Announcing the English Edition of the Book on Internet Voting

​We are pleased to announce the publication of the English edition of the book:

Can Japan Vote Online? — Internet Voting, Security, and the Architecture of Digital Democracy

This book presents a comprehensive examination of internet voting from the perspective of institutional design, with a particular focus on how democratic systems can responsibly address the technical and governance challenges involved.

In recent years, debates on internet voting have often been framed in binary terms—secure or insecure, feasible or infeasible. This book takes a different approach. It acknowledges the well-known technical risks, including malware on voter devices, server-side vulnerabilities, and the limitations of end-to-end verifiability. Rather than dismissing these concerns, it treats them as fundamental design constraints.

The central question explored throughout the book is:
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Can the inherent risks of internet voting be governed, mitigated, and made acceptable through robust institutional and procedural design?

To answer this, the book introduces the JEEADiS Policy Proposal (2026), which conceptualizes internet voting as a multi-layered socio-technical system. It integrates:

• Technical safeguards, including cryptographic verification mechanisms
• Audit and verification frameworks based on public, immutable logs
• Legal and procedural structures to ensure accountability and resilience
• Governance mechanisms to build transparency and public trust

In particular, the book emphasizes that trust in digital democracy cannot rely solely on technology. It must be constructed through a combination of verifiability, institutional oversight, and societal acceptance.

The English edition also includes a dedicated appendix responding to recent international critiques of internet voting, engaging directly with the argument that “internet voting is insecure and should not be used in public elections.” This response reframes the debate by focusing on governance rather than technical perfection.

We hope this book contributes to a more constructive and nuanced global discussion on the future of democratic systems in the digital age.

The book is available here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GN3GD5XR

We welcome feedback, discussion, and collaboration from researchers, policymakers, and practitioners around the world.

Author: Manabu Muta
Director of Japan-Estonia/EU Digital Society Promotion Council (JEEADiS)