[Training Column] Reconsidering the Nakagusuku Village, Okinawa Virtual Tourism Ambassador Tweet Controversy (2021) [Updated 20251204]

I am Takagi, your instructor.
Drawing on my experience as a former radio station announcer and news reporter, I conduct "Crisis Management and Media Relations Training" and "Communication Skills Improvement Training" for local governments and public institutions across the country.
Our theme for this session is as follows.

The theme is here.
"Reconsidering the Nakagusuku Village, Okinawa Virtual Tourism Ambassador Tweet Controversy (2021)"

(The image is for illustrative purposes only and differs from the actual image.)

In my "Crisis Management and Media Relations Training," I explain cases of online backlash occurring on social media and videos of local governments and public institutions, as well as the preventive measures that should be taken.

As part of this, I introduce the 2021 tweet controversy involving "Ruka," the virtual tourism ambassador for Nakagusuku Village, Okinawa.

The outline of the case is as follows.

■ Nakagusuku Village, Okinawa Virtual Tourism Ambassador Tweet Controversy

・Around January 20, 2021, a tweet by "Ruka," the virtual tourism ambassador for Nakagusuku Village, Okinawa, caused a controversy.

・Content of the post
"#I want this to reach people whose sexual preferences are piqued by my appearance"

・The village left the tweeting entirely to an external contractor outside the prefecture.

・Comment from the Nakagusuku Village department in charge:
"The checking mechanism was insufficient. We have given instructions to the contractor again," etc.

・"Ruka" debuted in December 2020. Project budget: approximately 18 million yen. Production and operating costs related to "Ruka" were approximately 6 million yen, funded by the national government's local revitalization temporary grant.

This case was reported in newspapers and elsewhere, after which all tweets were deleted and the VTuber project was canceled.

Related articles are as follows.

Inappropriate remarks on social media: Nakagusuku Village fictional character, post deleted
https://www.okinawatimes.co.jp/articles/-/697167

Nakagusuku Village official VTuber makes "sexual preference" tweet; criticism of female exploitation continues
https://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/entry-1265855.html

Why did the inappropriate "sexual preference" tweet happen? Lessons left by the Nakagusuku Village official VTuber
https://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/entry-1265855.html

(*Please note that the linked articles may be broken.)

From here on is my perspective as an instructor.

The main cause of this online controversy is considered to be the failure to fully check the posts made by the external contractor.

However, it is the local government, as the supervisor, that stands at the forefront of the apology process. It is not just the contractor who made the problematic tweet, but the local government itself that must also apologize.

It goes without saying that leaving everything to a contractor is an inappropriate SNS management structure. It was required to establish a robust monitoring system.

But, thinking about it as a practical matter, what is the reality?

In most local governments and public institutions, the number of public relations staff is limited, and they are busy every day with a wide range of duties.

In the field of local government public relations, SNS posts are often handled in the following ways:

“Handled by staff knowledgeable about the web in between other tasks”
“Web operations themselves handled by only a few PR staff”
“Have no choice but to rely on the help of contractors”

I believe these cases are quite common.

So, what is the best way to handle this?

First, it is important for web and SNS personnel to conduct case studies on a daily basis. As part of this, collecting information on online firestorm cases and receiving training or education for SNS personnel is also effective.

By having PR staff become more knowledgeable about SNS utilization, they can better understand the “boundary between online playfulness and inappropriate cases” and the “criteria for judging post content,” which can lead to the optimization of SNS operations as an organization.

And wouldn't it be a realistic measure in terms of SNS operation for the staff of local governments and public institutions to thoroughly share the knowledge they have gained regarding firestorm risks with the contractors they work with?

Among some web professionals and young staff, there are those who...

[Continue/Read the full text here]

※Note
To avoid being treated as duplicate content on the web, we have included the note “Continue here.” We ask for your understanding.