Behind the Scenes of the Birth of New LDP President Sanae Takaichi… “Losing the Day”: Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi’s “Twilight Couple’s Walk the Day After Defeat
Nagatacho Deep Report Part 1
Behind the Scenes of the “Great Upset
Banzai, Mr. Takaichi, the new president!
On the evening of October 4, the 500-seat main hall of a building three minutes’ walk from the LDP headquarters was filled with thunderous applause. What was being held was the “Team Sanae Debriefing Session. The moderator, Akiko Ikuina, 57, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, enlivened the audience by repeatedly calling out “new president” with a microphone in her hand.
The two who received the loudest applause were former policy chief Kōichi Hagiuda (62) and former Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry Yasutoshi Nishimura (62), two members of the “old Abe faction of five” who had worked hard to gather votes for the presidential election. Shortly thereafter, the “main actor” finally appeared. As soon as he stepped onto the stage, he declared his victory in high spirits.
I just asked a party official what I have to do as president, and he said I feel faint (laughs). The future will be tough. I will firmly rebuild the party and turn uncertainty into hope.”
Afterwards, all the participants sang three Hail Marys. Mr. Hagiuda and Mr. Nishimura also stood on the stage, waving their arms in the air, and enjoyed the Hail Mary.
On October 4, the vote was cast for the LDP presidential election. Sanae Takaichi, 64, won the runoff election against Koizumi Shinjiro, 44, minister of agriculture, to become the 29th LDP president and the first female president in the party’s 70-year history.
Aso (Taro, 85), who had been told that Shinjiro would win 90% of the vote, turned the tide in favor of Takaichi in the runoff, embracing Mogi (Toshimitsu, 70) and Kobayashi (Takayuki, 50), who had lost in the first round of voting. He was behind the dramatic turnaround in the election.
The incident that triggered Mr. Takaichi’s support was that on September 30, Mr. Takaichi visited Mr. Aso and, citing the feud between Mr. Aso and former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi (83) that had developed during the privatization of the Japan Post, appealed that he would continue the line of Mr. Aso’s close ally, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
In September, the Hanshin Tigers, of which Mr. Takaichi is a big fan, won the league championship, but to avoid a mood of buoyancy, Mr. Takaichi himself kept the topic to himself. I heard that Mr. Takaichi himself kept the topic to himself so that he would not be in a buoyant mood.
Blatant Argumentative Appointments Draw Criticism
The party’s executive appointments announced on October 6 were a blatant show of controversial appointments.
Mr. Aso was named vice president and returned to the mainstream. Mr. Suzuki (Shunichi, 72), his brother-in-law, became secretary general, and Ms. Arimura (Haruko, 55), a member of the Aso faction, became chairman of the General Affairs Committee. Within the party, there has been criticism that ‘this is effectively an Aso administration. Mr. Aso must be laughing all the way to the bank.
It is a rule in Nagata-cho that “If you win, you are the government’s army; if you lose, you are the bandit’s army. The influence of former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (68), former Vice President Suga Yoshihide (76), and former Secretary General Yutaka Moriyama (80), who were mainstream figures under the Ishiba administration, has been wiped out. And a harsh reality awaited the defeated generals.
The day after the presidential election, a couple was strolling through an upscale residential area in the slanting sunlight (second photo). They were Shinjiro and his wife, Christel Takigawa (48).
It was supposed to be a brief family moment, but there was a subtle distance between them and no conversation. Even though Takigawa is known for her hospitality, she may have been at a loss as to what to say to her husband, who had hit rock bottom while sitting in front of the president’s chair.
In fact, a long, dark tunnel awaits Shinjiro. Keisuke Yamada, a commentator for Jiji Press, analyzes the situation.
He has the backing of two former prime ministers and three former candidates for the presidential election, but he lost. This was a result of people questioning his political ability. Even in his last speech before the runoff, he only thanked ‘thank you all’ and failed to present a concrete vision of the nation.
Although he is still young at 44, he has already been elected six times and has no freshness, and I believe that Mr. Kobayashi, who has been elected five times, will be the standard bearer of the generational shift from now on. Mr. Shinjiro will once again have to take a long time to build up his track record.”
At a regular press conference held on August 7, Shinjiro stated that he had not been asked by President Takaichi to continue as Minister of Agriculture. His chances of becoming the next prime minister have been completely destroyed.
FRIDAY” October 24 and 31, 2025
PHOTO.： Takeshi Kinugawa (1st and 3rd pictures) Shu Nishihara (2nd picture)
