Poll Leader but Now... The Most Bittersweet Funkulsekja in Japan at Present [Nihonjin Side]

Shinjiro Koizumi Ends Up 3rd in Party Leadership Election After Leading Polls
Early Surge Sparks 'Shinjiro Fever' Neologism
Celebrity Presence Overshadows Politician Image
'Punkulsekja' Stigma Hinders Until the End

Japan elected a new prime minister this week. Last week, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) held its leadership election, and since the party leader in Japan's parliamentary system typically becomes the prime minister, the newly elected LDP leader, Shigeru Ishiba, took office as prime minister on the 1st.

In fact, it seems that in our country, the recognition of the new prime minister Ishiba or the former prime minister Fumio Kishida is not very high. Rather, when it comes to the recognition of Japanese politicians, the late Shinzo Abe, the longest-serving prime minister and a central figure of the right wing, and Shinjiro Koizumi, who is nicknamed 'Punkulsekja' (펀쿨섹좌), seem to be more well-known.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

One reason why this Japanese leadership election attracted attention in our country might have been the rise of Shinjiro Koizumi, the former environment minister nicknamed 'Punkulsekja.' Various media polls showed him leading at different times, and numerous analyses both inside and outside Japan suggested that Koizumi could become the next prime minister. However, in the actual LDP leadership election, he failed to even reach the runoff and was pushed to third place. He might be the most bitter person in Japan at this point.

Japanese media have been analyzing why Koizumi, who topped the polls, lost despite the articles about Ishiba. Since many articles about Ishiba have been published, I will introduce the election story of Shinjiro Koizumi, who tasted defeat this week.

Poll Leader... Rose with High Expectations but

From the moment rumors of his candidacy surfaced, former environment minister Koizumi attracted attention. In the LDP leadership election, candidates must first secure 20 endorsements, and he managed to secure the necessary 20 endorsers and held daily meetings with senior members to build support. This time, factions such as the 'Abe faction' led by former prime minister Abe were problematic within the LDP, but Koizumi’s lack of affiliation with any specific faction worked in his favor. Reports said he secured support from over 40 lawmakers who expressed backing across various factions, quickly rising as a standout newcomer. Especially when former prime minister Yoshihide Suga, who also was not affiliated with any faction when he became prime minister, declared support for Koizumi, it caused another stir.

Various media polls, including those by TBS, showed a close race between the newly elected leader Ishiba and Koizumi for first place. At his candidacy announcement, Koizumi emphasized his image as young blood and called for reform within the LDP. His image as a reformer left a strong impression and raised expectations. The term 'Shinjiro Fever' was coined to describe this surge. Because of this, many articles and posts on Japanese media and social networking services (SNS) speculated on what would happen if Koizumi really became prime minister.

However, when the actual results came out, they were very different. In the LDP leadership preliminary election held on the 27th of last month, Koizumi was pushed to third place. Instead, Sanae Takaichi, the minister in charge of economic security, classified as a far-right politician, took first place, followed by the newly elected leader Ishiba. Since only the top two candidates advance to the runoff if no one achieves a majority, Koizumi was automatically eliminated. Ishiba then succeeded in overtaking and secured the party leadership.

Shinjiro Fever Created by SNS and Media?

In Japan, analyses continued on why Koizumi’s poll-leading surge, the 'Shinjiro Fever,' did not translate into actual votes. From the middle of the campaign after his candidacy announcement, voter support began to shift elsewhere.

Mainichi Shimbun investigated by interviewing citizens who attended Koizumi’s street speeches. Among 12 respondents, only 3 said they thought 'Koizumi should be prime minister,' while the rest were unclear about their support. Most said they came because 'he’s good-looking and wanted to see him once,' or 'he’s a star trending on SNS, so they came to take a selfie.' When asked if they knew about Koizumi’s policies, most replied 'not really.' This shows that his political stance was quite faint.

Also, the shadow of his father played a role. Being the son of former prime minister Koizumi, there was public opinion questioning whether the second generation needed to inherit the position. Mainichi mentioned that some citizens harshly commented, "He doesn’t seem capable of talking with leaders of the US or China," and "The media basically created his popularity, but no one really knows what he does."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Lastly, the most famous 'Koizumi phrase' continued to hold him back. This is what introduced Koizumi to our country as 'Punkulsekja.' When he was environment minister, he participated as Japan’s representative at the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Summit and left a vague remark that "climate change should be addressed in a fun, cool, and sexy way." In Japan, there are still accounts on X (formerly Twitter) mimicking Koizumi’s speech style, making it almost a meme. His failure to address sensitive issues straightforwardly and his ambiguous answers led to a lack of trust.

Especially, the 'Punkulsekja' label seemed fatal in appealing to the younger 20s and 30s demographic. The election results reveal this: the LDP leadership election votes are divided into three parts?party-affiliated Diet members, party members who pay dues and are Japanese nationals, and members of political organizations supporting the LDP. Although Koizumi ranked third overall, the results among party members and their votes were quite different. His vote count was about half that of Takaichi or Ishiba, and in Tokyo’s city center, Chiba Prefecture, and Saitama Prefecture?areas with many young people?he lost to Takaichi by nearly double scores. In short, he failed to connect with the young Japanese voters.

During the election period debates, he also sparked controversy with remarks like "Going to university is not everything," which led to criticism questioning what someone raised as a second-generation politician really understands.

Kenichi Tokoi, a nonfiction writer who has long covered the Koizumi family, commented, "He is different from his father, who was skilled in fighting and had a strong sense of competition," and added, "Even now, when he goes to rural areas, people call him Junichiro (his father) or Kotaro (his actor older brother) instead of Shinjiro, proving he has not been recognized for his own merit."

Anyway, Shinjiro Koizumi, who probably did not lag behind anyone in recognition, still seems to have many challenges to overcome. To shed the 'Punkulsekja' label, significant reform appears necessary. After all... he is a politician (nods).