Attempt to Create a Political Fund Database using OCR

Abstract

We suggest the use of Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology to extract data from a designated portion of political funding reports, enabling the creation of a political fund database. Our study underscores the rising popularity of open data in Japan, with the government having developed guidelines to promote its use. However, the lack of structured data and the format of political funding reports present significant hurdles to their analysis. We maintain that a database of political funding reports would enhance transparency and enable greater public access to information. Our research serves as a foundational step towards achieving this objective.