LDP Leadership Contest Marred by Alleged Smear Campaign

Whoever won the LDP leadership contest was all but guaranteed to become Japan’s next prime minister, raising the stakes of any alleged dirty tricks operation well beyond routine internal party mudslinging. Takaichi was quizzed by opposition politicians in the Diet on Monday about the Shukan Bunshun reports, which emerged in late April. The video clips at the heart of the smear campaign, which were posted to social media, described Koizumi as “incapable” and “a puppet of hereditary politics”, drawing attention to his use of cue cards in a debate as evidence of incompetence.