Japan’s unique linguistic and media environment provides a partial buffer against the global spread of harmful information. As Japanese is spoken almost exclusively within the country, the language itself acts as a kind of firewall, limiting the impact of harmful information campaigns circulating in other languages such as English, Arabic or Russian. Additionally, Japan’s strong domestic media landscape – including public broadcasters – helps shape a more contained information environment. This reduces dependency on foreign media sources and helps limit exposure to externally driven harmful narratives.
Social media usage patterns also differ in Japan. Platforms like LINE and X (formerly Twitter) are more commonly used than global platforms like WhatsApp or Facebook. This creates a different digital ecosystem, where harmful information tends to be more localized and less influenced by international trends.
The Japanese Red Cross Society (JRCS) has consistently maintained a strong public communication strategy that contributes to trust and transparency. The JRCS offers information to donors, volunteers and members of the public primarily through its official website, social media accounts (X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube), a monthly newspaper and other regular publications. Whenever a disaster occurs in Japan or abroad, it promptly communicates JRCS disaster relief operations to donors and the general public. In all donor communications, it directs people to clear explanatory resources such as its donation guide. As a result, instances of harmful information targeting JRCS have been extremely rare in Japan. Trust is cultivated not only through emergency communication, but through consistent, transparent dialogue over time.