Takaichi’s Social Media Fame Powers Youth Support (Full Transcript)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: Japan has caught the Takaichi fever. I got this. So much so that there's even merch for the prime minister. You have plastic folders with the prime minister feeding a deer, a keychain of the prime minister, and these cookies have the U.S. president, Donald Trump, on them too. Conservative leader Sanae Takaichi has built a surprisingly strong fan base among young voters who buy her handbags, shoes, even her pen. So why is she so popular, especially among a demographic that usually has low voter turnout? It comes down to her social media. In just three months as prime minister, she's racked up a massive online following, posting viral moments of her at work, like meeting South Korea's president, Italy's prime minister, and President Trump, who just endorsed her, calling her a quote, strong, powerful, and wise leader. Supporters say these moments make her feel accessible. I see a lot of Sanae Takaichi on social media, and I love her smile. In her short time in office, there hasn't been much in terms of policy. Relations with China have soured, and the yen continues to slide. Even so, some polls put her approval ratings among voters in their 20s at over 80%. I'm at a campaign rally right now where the Japanese prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, has been speaking, and there are thousands of people out here just to show their support for her. She has said that if her party doesn't secure a majority in the upcoming lower house election, she'd step down. But she's hoping that this exact star power is what will carry them to victory.