How Rice Could Decide Japan’s Next Election

Whether it’s posting pictures of him eating gyudon (beef bowl) between meetings or holding rice balls at campaign stops, Shinjiro Koizumi has worked hard to portray himself as a regular Tokyoite.

The son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, he took over the agriculture portfolio two months ago following the resignation of Taku Eto, who sparked outrage by claiming he had never bought rice because he was gifted it by political supporters. Koizumi’s mandate: ease a domestic rice shortage that had sent prices soaring.