will law enforcement respond to these emerging suspicions?

“In past cases, like the Yamagata City Council election, suspects were merely referred to prosecutors and ended up with suspended indictments. And knowing Tachibana, he probably already has loopholes prepared,” Nishiwaki adds.

He warns that while Tachibana alone isn’t solely to blame, the existence of a system so easily exploited is itself a problem. From exploiting poster boards to running dual-candidate elections to these inflated poster cost claims — Tachibana continues to spotlight the flaws surrounding Japanese elections, making him, if nothing else, a valuable cautionary example.