Chapter 225
The Liberal Democratic Party won a landslide victory in the general election for the House of Representatives. The popularity of Party President Sanae Takaichi is remarkable. My daughter, who will be entering high school, calls her “Sanae-chan” and is a big fan. In old-fashioned terms, one might say she “hiiki(favors)” her, but it’s more like treating her as an idol (laughs). I only recently learned that young people today refer to their favorite idols as their “oshi.” According to AI, the nuance suggests a feeling that goes beyond simply liking someone—it carries a stronger sense of wanting to support them.When I was in junior high school, my “oshi” was the rock group QUEEN. Rare live footage from 1974 is now available on YouTube in clear quality and through subscription services. I fondly remember saving my allowance, clutching 2,500 yen in my hand, and riding my bicycle to a record shop a bit far from home to buy an LP. I once found a rare imported bootleg live album and listened to it at full volume. As a junior high student, I felt as though I had stretched myself a little and become more grown-up. Young people today are blessed in many ways. It’s not just about hobbies. Even when it comes to studying, they can download learning materials onto their smartphones, so there’s no need to stuff heavy textbooks and reference books into their bags and head to cram school. Rather than being taught by an instructor at a local cram school, it may be more enjoyable and beneficial to learn from popular teachers on YouTube. In my day, I studied late at night and early in the morning, listening to radio lectures until my ears nearly grew calluses from hearing the phrase, “Perseverance is power.” With no visual aids, I relied on monthly printed texts to learn things that even school teachers did not cover. Being a cheeky student, I sometimes asked my teachers mean-spirited questions and made them angry. My provocative nature hasn’t changed much even now, so there may still be people who hold a grudge against me. Perhaps if I had been more socially adept, my business might have been even more successful. Some argue, in extreme terms, that as AI becomes widespread in the near future, studying itself may no longer be necessary. It may indeed become unnecessary to memorize things. However, when it comes to creatively generating new ideas and innovations, won’t we still have to rely on the human brain? That is why education needs to shift from a traditional emphasis on memorization to one that enhances thinking and reasoning skills.Watching the Milano–Cortina Winter Olympics and seeing Japanese teenagers and young people in their twenties win medal after medal, I feel reassured that no matter how convenient smartphones become, competing in the Olympics still requires enduring rigorous training and injuries. The resignation agency service “Momuri” has been making headlines, but I find it hard to understand the mindset of young people who do not consider that writing and submitting their own resignation letter would be cheaper than paying 22,000 yen. In workplaces where the once-common “nommunication” (bonding over drinks) no longer exists, do young people perhaps trust people and services they encounter through their smartphones more than those around them? Our company will mark its 26th anniversary this April. After a quarter of a century, the office building has grown old, the interior has yellowed, and cracks have become noticeable. In addition, due to the so-called “27-year problem” involving the discontinuation of mercury-containing fluorescent lamps, we have belatedly begun replacing all lighting fixtures with LED and refreshing the interior. Our target for completion is early March, but procuring LED lighting fixtures has become difficult. I sincerely hope that a major Nankai Trough earthquake does not strike just as we finish the renovations. Still, as we look toward the next 25 years, I want to start anew with a refreshed spirit. Japan depends on the United States for defense, yet economically it cannot ignore the Chinese market. If the Takaichi administration provokes China too much, the economy could deteriorate and the popularity of “Sanae-chan” may not last long. I hope the government will steer the country carefully so that this does not end as a mere temporary boom.
The interior renovations are well underway.
February 12, Reiwa 8 (2026)
Reflections on Sanae-chan’s Landslide Victory
