Sound trucks in Japan are used by political parties and candidates to express their views. In addition, vendors and others in Japan use sound trucks for the purpose of selling goods, collecting recyclable materials, etc. The trucks have a loudspeaker (or several) which plays a recorded message or recorded music.

Many right-wing political groups drive around city streets in sound trucks, play nationalistic music at extremely loud volume and passionately communicate their political views to the citizenry. They also sometimes station themselves on a street, while one of the group's members spouts nationalistic and militaristic rhetoric that can be heard for blocks around.

The methods of those operating the sound trucks in their attempts to instill political change have been compared to the Nazis.

Many Japanese people are annoyed with these displays by the right wing groups - who desire to restore the Emperor of Japan

Emperor of Japan

The Emperor of Japan is, according to the 1947 Constitution of Japan, "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people." He is a ceremonial figurehead under a form of constitutional monarchy and is head of the Japanese Imperial Family with functions as head of state. He is also the highest...

 to the status enjoyed before Japan's defeat in World War II. However, the sound trucks are an extremely intimidating presence, and few Japanese would openly challenge or complain to those who operate the trucks. The Japanese police tend to ignore them or allow them to operate freely, in the interest of "democratic free speech."

The right-wing sound trucks in Japan often disregard stop signs and stoplights (even on busy streets), and can have an extremely negative effect on businesses they regularly pass (or station themselves) in front of. Many of the right wing groups who operate the sound trucks are assumed to have Yakuza

Yakuza

, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...

 connections.

To a lesser extent the Communist Party of Japan also uses sound trucks to advertise its political views.