Actress Akiko Ikuina to Run as Councillor –Interview with LDP Leaders already on its Way!

A woman gazes straight at us with her hands folded. She is former “Onyanko Club” member and actress Akiko Ikuina, 53. Standing next to her with a big smile on his face is Koichi Hagiuda, 58, Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry.

This is an article from a conversation that appeared in the November 13, 2007 issue of the Liberal Democratic Party’s official newspaper, “Liberal Democratic Party.”

It is said that Mr. Ikuta has decided to run as an LDP candidate in the Tokyo election for the House of Councillors in summer.

The Seiwa-kai was in charge of the selection of the candidate from the beginning. Both Mr. Hagiuda, the head of the Tokyo Metropolitan Federation of Trade Unions, and Ms. Marukawa (Tamayo), the acting head of the Tokyo Metropolitan Federation of Trade Unions, are members of the Seiwa-kai. The candidate this time will succeed Masaharu Nakagawa, who was also a member of the Seiwa-kai. A number of female announcers had been ‘potential candidates,’ but they were turned down at every turn. At the end of last year, Nobuaki Ishihara’s name was even mentioned, but as expected, he gave up on the idea.

It was then that Ms. Ikuina was chosen as the best candidate for the job. In addition to being well known to the general public, Ms. Ikuina has served as a member of the government’s “Council for Workplace Reform.”

It is in this context that the interview between the two men in “Liberal Democratic Party of Japan” at the beginning of this article is attracting attention among LDP officials.

The dialogue was on the subject of “child rearing. In the article, Mr. Hagiuda begins with.

I understand that you are currently the mother of a one-and-a-half-year-old girl. How about a second child?

The mood appears to be basically congenial, although he does make an in-depth statement, “I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be doing”

[Joon] Sometimes I wonder why I have to be so reserved when I’m raising a child… [omission] When I have my child with me, people seem to look at me like I’m being too loud, and it’s hard for me to get on a bullet train.

Mr. Hagiuda said.

 Small children are supposed to be energetic and noisy, so it’s strange to live in a world where it’s wrong for children to be noisy.

He responds. In places, Mr. Hagiuda speaks with a “tame” tone, indicating that he is open to the idea of a rapport.

The reason this interview article is now attracting attention is that Hagiuda played a leading role in the selection of this year’s candidates. An LDP insider tells us.

Mr. Hagiuda is right in the middle of the Onyanko generation. We have not heard who exactly he was a fan of, but there is no way he has any bad feelings toward Ms. Ikuina. The big smile on Mr. Hagiuda’s face in “Liberal Democrat” will tell you that. He said, “I think he strongly supported Ms. Ikuina’s candidacy because he is a fan of his own. It is rumored that he is personalizing the authority of the Tokyo Metropolitan Federation of Trade Unions.

When I visited her at her home in Tokyo to talk to her about running for office, I was met by her husband, Tomohiro Sayama, a businessman.

–What is your opinion for running for office?

I’m not sure about that yet. …… I haven’t heard anything about it, so I can’t say.

–Has your wife told you about running for office?

Yes, yes. I haven’t seen him for a while now, so I can’t say anything back to him.

In fact, it is believed that there were other reasons than mere “personalization” for Mr. Hagiuda to endorse  Ms. Ikuina. A former LDP insider said.

Ms. Ikuina is a good friend of Mr. Abe (Shinzo). We do not know whether the relationship originally came from Mr. Abe or his wife Aki’s personal connections, but it is a well-known fact that they are good friends. From Mr.Hagiuda’s point of view, it may mean that he is trying to score points from Mr. Abe.”

Journalist Tetsuo Suzuki said.

Voters are becoming more and more critical of people like Eriko Imai, who, after being elected to office, has been involved in a scandal with a man. We are no longer in an era where one can be elected because of popularity. However, in the case of Ms. Ikuina, I think he has an advantage because the Seiwa-kai is pushing him with all its factions.”

Mr. Ikuo is scheduled to hold another runoff press conference on the afternoon of April 4-6.