Famous Japanese Gravure Model Wins General Election, Defeating 10-Term Lawmaker

Former Gravure Model Morishita Chisato
Pulls Off Major Upset, Defeating 10-Term Veteran Azumi Jun

Morishita Chisato, lawmaker. X screenshot

In Japan's House of Representatives election (general election), a former gravure idol-turned-politician pulled off an upset by defeating a veteran lawmaker who had held the district for nearly 30 years.

According to the Yomiuri Shimbun on February 11, Morishita Chisato (45), who worked as a gravure model in the 2000s, ran in the House of Representatives election held on February 8 in Miyagi Prefecture's 4th district and won. She received a total of 16,411 votes (56.75%), beating centrist Reform Coalition candidate Azumi Jun, who came in second with 10,078 votes, by a margin of 6,333 votes and securing an early lead.

Azumi is a former finance minister and a representative veteran politician who has been elected more than 10 times in this district alone over roughly 30 years since his first win in 1996. The Yomiuri Shimbun described the result as "a performance that exceeded expectations" and evaluated it as one of the most impressive scenes of the election.

From gravure model to politician

Morishita Chisato. X screenshot

Morishita debuted as a gravure model in 2001 and went on to work as a singer and actress, enjoying top-tier popularity in the Japanese entertainment industry. Gravure refers to photo books featuring young women in bikinis or semi-nude. After leaving show business in 2019, she worked in the corporate sector and then entered politics.

When she began her political career, she moved her residence to Ishinomaki City in Miyagi Prefecture. She first formed ties with the area while doing volunteer work there in the aftermath of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.

She first ran in the 2021 House of Representatives election but lost to Azumi, and in 2024 she entered the National Diet by winning a seat through proportional representation. She then gained political experience as parliamentary vice-minister for the environment, and in this election she finally achieved her goal of winning a constituency seat.

Five years of street greetings paid off

Morishita Chisato, lawmaker. Screenshot from X

The key factor behind this victory is seen as her grassroots, community-focused campaign strategy. For the past five years, Morishita has continued so-called "tsujidachi" activities, standing on street corners almost every day to greet voters.

Even the day after her victory, she stood at an intersection in downtown Ishinomaki, waving to commuters on their way to work. These persistent efforts, carried out even in cold, snowy weather, left a strong impression on local voters.

When asked how many times she had conducted street greetings, Morishita laughed and said, "It's a shame I didn't keep count, because it's too many to number." Locals have dubbed her the "Tsujidachi Queen" and have highly praised her consistent presence on the ground.

Takaichi's idol-level popularity also played a role

The strong performance of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in this election is also seen as having had an impact. The Liberal Democratic Party won a landslide victory by securing 316 seats in this general election, surpassing on its own the two-thirds majority needed to initiate constitutional revision.

By contrast, the centrist Reform Coalition formed by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito suffered a crushing defeat. Many heavyweight politicians, including Azumi, lost their seats, leading to major upheaval in the political landscape.

Morishita is regarded as being close to Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae, having been appointed parliamentary vice-minister for the environment when the Takaichi administration was launched. Before the election, Prime Minister Takaichi publicly voiced her support, calling Morishita "a talent who could be entrusted with a key position immediately without any problem."

A member of Morishita's camp said, "Representative Azumi's base was so solid that, to be honest, it still doesn't feel real that we caught up with him. It was an extremely tough election," but added, "Since the current administration was formed, we could sense a favorable trend."