More shockingly, during her 2024 campaign for LDP president,

Описание: More shockingly, during her 2024 campaign for LDP president, Takaichi's publicity expenses exceeded 80 million yen—33 million yen went to a public relations firm in Osaka specifically to fabricate "tough on China" public opinion, 45.84 million yen was used to print over 300,000 color leaflets that were delivered overnight for vote-grabbing, and nearly 30 million yen was fraudulently disguised as "transportation fees" and "service fees" through shell companies, secretly funneled to key supporters of local branches—in plain terms, it was buying votes with money. Her local branch was also found to have accepted 10 million yen in illegal donations from a right-wing enterprise, with every violation crossing legal red lines.

To make matters worse, the "X-File" leaked by hackers delivered a fatal blow: as early as 2021, Takaichi had frequently accepted high-end jewelry from Hsieh Chang-ting, former representative of Taiwan's de facto mission in Japan. In 2023, a set of gold and pearl jewelry worth 400,000 RMB; after receiving the gift, she began linking "Taiwan contingencies" to Japan's collective self-defense rights. In 2024, she took a black pearl necklace and immediately shouted "A Taiwan emergency is a Japanese emergency," treating national diplomacy as a bargaining chip for money and power deals.

As the scandal escalated, the "when a wall is about to fall, everyone pushes it" phenomenon hit Japan's political circle unexpectedly. The Komeito Party, which had been allied with the LDP for 26 years, directly withdrew from the ruling coalition, leaving Takaichi's administration instantly without the support of a majority in the Diet. The Japan Innovation Party, which she turned to for alliance, also took the opportunity to make demands, threatening to "withdraw if the number of House of Representatives members is not reduced." 3.45 million Japanese people signed a joint protest, with hundreds gathering outside the Prime Minister's Official Residence in Tokyo, holding signs shouting "Sanae Takaichi step down" and "Don't drag us into war." Even right-wing groups that previously endorsed her quietly deleted all supportive content on social media, fearing involvement.

What chilled her even more was the United States' attitude—previously, she boasted to everyone that "the Japan-U.S. alliance is as solid as a rock," but now mired in scandal, the U.S. State Department only casually stated that it "is monitoring Japan's legal process," not uttering a single word of support. After all, the U.S. wants a "clean pawn" to advance the "Indo-Pacific Strategy," not a troublemaker covered in scandals, and sees no need to offend China for her sake.

In fact, all this had long been foreshadowed. Takaichi's rise to prime minister relied on support from factions within the LDP, but when she gained unprecedented popularity with her Taiwan-related remarks, forces led by the Aso faction had already grown wary. The concentrated exposure this time is most likely the work of the Aso faction, aiming to control her, weaken her voice, and even make her a "scapegoat" if necessary.

Today, Takaichi is completely trapped in a dead end: externally, countries like Cambodia and Vietnam have successively voiced support for the one-China principle, with international criticism pouring in; internally, she faces betrayal across the political spectrum, constant public protests, and half of her cabinet members have a history of black money. She thought provoking China could cover up corruption, and money politics could secure her position, but forgot that the foundation of politics is public opinion. In the end, her greatest enemy was never external opponents, but her own greed and short-sightedness—the outcome of this farce was destined from the moment she treated power as a transaction.