LDP election – vox pops & DW interview

Trying to find Japanese women in their 20s to 40s to talk about anything remotely politicial is challenging, to say the least. „Ask men, they like to talk about politics,“ I was told by one. I had asked well over a dozen women in a suburban park the other day to tell me about their feelings about the current issues in Japanese society, a few days before the LDP leadership election on 4 October 2025. While some agreed to say something off camera (and what they said would have been very useful!), they declined to be filmed.

So as much as journalists try to collect a variety of voices – there is only so much one can do. Eventually, a woman in her early 50s agreed, however, she went into a slightly different direction and did not make it into the final piece – and so it was, as so often, male voices only. There are a number of possible reasons for that of course, and one for sure is living in a country where for women speaking about social and political issues is not seen as common.

The result of my first attempt at filmed vox pops you can find here, in the beginning of 3-minute piece in English on the two main candidates by DW’s Taiwan-based correspondent Rik Glauert.

dw.com/en/japans-ruling-party-to-choose-new-prime-minister/video-74230781

Just a few hours before the election on 4 October 2025, I was interviewed by DW for their news program, and got to clarify that while Sanae Takaichi would be the first woman to potentially be elected prime minister of Japan, her policies and convictions are far from women-friendly, let alone feminist.

Watch the 4-minute segment here:

dw.com/en/sanae-takaichi-expected-to-be-japans-first-female-pm/a-74233820