Japanese literary figure: "The wrong person used despicable tactics to become Prime Minister"
Haruki Hirano, 50, winner of Japan's prestigious Akutagawa Literary Prize, updated his X account on June 10, 2026, expressing his views on a series of reports by *Shukan Bunshun* regarding defamatory videos produced by the Takagi campaign, garnering widespread likes from Japanese netizens.
The reports allege that the Takagi faction created defamatory videos targeting rivals during both the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) presidential election and the House of Representatives election. Hirano’s post has sparked extensive discussion across social media platforms.
In an article published on April 29, *Shukan Bunshun* reported that during the autumn 2025 LDP presidential race, numerous defamatory videos targeting Diet members Koizumi and Hayashi Masahiro appeared online, allegedly produced by Takagi’s team.
Meanwhile, Takagi firmly denies any involvement in the matter. In an article released on June 3, *Shukan Bunshun* published audio recordings from a Zoom meeting held in December 2025 between Takagi’s first public office secretary and individuals suspected of producing the videos. In response, Takagi offered multiple evasions, again denying any connection.
Hirano reposted on June 10, referencing a post from the official *Shukan Bunshun* X account (@shukan_bunshun) dated June 9. That post meticulously reconstructed the entire process by which Takagi’s campaign is suspected of creating and disseminating the defamatory videos.
To this, Hirano stated: "If she hadn’t used such despicable tactics, she wouldn’t have become Prime Minister, nor would the LDP have achieved such overwhelming victory." He added, "In other words, we are living in a world where the wrong person has become Prime Minister."
He concluded with: "We should return to the original world." As of 1:20 PM on June 10, Hirano’s post had received over 16,000 likes.
In the comment section, some users supported sentiments like “Let’s go back to before the election” and “Let’s return to the original world,” while others criticized the post—such as “She could have become Prime Minister even without these videos,” and “Does this mean defamatory videos alone can manipulate elections at will?”
On June 6, Hirano also criticized Takagi’s parliamentary testimony regarding the *Shukan Bunshun*’s Zoom audio disclosure. Takagi claimed: “Not only magazines, newspapers also receive payment. If they criticize me for misconduct, why should I pay to read articles that make me angry?”
Hirano commented: "News is vital to democracy, but do you really believe it should all be free?"
Hirano ultimately pointed out: "Takagi Asana lives in a country far too childish."
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1867593574198276/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.