Otsu Alice complains about Japan’s Prime Ministerial Candidates: Shinjiro Koizumi is an ‘Astrosurfering Fascist Conman’ while Sanae Takaichi is an ‘Atrocious Xenophobic Psychopath’?

Otsu Alice gives up… There is no one left befitting as leader of Japan?

Scandals, gaffes mar Japan’s LDP leadership race: ‘they have no policies’

Koizumi has had to apologize over an orchestrated online praise campaign, while Takaichi is facing accusations of xenophobia

The race to see who will head Japan’s ruling party – which will also determine the country’s next prime minister – has veered off course, with one contender mired in a scandal over orchestrated online praise and another facing accusations of xenophobia over remarks about foreigners kicking sacred deer.

Sanae Takaichi: “Foreigners Assaulting Deer in Nara Park”

The internal election for leadership of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), scheduled for Saturday, has quickly crystallized into a two-way battle between Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, a reformist with centrist appeal, and Sanae Takaichi, a staunch conservative seen as the ideological heir to the late Shinzo Abe.

But while both candidates remain front runners, analysts say the campaign has been defined more by controversy than substance – a reflection of their cautious strategies, limited policy experience and the media’s search for spectacle in a race lacking bold ideas.

Koizumi’s campaign has come under fire following accusations that it pressured party members to post online messages that praised Koizumi and criticised his rivals.

The Koizumi loyalist behind the campaign, Karen Makishima, resigned from her post, but not before she received death threats and a bomb scare at her office. Koizumi has also personally apologised, although that has fallen short of the demands of some.

Seiji Maehara, the former joint leader of the Japan Innovation Party, said on Monday that Koizumi should withdraw his candidacy for the LDP leadership as the issue was “significantly serious”.