In Japan, are vehicles equipped with a
public address system
A public address system (or PA system) is an electronic system comprising microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers, and related equipment. It increases the apparent volume (loudness) of a human voice, musical instrument, or other acoustic sound sou ...
. They have been used notably in political and commercial contexts, and have one or more
loudspeaker
A loudspeaker (commonly referred to as a speaker or speaker driver) is an electroacoustic transducer that converts an electrical audio signal into a corresponding sound. A ''speaker system'', also often simply referred to as a "speaker" or ...
s which can play a recorded message or recorded music as the truck tours through neighborhoods. In the political world, they are used by parties, candidates, and groups to express their views. In the early days of Japanese post-war democracy, they were one of the most common means of conducting
political campaigns
A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or referend ...
, alongside the likes of
radio announcements and sponsored meetings. In a commercial context,
vendors also use sound trucks for the purpose of selling goods, collecting
recyclable materials
Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...
, and other purposes.
Law
The use of these sound trucks can be subject to so-called nuisance laws, although there have been instances in which police have been sympathetic to
right-wing groups who utilise these trucks and have let such behaviour slide.
References
{{japan-stub
Politics of Japan
Advertising in Japan
Cars of Japan