KOIZUMI'S BID FOR LEADERSHIP IN TATTERS AFTER SPAMGATE

Koizumi "luncheon" his spamcaign

Following the resignation of Prime Minister Ishiba, Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is choosing a new leader (and therefore Prime Minister). Diet members and LDP grassroots members each have a roughly 50-50 say in the result.

There are several candidates, but, based on his good looks and famous father, Shinjiro Koizumi, the Minister of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries, has been attracting much of the media buzz. But now, thanks to a spamming scandal, it looks like Koizumi's chances of following in his father's footsteps as PM may be receding.

As reported by NHK:

"Following the revelation that emails had been sent from within the campaign team of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, who is running for the LDP presidential election, requesting that favorable comments about Koizumi be posted on a video streaming site, Minister Koizumi stated that he felt "apologetic" and indicated his intention to take thorough measures to prevent such incidents from recurring.

The weekly magazine Shukan Bunshun, released on the 25th, reported that the office of former Digital Affairs Minister Karen Makishima, who is in charge of public relations for Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Koizumi's campaign, had emailed campaign officials requesting them to "post positive comments on video streaming sites from an early stage," and had also provided examples of comments."

Among the tasty comments that supporters were requested to copy, paste, and spam were the following: 

"Finally, the real star has arrived!"
"This has to be the frontrunner!"
"No doubt about becoming (party) president."
"He’s got more gravitas than last year."
"He handled the dirty work and really grew from it."
"He feels like the pinch hitter you can count on in tough times."
"His comeback against the opposition was sharp."
"He just seems like a genuinely nice guy."
"He really does seem good at looking after younger members.

....you get the picture. 

This sort of thing is frowned on in Japanese culture, putting Koizumi firmly on the backfoot in the final days of the campaign. At a recent press conference following the scandal breaking he attempted a little damage limitation:

"I have been informed that the email was sent out at the sole discretion of the office in question, providing sample comments. I have been informed that there was no intention to criticize the other candidates, but it was inappropriate, and I have spoken out to them to ensure that this does not happen again. I am sorry. We will take thorough measures to prevent a recurrence, and I would like to continue to approach this election with a sense of urgency."