We’ve already covered the fact that US candidates increasingly rely on a strong web presence to propel their campaign efforts.

Not so in Japan, were online campaign efforts are outright illegal. This BBC News article has the lowdown. Money quote:

Surprisingly, in a country with some of the fastest broadband speeds and a wide internet penetration, it is now illegal for candidates to create new websites or update existing web pages between now and election day, 29 July.

The cultural comparisons between Japan and the US become even more distinct when you compare their perception of social networking sites and user-driven content providers like YouTube.

As one student explains:

“YouTube is more casual; you watch music videos or funny videos on it, but if the government or any politicians are on the web it doesn’t feel right.”

So, let me get this straight. You can obsess about a keychain pet that requires constant attention, but you can’t skewer a candidate with a homemade video? Lost in Translation indeed.