[Capitol Think] Boards 6x More Numerous Than Convenience Stores, a 6.5 Billion Yen Bill: Rule-Making to DX Showa-Era Analog Political Public Relations

元議員秘書・総務省アドバイザーが起業。逮捕リスクとルール解釈の壁を突破するルールメイキング

Hello everyone. I am Arika Matsui, CEO of Capitol Think. Thank you for being here today.

I previously served as a secretary to a Member of Parliament and later worked as a strategic public relations advisor at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC). One day, an angel investor called me out of the blue and told me, "Start a company, no matter what it is." That led to the founding of Capitol Think about a year and a half ago.

Based on my career, I have strong connections with the government, political parties, and many members of parliament. Thus, we operate in the field of "political, party, and government public relations"—the sector most left behind by digital transformation (DX).

My core motivation comes from my time as a secretary. Whether it was scorching hot or freezing cold, I rode a bicycle to deliver flyers door-to-door and manually pasted street posters, only to have them torn down. I wondered why such an inefficient system still existed. In reality, most of the flyers I put in mailboxes were thrown directly into the trash bins of apartment buildings.

While everyone agrees that DX is needed in politics, private companies could not enter this field for two reasons. First, the Public Offices Election Act is extremely complex, and a single mistake can lead to arrests, creating a high barrier to entry. Second, private media has historically banned political advertisements under self-regulation.

Leveraging my knowledge and network from my time handling the election act at the MIC, I resolved these legal complexities to perform "rule-making," allowing us to enter this massive blue ocean.

看板だけで65億円、選挙全体で700億円。税金が費やされる公営掲示板の費用対効果を疑う

Japan's analog election PR consumes massive amounts of tax money.

During elections, public poster boards are erected nationwide. The number of these wooden or metal boards is about six times the total number of convenience stores in Japan. Installing and removing these boards costs about 6.5 billion yen (approx. $45 million USD) in public funds per election. If an election occurs in heavy snow regions, snow removal and maintenance costs push the poster board bill close to 10 billion yen.

The total public funding for an election used to be around 60 billion yen, but inflation and rising labor costs have pushed it to approximately 70 billion yen. Despite this massive budget, the return on investment is extremely low, with youth voter turnout stagnating around 50%.

Furthermore, for candidates, having volunteers run around town pasting hundreds of posters manually is a heavy burden, especially during severe volunteer shortages.

「ファミリーマート」や「東急」のサイネージを1年で開拓。政治広告の自主規制を突破したロジック

Historically, 99.9% of private digital signage (in-store displays, etc.) rejected political ads, categorizing them alongside gambling, religion, and adult entertainment.

We negotiated persistently with media owners for about a year. As a result, we successfully opened up political ad placements on major digital signage networks, including FamilyMart (Itochu Group) and the Tokyu line, under specific conditions.

The breakthrough lay in "content conversion."
Media networks avoided political ads because slogans like "Vote for Party X" or "Support Candidate Y" risked damaging their brand image.

We proposed converting the content into "policy-oriented public relations" discussing broader social issues, such as "the necessity of pension reform" or "challenges in social security and healthcare." By having Capitol Think manage the content creation end-to-end, we secured ad spots that directly engage voters on policy issues while protecting the retailers' brand image.

選挙区へピンポイントに届ける地理的ターゲティングと、動きのあるデジタルポスターの威力

For politicians, advertisements are meaningless unless they reach their specific electoral districts. While digital web ads only allow broad targeting (such as prefecture-wide), digital signage in convenience stores and transit lines allows "geographic targeting" down to specific municipalities and districts.

This enables candidates to build recognition within the physical spaces where voters live their daily lives.

Unlike traditional paper posters, digital signage allows dynamic expressions using video and animation. Instead of just displaying a static PDF, candidates can present slides explaining policy issues, making it easier to capture the attention of politically disengaged citizens.

We have already received inquiries from prominent politicians, including Taro Kono, and various political parties, and adoption is accelerating rapidly.

突発的な選挙に左右されない：広告と「ガバメント・ロビングコンサル」を融合したシナジーモデル

Our business model operates on two fronts. The first is installing our own digital signage hardware in specific locations and selling ad slots. The second is an ad agency model, buying slots on existing networks like FamilyMart and receiving a commission (approx. 30%).

Because elections are highly volatile and seasonal, relying solely on election cycles makes it difficult for a startup to maintain stable revenue.

Therefore, outside of election periods, we operate a government relations (GR) and rule-making consulting business.

Using our digital signage network as a hook, we build direct relationships with key political figures and government officials. We then secure consulting contracts worth tens of millions of yen from private corporations seeking regulatory changes or lobbying support.

Our goal for this pitch is raising capital to fund our expansion. Leveraging our strengths in the election act and rule-making, we will capture this high-barrier market. I will work as hard as possible to drive this business forward, and I appreciate your support. Thank you.

質疑応答・フィードバック

島澤氏（コメンテーター）: Thank you, Ms. Matsui. The political landscape is highly opaque to private businesses, so this was very educational.

To clarify your business model: do you generate ad revenue from both your own hardware and by acting as an agency for other networks?

松井氏: Thank you. Yes, we operate both models: renting out our own digital signage installations and acting as an agency for networks like FamilyMart and Tokyu (earning a 30% commission).

Since political ads are historically rejected, negotiating for a year to open FamilyMart’s network by converting political slogans into policy-focused content is a major asset of ours. We manage the content creation ourselves to ensure compliance.

島澤氏: I see. Geographic targeting that reaches voters in their daily physical spaces within specific districts is highly attractive for politicians.

However, elections are highly seasonal and unpredictable. How do you mitigate this volatility risk?

松井氏: Exactly. Relying on elections alone is too unstable. That is why we run a government relations and rule-making consulting business as a stable revenue stream. Using our ad network to establish direct connections with politicians and ministries, we secure large-scale consulting deals from private companies. This synergy ensures high-margin, year-round revenues.

島澤氏: Government and public sectors represent the "last frontier" of DX, and you've unlocked it using rule-making. We expect great things from Capitol Think, especially during busy election cycles.

松井氏: Thank you. We will do our best to deliver strong results during this election.