The Tamesis
February 11, 2026
Tokyo – A surge in social media interest in Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae could propel the Liberal Democratic Party to a historic landslide victory in Sunday’s lower house election and threaten to shift voters’ behavior toward the ruling party.
Yomiuri Shimbun
“I can feel her dedication through videos on social media of the prime minister visiting the country despite her chronic illness,” said a 25-year-old organization employee in Kita-ku, Tokyo.
He said he was moved by the speeches and edited highlights he watched every day on his smartphone as a freshman in high school, so he voted for the LDP candidate in his constituency.
In last July’s Senate election, he voted for a Democratic candidate who promised to increase after-tax income after flooding his smartphone with videos from the Democratic Progressive Party and the three-province party.
Social media algorithms are designed to provide a continuous stream of relevant content after a user watches a specific video. While the man understands how the system works, he admits that “seeing her almost every day creates a sense of familiarity.”
February 1 is the turning point
Takaichi’s official X account surpassed all other party leaders during the campaign, gaining about 35,000 followers – a number that eclipsed her rivals.
The findings come from a Yomiuri study that used tools from data analytics firm User Local Inc. to track the number of followers per leader account.
The biggest increase occurred on February 1, when the number of followers increased by about 10,300 in a single day, despite Takaichi suddenly canceling an appearance on NHK’s debate program featuring party leaders that day.
On January 29, a large crowd gathered in front of JR Himeji Station in Hyogo Prefecture to listen to Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae’s campaign speech in support of local candidates. Photo: Yomiuri Shimbun
“I suffer from chronic rheumatoid arthritis and my hands have become swollen,” the senior year posted on X explaining the reason for her absence. She clarified that the injury occurred during the campaign when she strained her hand while shaking hands with supporters on the platform and missed plans to receive treatment.
After the treatment, she continued her original schedule and traveled to Gifu and Aichi prefectures to deliver a series of lectures.
After February 1, a series of posts on X attacked the high school freshman for allegedly avoiding the debate.
However, sympathetic voices were equally prominent, with supporters arguing in posts, “Escape? Far from it. This is the price of her determination to stay on the front lines.” Some posts defending her went viral, racking up millions of views.
While the LDP’s following on X is growing faster than other parties, the Prime Minister’s own numbers remain eclipsed. The disparity highlights how overwhelmingly public interest shifts toward high-market individuals during campaigns.
200 million views
The intense focus on Takaichi on YouTube is equally notable, with election-related videos and livestreams centered on her garnering extremely high engagement rates.
The total number of views of the Liberal Democratic Party’s official YouTube content (including advertisements) exceeded the 200 million mark. The number represents videos posted from the week before the campaign officially began to the day before the election.
It is worth noting that the video advertisement in which Gao Yi declared that “the future must be built with our own hands” has been viewed more than 150 million times.
“With paid video advertising, you can’t simply spend money to get high views,” said Tsukasa Tanihara, associate professor of social informatics at Ritsumeikan University. He noted that Takaichi’s personal popularity may be the real engine that drives the numbers to such high levels.
Videos related to the House election posted between the start of the campaign on Jan. 27 and Thursday received a total of about 1.86 billion views, according to election information website Senkyo.com.
Third-party content (including videos from YouTube users not associated with any event) accounted for approximately 80% of total views, outperforming the official party channel.
Picture: Yomiuri Shimbun
Most of them are edited highlight reels, often showing Takaichi defeating opposition leaders in debates or taking a firm, unyielding stance against China.
“Content creators looking for advertising revenue are cashing in on the popularity of the market by posting a large number of videos on the platform, ensuring they can reach a large audience,” said Kunikazu Suzuki, editor-in-chief of Senkyo.com. “This cycle may have played a key role in her landslide victory.”
The freshman’s popularity on social media will likely translate directly into physical votes at the ballot box.
An exit poll conducted by The Yomiuri Shimbun in partnership with NHK and Nippon Television on Election Day showed that 24% of respondents relied most heavily on social media and video-sharing sites when deciding who to vote for.
Among this group, 35% said they voted for the Liberal Democrats in the proportional representation segment, a sharp increase from 7% in last summer’s upper house election.
As the share of voters supporting the three provincial parties or the Liberal Democratic Party declines, those who rely on social media and videos for information appear to have shifted their support to the Liberal Democrats.
