Election God Shinnosuke Fujikawa Passes Away—A Master of Winning Hearts

“When it comes to elections, adrenaline rushes through me.”

Shinnosuke Fujikawa, a renowned election planner who helped many politicians win office and supported the rise of former Hiroshima Prefecture Akitakata City Mayor Shinji Ishimaru (42) in last year’s Tokyo gubernatorial election, passed away on March 11 at the age of 71.

I worked under Fujikawa during the 2022 House of Councillors national election as a campaign worker, witnessing his exceptional skills firsthand.

Astonishingly, Fujikawa fought through the election battle while undergoing dialysis treatment every two days. However, he never let his condition show to the campaign staff, energetically moving about and taking charge of operations.

When I asked him about the source of his energy and vigor, he laughed and said, 

“Adrenaline kicks in during elections.” 

In reality, he was taking pills to give his body the necessary energy to push through.

Even at that time, he was in a situation akin to pressing the gas and brake pedals simultaneously, but after ten years of dialysis and relentless hard work, it’s clear that his body had reached its limit.

Fujikawa was a genius at winning people’s hearts.

He often said, 

“If you don’t move people’s hearts, no strategy matters.” 

This philosophy was evident in how he conducted his election campaigns.

One of the most symbolic examples of his approach was the group LINE messages he sent. Each message was long, spanning 50 to 80 lines per post, equating to around 450 to 720 characters when viewed on a smartphone.

Emergency hospitalization for a fungus in his foot

Amazingly, he was sending that long message while tapping each character on his dialysis bed.

Moreover, five or six times a day, I received LINE messages titled “Instructions,” “Commands,” or “Fujikawa’s Thoughts,” and his words of encouragement had an immense power that boosted the morale of the campaign workers.

Fujikawa was also a master of speeches.

I have listened to more than 50 politicians’ speeches in my life, but I have never heard one surpassing Fujikawa’s.

His unique way of speaking and pacing had a mysterious charm, and even people from opposing camps would say,

“I want to hear Fujikawa speak.”

Such was the level of his persuasiveness.

Three years ago, in the upper house election, the candidate Fujikawa and I supported was considered to have a 90% chance of losing. In that situation, it was discovered that a key staff member was not following his instructions and was not acting. Moreover, that staff member even started trying to take charge of the election, bypassing Fujikawa.

With the organization on the verge of splitting, Fujikawa harshly confronted the staff member, saying,

“You’re in the way, get out of this campaign team!”

He kicked the staff member out with this stern response.

The campaign could have fallen apart at that moment, but Fujikawa’s charismatic speeches and LINE messages united the hearts of the staff. Always calm yet passionate, at times bold yet calculating, many people were drawn to him.

In the end, overturning all predictions, the candidate we supported won the election brilliantly.

The last time I saw Fujikawa was on January 22 of this year.

We had promised to meet again on February 21, but Fujikawa was extremely busy. After finally securing a date, on February 19, I received a message from his secretary saying,

“He was hospitalized urgently due to a sudden deterioration in his health.”

It was said that his condition was caused by neglecting dialysis treatment due to his busy schedule and a bacterial infection that entered through his foot.

Fujikawa was a senior from my university. Every time we met, he would tell me stories of his legendary feats from his university days.

He dropped out of college in his third year and entered the world of politics, serving as a second secretary to a member of the House of Representatives at the age of 25, earning the nicknames “Election God” and “Election Demon.” Fujikawa himself claimed to have been arrested 13 times.

He truly lived for elections and died for elections—Rest in Peace.