He went to a town in extremely cold weather to say, “Take care of my daughter!　Close-up shot of the “parental support” for the daughter, Takako, of Congressman Muneo Suzuki.

A big-name member of the Diet says, “Take care of my daughter.

Mr. Suzuki said, “Good morning, I am Norio Suzuki. Please take good care of my daughter, Takako Suzuki.

This is Akachochin Yokocho in Suehirocho, a downtown area in Kushiro City, Hokkaido. It is said to be the oldest “area lined with red lanterns” in Hokkaido.

Mr. Muneo Suzuki, 76, a member of the House of Councilors, passed through the curtain, slowly opened the side wooden door, and bowed to the owner of the izakaya, a small, three-mat izakaya with only a counter. About 10 seconds later, Takako Suzuki (38), this time wearing a green winter coat with her name embroidered on the left arm, walked through the curtain and said, “I am Takako Suzuki, my daughter. I bowed and said, “My name is Takako Suzuki, my daughter, and I look forward to working with you.

On Saturday evening, October 26, the last day of the campaign for the 50th House of Representatives election, Takako and Norio made a final appeal in the downtown area after the speeches were over by 8:00 pm.

This was Takako’s first primary election since joining the LDP. According to the LDP’s preliminary survey of Hokkaido’s 7th Constituency, where she ran, Nahoko Shinoda of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) was ahead in the first half of the race. In the middle stage of the race, Takako overtook Shinoda’s candidate, and a close race ensued.

The situation changed again on October 23, when the second half of the election was about to begin. It was reported that the LDP headquarters had also paid 20 million yen to a branch headed by a “kurakinin senator. A sense of disquiet began to spread through Takako’s camp, and voices began to be heard saying, “This time it’s not safe,” and “The LDP in Hokkaido may be wiped out. The expressions on the faces of the staff members were also gloomy.

The last request was a last-ditch effort to break the deadlock.

Even in the extreme cold, “I don’t wear a jacket.”

In the old days, Suehiro-cho was always full of fishermen and the business was booming, but now there are not many pedestrians,” said Mr. Muneo with a sad look on his face.

Mr. Muneo has been based in Kushiro for many years and is well known in Hokkaido. He was happy to shake hands with passersby and take pictures with them. Takako was also seen chatting with people she met at her stops. One man in his 20s said he came to support Takako after seeing her post on Instagram. It was a good sign that Takako has a wide range of supporters in her hometown.

In Kushiro in October, the temperature drops to 9 degrees Celsius at night, making it necessary to wear warm clothes. Takako whispered to Mr. Munero, who was dressed in a suit, “You should bring a jacket, representative,” but he turned a deaf ear to her daughter’s words. He remained in his suit until the very end, parading through the downtown area.

Thanks to their desperate pleas, Takako won the election by more than 24,000 votes over Shinoda. The way Mr. Muneo, an independent candidate, took the initiative in going through the curtain and bowing to Takako, who belongs to the Liberal Democratic Party, one could not help but feel a deep affection that could be described as “parental stupidity.

And although her back was a size smaller than her father’s, I sensed an unfathomable strength in Takako as well. Takako professes that her goal is to one day surpass her father as a politician. The election campaign gave us the impression that she will soon inherit the “Suzuki Kingdom.