Hagiuda Koichi’s x has been turned into a “ramen eating diary”．．． hollow appeal to the common man as a “second secret fund” is revealed

The House of Representatives election will be held on October 27th. One of the electoral districts in focus is Tokyo’s 24th district. Former Policy Research Council Chairman Koichi Hagiuda, who was suspended from his party position for one year for failing to report 27.28 million yen in kickbacks from a political fundraising party in his income and expenditure report, is running for office. He has not been endorsed by the Liberal Democratic Party and is running as an independent. Other candidates who have put their hopes up in this fiercely contested district include former House of Councillors member Yoshio Arita of the Constitutional Democratic Party, Yumi Sato of the Japan Restoration Party, Yusuke Urakawa of the Democratic Party for the People, Sayuri Yokura of the Party for Assembly Members, and independent Fumio Hatajiri. “Towards the end, Hagiuda and Arita are in a dead heat. It’s impossible to tell who will win. On the 16th, Akie Abe, wife of the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, came to support Hagiuda, while Noda Yoshihiko, leader of the Democratic Party of Japan, took the microphone for Arita on the 15th, and Renho took the microphone on the 24th. The outcome is likely to be decided by a narrow margin, but since Hagiuda is an independent, if he loses in the single-seat constituency he will lose his parliamentary badge.” (Political reporter)
Amid the tough election campaign, Hagiuda is also focusing on social media strategies. She updates her official account multiple times a day, but as she openly states that she “loves to eat,” the thing that stands out is “ramen.” Since the announcement date of October 15th, Hagiuda Koichi’s office x has been introducing ramen like this. 《Today’s lunch is Tomoe, a famous Hachioji ramen shop, but today I chose seaweed ramen! I usually top it with seaweed or boiled egg》 (17th)
《Today’s lunch is Ramen Deura, a long-established shop that has inherited the original Hachioji ramen》 (19th)
《Today’s lunch is Daishintei, a shop famous for its large portions, where I ordered fried rice, Cantonese noodles, and yakisoba》 (21st)
《Today’s lunch is Minmin. Once, I had to ask former Prime Minister Aso to come to Hachioji at short notice to give a street speech, and he asked me to treat him to some delicious Hachioji ramen. (23rd)
It has now become a “ramen-eating diary.” “Hachioji Ramen, topped with plenty of onions, is soul food for the people of Hachioji. Entertainer Hiromi and his family are also regulars at Minmin. It seems that members of the Hachioji-kai group, which Hiromi presides over, also attend the club. Hagiuda is well known for his love of ramen. “I think he knows almost all the ramen shops in the city.” (Hachioji resident)
You’d think that in response to these introductions of famous ramen shops, there would be a flood of voices of support for Hagiuda on x, but the replies to each post were extremely harsh. Some posts even encourage people to change jobs. “I hope Hagiuda loses the election and spends the rest of his life as a ramen youtuber.”
“I think he just wants to go on food tours now, and that’s his main focus.”
“The ramen Hagiuda is eating in Hachioji is insincere, considering he usually splurges on his taxes.”
On the other hand, there were also posts expressing concern for his health, such as “The mental stress has made him eat nothing but ramen” and “I’m worried that Hagiuda only eats ramen for lunch! I wonder if he’s okay with the salt intake.” However, it is difficult to find voices of support for Hagiuda. “That is to be expected. Of course, he is running as an unofficial candidate and a “policeman with secret funds,” so he has a strong image of being dirty. In addition, on the 23rd, Akahata reported that a LDP branch headed by a non-official member of parliament had received a political party subsidy of 20 million yen. In other words, it is a “second secret fund.” No matter how much Hagiuda tries to make people feel close to him by eating “commoner’s ramen’’ every day, voters have learned that he still has abundant funding flowing in from the Liberal Democratic Party. It would seem insincere.” (Political reporter)
There are only three days left until the fateful 27th. What voters want to know is not the taste of the ramen, but how the “under the table’’ money will be resolved. flash