Japan gov't urges social media firms to swiftly remove false election info

TOKYO - The Japanese government on Friday urged major social media operators to respond quickly to requests to remove false or misleading information related to the Feb. 8 general election, stressing the importance of a fair election.

The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry made the request under the information distribution platform law that went into force last April obligating social media operators to take measures to deal with illegal and harmful information on the internet such as defamation.