Takaichi’s Staff Involved in Negative Campaign on TikTok

Weekly Bunshun magazine reported that campaign office of Sanae Takaichi in presidential election of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) last September disseminated a TikTok video which slandered her opponent, Shinjiro Koizumi. Bunshun argued that one of the staffs in Takaichi’s office was deeply involved in the campaign strategy of circulating those kinds of video. Takaichi denied that her office had not related to that, but did not label the report of Bunshun untrue.

In the presidential election voted on October 4th, 2025, Takaichi defeated Koizumi with large number of votes from rank-and-file party members in local branches. In the first round of the election, Takaichi overwhelmed Koizumi with 119 votes to 84 in votes from local branches. It was recognized that Takaichi was successful in her campaign strategy focusing on internet.

 

Bunshun revealed that there appeared videos on TikTok that defamed Koizumi as incapable as the president days before the election. One of them said that Koizumi was as incompetent as he read a paper in press conference. Some videos also targeted another candidate, Yoshimasa Hayashi, downgrading his career as a helper of leaders in their hardship, which was dubbed as an “ambulance in politics.”

 

According to Bunshun, those videos were posted by an account named True Politics and Takaichi’s secretary was involved in the strategy of negative campaign through TikTok. Takaichi’s office sent Bunshun a comment that the office had not sent any posting except from the account of Team Sanae and denied delivery of any negative information on other candidates.

 

The secretary has consulted with an entrepreneur, asking support for campaign strategy in cyber space. The entrepreneur revealed that he produced a bunch of videos for Takaichi campaign. Seventy percent of them were against Koizumi, ten percent against Hayashi and twenty percent for Takaichi. Bunshun reported that another staff in Takaichi campaign was also at the meeting with the entrepreneur. He is now an advisor of a minister in Takaichi Cabinet.

 

The entrepreneur is known as having established a cryptocurrency named Sanae Token right after Takaichi LDP achieved a sweeping victory in February Lower House election. Although the value of Sanae Token rose by forty times during the first day when its trade started, it steeply declined after Takaichi posted on X that she and her office did not acknowledge about Sanae Token. Bunshun reported that the secretary of Takaichi had approved issuance of Sanae Token.

 

Defamation of opponent candidates can be criticized as unfair strategy for the presidential campaign, even though Public Offices Election Act would not be applied to it. Takaichi’s connection with cryptocurrency may cause skepticism on obscure relation between her economic policy and money game. The prime minister is taking as much distance from scandals, which may reduce her approval rate, as she can.

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