Tachibana Targets Support from Ex-Hikoma Madams in Hyogo Upper House Race

Kobe Shimbun, which published a rebuttal to Mr. Tachibana’s claims

The 27th House of Councillors election, with voting and ballot counting scheduled for July 20. A video released by Takashi Tachibana (57), leader of the “NHK Party” and a candidate running from the Hyogo electoral district, has sparked controversy.

On June 29, Tachibana released a video titled:

“Miki City Mayor Defeated! Thank You Very Much — But There’s Good News!”

In the video, lawyer Katsuya Fukunaga, who is also running in the proportional representation category for the NHK Party in the Upper House election, appeared as well. Tachibana said:

“We’ve received amazing information—well, I can’t disclose the exact numbers, but No. 1 is Fumihiko Izumi, No. 2 is the incumbent from Komeito, Takahashi, and No. 3 is the NHK Party—yes, me, Tachibana, in third place, right here. This is within the winning range. And fourth, I think, is the LDP’s Kada.”

Pointing to a whiteboard labeled “1. Izumi / 2. Komeito / 3. Tachibana / 4. LDP”, he explained the state of each party in Hyogo Prefecture, indicating that he was within the winning range. Since Hyogo is a three-member constituency, the implication at the time of the video release was that Tachibana was effectively guaranteed a win.

Elated by the popularity poll results, Tachibana held a street speech on July 3, the official start of the campaign, in front of the Kobe Shimbun headquarters in Chuo Ward, Kobe City. Pointing to the Kobe Shimbun building with his chin, he said:

“According to their survey: No. 1 Izumi, No. 2 Komeito’s Takahashi, No. 3 me, No. 4 LDP. That’s their survey. For some reason, that information comes to me. It’s a scary thing. You can’t stop the information anymore.

Simply put, there are people inside Kobe Shimbun who give me information. I won’t say who, though.”

However, on the next day, July 4, Kobe Shimbun NEXT released an article titled:

“Tachibana’s Upper House Election Speech: ‘Heard the Survey,’ ‘I’m Third’ — Kobe Shimbun Has Not Conducted a Survey.”

It stated:

“As of today, Kobe Shimbun has not conducted any projection surveys regarding the Upper House election. The speech in question was livestreamed, and there are videos and posts on X (formerly Twitter) suggesting that Tachibana seems to have obtained Kobe Shimbun’s projection data, but it is not true that Kobe Shimbun conducted such a survey by that date. Please beware of false information. The projection data to be released on the morning of July 5 is based on data distributed by Kyodo News on July 4 and will be analyzed by Kobe Shimbun.”

Thus, Kobe Shimbun completely denied Tachibana’s statements. In response, Tachibana corrected his remarks:

“To be precise, I heard from someone at Kobe Shimbun that I ranked third in an election projection including Kobe Shimbun. Kobe Shimbun didn’t conduct their own survey, but it’s more accurate to say it was a projection including Kobe Shimbun.”

And so, he revised his statement.

Tachibana’s Claim of Over 1.11 million Votes — What’s the Basis?

Tachibana Claims He Heard It from a Kobe Shimbun Reporter — But Was That Info Wrong?

Tachibana maintains that he didn’t lie, stating:

“What’s correct is that I heard it from someone at Kobe Shimbun. So, if I’m wrong, that means the reporter’s information was incorrect. Either way, I want to clearly state my rebuttal.”

But was the reporter’s info actually incorrect? And what is the real current situation?

We asked election watcher Chidai, who commented:

“I’ve never seen a poll showing him in third place.”

“In the Hyogo electoral district, I believe he’s in 7th place. Unless he generates a major, viral news story, winning a seat is nearly impossible.”

Tachibana himself seemed to acknowledge this in a July 10 video:

“There are 13 candidates, and I’ve been told I’m around 7th place. Only three get elected, so please support me.”

Despite this, in his official campaign broadcast, Tachibana shouted while mimicking Fumihiro Izumi and the infamous ex-Hyogo lawmaker Ryutaro Nonomura, saying:

“I, Takashi Tachibana, will win more than the 1.11 million votes that Saito [Motohiko, Hyogo Governor] received last year, and finish first. I will become a Diet member and strongly help Mr. Saito. Together, we will protect the people of Hyogo by delivering safety and truth!”

Is he seriously saying he wants to become a lawmaker to support Governor Saito? It’s unclear. But according to Chidai:

“Hyogo has a unique dynamic. There are women known as the ‘Motohiko Madams’ who support Governor Saito, and he still has a base of support. Tachibana’s strategy seems to be to gather all of their votes.”

Wearing a red Trump cap and doing impressions with a serious face, Tachibana declared:

“I consider myself the Japanese Trump.”

Will his campaign end in disappointment—or surprise success?