Shinji Ishimaru also cried] The “God of Election,” who had fought with guerrillas and passed away suddenly, spoke of the “eye of the typhoon” in this summer’s Upper House election.

The “wellspring” of his toughness

A senior student from his university days had become a secretary to a member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and asked Mr. Fujikawa, who was hanging around, if he would like to help with the election. He became fascinated with elections during his 12-year stint as secretary to former Local Autonomy Minister Yukio Yamamoto, a member of the Tanaka faction (at the time).

He was fascinated by the election process, “I would think about election strategies based on data, and devise strategies on who to defeat in order to break the opponents’ camps. He was so fascinated by elections that they became his life’s purpose. At the same time, I am constantly thinking about how to move Japanese politics forward, not only by winning elections, but also by ensuring fair policy debates that are beneficial to the community and to Japan.

Incidentally, Yukio’s grandson, Sachiko, is now a member of the House of Councilors and Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture and Forestry. When I see him in Nagata-cho, he gives me a subtle look when I say, ‘When I was secretary, I changed Sachiko’s diapers.

In 1991, he ran for a seat on the Osaka City Council from the Liberal Democratic Party and won, at the age of 37. In the middle of his second term as a city councilor, he ran for the Osaka 6th House of Representatives seat on the former Democratic Party of Japan, but was unsuccessful in that race.

He was left with a debt of 180 million yen at a time when “money politics was in full swing.”

Dreaming of getting rich, he went gold mining in Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra in Indonesia.

For nine months I worked together with Islamic guerrillas to dig for gold. I got malaria along the way. Finally we started getting gold, and they said, ‘With this we can pay off our debts. I thought, ‘With this, I can repay my debts and dig up enough gold to establish a new party,’ but the conflict between the guerrillas intensified, and I was forced to return to Japan.”

After returning to Japan, Fujikawa visited Ichiro Ozawa, 82, former secretary general of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), and returned to the world of elections.

In the 2009 lower house election, he supported Yukiko Miyake in Gunma’s 4th district, the stronghold of former Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda (1988), and led her to a proportional return to the House of Representatives. Ayako Masuda, who worked with Mr. Fujikawa as his secretary at the time and has known him for 35 years, recalls, “We fought a lot when we were young.

He had fought a lot of fights since he was young and had dealt with guerrillas in Indonesia, so he was a skillful negotiator. He is skilled in the art of winning elections, and in order to get a candidate elected, he will even persuade the leaders of rival camps and influential backers. His experience of going through numerous rough patches has left him with an unthinkable winning percentage. I doubt there will ever be another maverick like him.”

Fujikawa was said to have a smiling expression on his face as he left St. Luke’s International Hospital for the casket.

With two major elections coming up this summer, one for the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly and the other for the House of Councillors, it would not be surprising if the parties involved with the “god of elections” were to be the center of the storm in both elections. Even though he has passed away, Fujikawa’s will will remain.