<figure id="attachment_399224" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-399224" style="width: 2822px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="3cce06a8"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/11/d31a99d24ef089c2d8548377b26aa78e.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-399224" class="wp-caption-text">Suzuki and his son parade through Kushiro on a cold night. Takako&#8217;s jacket has &#8220;New Party Daichi&#8221; written on it.</figcaption></figure>
<h2> A big-name member of the Diet says, &#8220;Take care of my daughter.</h2>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Mr. Suzuki said, &#8220;Good morning, I am Norio Suzuki. Please take good care of my daughter, Takako Suzuki.</span></p>
<p> This is Akachochin Yokocho in Suehirocho, a downtown area in Kushiro City, Hokkaido. It is said to be the oldest &#8220;area lined with red lanterns&#8221; in Hokkaido.</p>
<p> 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 <span class="strongInContent">said, &#8220;I am Takako Suzuki, my daughter.</span> I bowed and <span class="strongInContent">said, &#8220;My name is Takako Suzuki, my daughter, and I look forward to working with you.</span></p>
<figure id="attachment_399225" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-399225" style="width: 3307px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="65212802"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/11/7591e3d09e6a391b762fd491c9469d7c.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-399225" class="wp-caption-text"> Suzuki and her son bowing as they visit the stores in Akachochin Yokocho.</figcaption></figure>
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<p> 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.</p>
<p> This was Takako&#8217;s first primary election since joining the LDP. According to the LDP&#8217;s preliminary survey of Hokkaido&#8217;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&#8217;s candidate, and a close race ensued.</p>
<p> 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 &#8220;kurakinin senator. A sense of disquiet began to spread through Takako&#8217;s camp, and voices began to be heard saying, <span class="strongInContent">&#8220;This time it&#8217;s not safe,&#8221; and &#8220;The LDP in Hokkaido may be wiped out.</span> The expressions on the faces of the staff members were also gloomy.</p>
<p> The last request was a last-ditch effort to break the deadlock.</p>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" The effect of the &quot;please&quot; was..."></div>
<h2>Even in the extreme cold, &#8220;I don&#8217;t wear a jacket.&#8221;</h2>
<figure id="attachment_399226" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-399226" style="width: 2918px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="a8d5e630"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/11/ab261b4423d9102c24bcca47db7da67b.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-399226" class="wp-caption-text"> After Muneo left the store, Takako continued to chat with the customers inside.</figcaption></figure>
<p> In the <span class="strongInContent">old days, Suehiro-cho was always full of fishermen and the business was booming, but now there are not many pedestrians,&#8221;</span> said Mr. Muneo with a sad look on his face.</p>
<p> 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.</p>
<p> 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, <span class="strongInContent">&#8220;You should bring a jacket, representative,&#8221;</span> but he turned a deaf ear to her daughter&#8217;s words. He remained in his suit until the very end, parading through the downtown area.</p>
<figure id="attachment_399227" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-399227" style="width: 2200px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="38faadd6"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/11/17f3158bb8827b9626b6f17c865c8441.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-399227" class="wp-caption-text"> Mr. Muneo and Ms. Takako prepare to leave at the campaign office before making their final request.</figcaption></figure>
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<p> 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 &#8220;parental stupidity.</p>
<p> And although her back was a size smaller than her father&#8217;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 &#8220;Suzuki Kingdom.</p>
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 Yasuko Funamoto

 On the day before the opening of voting for the House of Representatives election, a father and daughter were busy making a "last request" in Kushiro City, Hokkaido. Suzuki Muneo, a member of the House of Councillors, went to support his daughter, Takako Suzuki, in her election campaign. We caught up closely with the two.

He went to a town in extremely cold weather to say, &#8220;Take care of my daughter!　Close-up shot of the &#8220;parental support&#8221; for the daughter, Takako, of Congressman Muneo Suzuki.

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.

Access Ranking

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.

Access Ranking

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.