Why the offices and industry associations are “giving their full support” to Imai, Ikuta and other talent candidates

The House of Councillors election will be held on July 11. Many “celebrity candidates” are running for the House of Councillors again this year.

Every year, there are many talented candidates running for the House of Councillors. This is because, unlike the lower house elections, there are nationwide proportional districts.

In addition, the House of Councillors election is not a primary election, so the electoral districts are wider. This means that TV personalities who are widely known on TV and in magazines tend to have an advantage,” said a reporter from a national newspaper.

In the current election, candidates running in the Tokyo district include Akiko Ikuina, formerly of the Onyanko Club, and Hirotada Ototake, whose “Gottai Dissatisfaction” became a bestseller. Taro Yamamoto, leader of the “Reiwa Shinseigumi” party, and Renho of the “Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan,” who has experience as a minister, were also originally TV personalities.

Also in the national proportional district are Dr. Suidobashi of the comedy duo “Asakusa Kid” and actor Kiyoshi Nakajo, famous for his “Hissatsu Shigotojin” series. In addition, incumbent Eriko Imai, who is seeking her second election, and others are also in hot competition.

In the midst of all this, the entertainment industry made a major move regarding this election. Four music organizations, including the Japan Music Industry Association and the Japan Federation of Music Producers Association, have announced their support for Imai and Ikume, who are running for the LDP nomination.

The Japan Music Industry Association was famously close to politics, with former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone serving as its first chairman. However, this is the first time the music industry has come together to express support for a specific candidate. In response to this, many people in the music and entertainment industries have expressed their opposition on SNS and other media.

The reason why the Sound Jikyokai, which has a great deal of influence in the entertainment industry, and other industry groups have become so active in this election is due in large part to the influence of the new Corona. A senior executive of a mid-sized production company said, “The entertainment industry has been hit hard by the Corona disaster.

The COVID-19 crisis has dealt a serious blow to the entertainment industry. In fact, even major production companies are restructuring their staff, moving their offices to the suburbs or smaller locations, and cutting back on rent.

In particular, the music industry, which has been unable to produce concerts and stage performances, has become quite exhausted. It is probably out of such dissatisfaction that the industry associations have become active in the elections.

Of course, the COVID-19 crisis has caused economic damage not only to the entertainment and music industries, but also to many other industries.

For example, it is said that the “GoTo Campaign” was quickly decided upon by the “National Association of Travel Agents,” an organization of travel agents and others, because Toshihiro Nikai, a leading figure in the LDP, is its chairman. Not to mention the construction industry and agricultural organizations that are close to the LDP. With such industries on their side, the heavyweights in the entertainment industry may be thinking, “We should be interested, too.

In an interview with the Communist Party’s newspaper “Shimbun Aka Hata” (Red Flag), Yoshitaka Hori, president of Hori Productions, who at the time was serving as chairman of the Sound Jikyo, said

We cooperated with the government to prevent the spread of the disease. It is said that both large and small theater companies decided to cancel the event, even though they were prepared to go bankrupt or dissolve their operations, and a total of 58 million people stopped moving to the area. And yet, not only is there no compensation, there is not even a word of gratitude.

He also expressed his dissatisfaction with the administration.

However, the outpouring of support for the entertainment industry, which has an image of being a “flashy world,” has not been as strong as it could have been. Therefore, the government probably wants to have a certain political power by electing a candidate who is a celebrity and has a strong reputation.

Mr. Imai’s former office is also supporting Mr. Ishizaka’s candidacy. Ms. Imai’s former agency is also said to be supporting her in some way.

Not only the industry associations but also the production companies are making desperate efforts to support her in the election. Naturally, they all have their own reasons for going to such lengths.

For example, when Kensaku Morita was governor of Chiba Prefecture, many talents from the same office were used at prefectural events and on Chiba TV. Also, Yoshimoto Kogyo, which has a honeymoon relationship with the “Restoration Association,” is well known for undertaking a wide range of events, including the Osaka Expo,” he said.

In other words, it has become clear that the closer the entertainment industry is to politics, the more lucrative it is. And with the COVID-19 crisis, all of the offices are in a pinch, so it seems that they don’t care what they have to do.

The House of Councillors election this time around was a tangle of various speculations. However, there seems to be no doubt that the voters have been left out of the loop…