Ahead of the Tokyo gubernatorial election, residents in the capital are seeing duplicates of the same poster ¡ª some of which are unrelated to the poll ¡ª dominating half of the wooden boards set up for candidates in the race, as a minor party takes advantage of a legal loophole.

Curious passersby are posting on social media pictures of such boards ¡ª placed by the local election commission in highly visible locations, such as next to schools and parks and along sidewalks ¡ª and questioning whether such a practice is allowed under election law.

The short answer is yes.