Voters Air Adulation, Anger at Takaichi as Japan Election Campaign Begins

Voters have expressed both adulation and anger toward Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi as she delivered her first stump speech in Tokyo, officially kicking off campaigning for a Feb. 8 general election, Peter Masheter reported for Kyodo News.

A 57-year-old LDP supporter who declined to give his name said he “cannot see the meaning” behind the dissolution of parliament. (Photo: PM’s Office of Japan X)

Kiyoshi Sekiguchi, 81, said he had voted for Takaichi’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the past, but that her speech to a packed morning crowd in Tokyo’s Akihabara district marked the first time he had seen a politician speak in person.

“The LDP before was no good, but with Takaichi it’s different,” he said.

Mei Togawa, a 19-year-old voting for the first time, said Takaichi’s status as Japan’s first female prime minister in a traditionally male-dominated political landscape appealed to her.

“I have the impression she is doing a lot more than her predecessors, so I wanted to come and hear her speak,” the student said.

Others, however, voiced opposition to the timing of the election, which is being held in February for the first time since 1990.

A 57-year-old LDP supporter who declined to give his name said he “cannot see the meaning” behind the dissolution of parliament.

“If her reasons are to boost her majority, then she should have called this election in November after she became prime minister,” said the man, who identified himself as a moderate.

“She’s called an election with little to show,” he added, according to Mainichi Japan.