The final night of the election campaign.

Reporter 
“People are gathering even on the stairways of nearby restaurants. The crowd is so dense that it’s hard to move.”

Then—

Reporterｓ
“The moment Ms. Takaichi appears, everyone rushes to hold up their smartphones to film her.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (President of LDP)
“Let us make Japan strong and prosperous. I am Takaichi Sanae.”

The crowd seemed to just want a glimpse of her.

Reporter
“Perhaps they’re trying to see Prime Minister Takaichi—the train platforms are overflowing with people as well.”

Prime Minister Takaichi seemed overwhelmingly popular.

A visitor to the speech venue:
“I wanted to see Japan’s first female prime minister in person.”

“This is the first time I’ve ever come to hear a political speech.”

We watched  the  ‘Takaichi Fever’ in election campaign..

Audience
“Takaichi-saaan!”
“Sanae! Sanae!”

Reporter
“There are less than 20 minutes until the speech begins. The line for bag inspections has become enormous.”

A huge crowd packed into a park in Tokyo.

Among them were people waving with fans decorated with photos of her in a wedding dress from about 20 years ago.

A parent and child, waiting in line for the security check just to see her live, said:

Parent and child
“I’m wearing two ‘Heattech’ layers, then a sweatshirt, then a knit sweater, and a coat on top.”

They were fully prepared for the cold, anticipating snow.

But then…

Announcement
“Thank you very much for waiting.”

Parent and child
“She’s here!”
“We can’t see!”

Security guard
“You can’t enter beyond this point. There are too many people—it’s dangerous.”

Parent and child
“They won’t let us in. I guess we’ll just listen from here.”

So many people gathered that entry restrictions were imposed.

Speaker
“Prime Minister Takaichi has arrived!”

The moment Prime Minister Takaichi appeared—

Audience
“Sanaaa!”
“Takaichi!”

Cheers erupted. Some people even had binoculars.

A visitor to the venue:
“I usually use these binoculars when I go to see Takarazuka (musical theatre troupe). I really wanted to see her face.”
“I believe Takaichi will change things.”

During her speech, she didn’t forget that phrase that  won the  buzzword award.

Prime Minister Takaichi(President of LDP)
“I will work and work and work and work—work tirelessly.”

And then she revealed the anticipation.

Prime Minister Takaichi(President of LDP)
“Last night, reports came out saying the LDP would win big, and I nearly started crying. We might actually lose our majority. Because people might think, ‘We don’t need to vote.’”

She called for continued support.

And in her final appeal—

“The venue is completely packed with people. You can’t even tell how far the crowd extends.”

According to the Liberal Democratic Party, about 10,000 people gathered.

“Takaichi Fever” drew in even those who had never been interested in politics before.

Visitor 
“Until now, I hadn’t really engaged with politics at all. It feels kind of like supporting a favorite idol.”

Another said:
“Compared to past prime ministers, I can really feel how strongly she’s thinking about young people and families raising children.”

Prime Minister Takaichi(President of LDP)
“Let us make Japan an even more prosperous nation—a country full of hope for the future, and one we can pass on to the next generation with confidence!”

As this huge popularity was the reason for the Snap election,the LDP had a landslide win.  Just as she thought it would be.

As this huge popularity was the reason for the Snap election,the LDP had a landslide win. Just as she thought it would be.