Political parties and candidates hoping to use the Internet to appeal to today's tech-savvy voters were disappointed when the Diet failed to make it legal in time for the July 11 Upper House election.
But with both the ruling and opposition parties eager to embrace Net technology and the communication potential it offers, it's just a matter of time before the nation sees parties and candidates vying in cyberspace for votes during elections.
"We really wanted to proclaim 'Vote for the Liberal Democratic Party' on our Web site," said an official of the main opposition party in charge of its Web content, who declined to give his name citing an internal rule.