Yuri Fujikawa

'Too beautiful' Aomori politician losing supporters

Yuri Fujikawa, 28, who is a local politician in Hachinohe City, Aomori Prefecture, has been a topic of conversation on the Internet since she was elected in April, 2007. She has been called by bloggers “too beautiful” to be a politician. Apparently, she has alienated some of her political supporters because of her exposure in an upcoming photo album and DVD, in which she poses in a swimsuit.

Fujikawa was elected as a successor to her father. She basically inherited her father’s supporters in his community, which is a common practice in Japanese politics.

“I’m tired of her. I have broken up my support group for her,” says Satoru Sasaki, 39, whose father had supported Fujikawa’s father. Another source who is close to Fujikawa says, “Despite the political bond between their fathers, Ms Fujikawa looks down on Mr Sasaki, even though he is older than her.”

Fujikawa actually used to work as a caregiver at a nursing home for the elderly, which Sasaki’s father runs, just before she became a politician.

Sasaki says: “I used to manage her media appearances because I thought she had the best interests of Hachinohe at heart. But lately she refuses to appear on variety programs unless she is paid, preferring instead to pose in a swimsuit for a photo album. I don’t understand how she thinks that is working for the city.”

Fujikawa’s father told Shukan Post: “As far as her DVD is concerned, I think she gets carried away a bit. But she works hard as a politician. I regret the break-up of the support group but it’s no use crying anymore.” (Translated by Taro Fujimoto)

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Latest 15 of 45 Total Comments Show All

BurakuminDes at 11:30 PM JST - 16th October

Just keep smiling and looking pretty, Dear. Yes, you are a shining beacon of empowerment for all young women in Japan, for whom the sky is the limit. Now, go and fetch the boys some tea.
IchyaParadise at 09:57 AM JST - 17th October

Please, please...please do not have her start appearing on TV. I can barely watch TV as it is. I mean if she was busting out of her shirt or something, maybe. But even those chicks are a dime a dozen now. Why she inherited her spot and now using it to become a "talent", c'mon a talent?, is beyond me.
Asara at 02:07 PM JST - 17th October

I like her she is really too beautiful to be in polluted world of politics.
kavikahi at 03:45 PM JST - 17th October

If a politician gets their feathers ruffled because of another politicians looks, perhaps a new career in ??? awaits. I agree with her father on this one, maybe the dvd isn't too carried away, I wouldn't know, I haven't seen it.

A politician with a personal dvd might be more respectable than one trying to appear on as many variety shows that will have her/him.
nisegaijin at 04:01 PM JST - 17th October

Yuri Palin
dotherightthing at 09:35 PM JST - 17th October

She looks like a man.
KitsuneYoukai at 11:55 PM JST - 17th October

I don't care if a politicain is beautiful or not. It's the brains and her actions that dictate whether she is fit. If she begins to neglect that duty then out with her. You have to admit, most pretty girls are so self absorbed that maybe this DVD cover thing has worried people that she is begining on that road.
kavikahi at 03:30 AM JST - 18th October

to neglect that duty

She probably realizes the superfluous nature in the variety show content and wishes to do something more meaningful and personal.
edWARd101 at 10:02 PM JST - 18th October

It's a matter of taste. I'd rather watch her ramble on than Ozawa. Atleast she doesn't have those awful puffy bags under her eyes.
slappayuki at 05:13 AM JST - 19th October

She's obviously very beautiful, talented and intelligent enough to be a political leader. Why does this threaten so many people?
dontpanic at 01:08 AM JST - 20th October

Pretty or not isnt relevent here, whats relevant is whether shes a good politician or not. The people of Hachinohe will get the opportunity to judge her results and behaviour at the next election.
romulus3 at 12:25 PM JST - 20th October

I would love to poll her electorate.
Azrael at 05:36 PM JST - 20th October

I think saying "too beautiful" related to her supporters abandoning her is in this case an euphemism to describe the discomfort and disbelief (good grief! they may have said) she caused to her supporters by doing a DVD featuring soft-porn (aka, gravure), among other things. Saying "too beautiful" is a sarcasm for "all too willing to wear skimpy outfits and sell the photos," no more than that.
marvenp at 11:00 AM JST - 21st October

This woman is an opportunist and nothing more. Too beautiful to be a politician? She never wanted to be one in the first place you can tell by her callous remark to losing her support base ("I regret the break-up of the support group but it’s no use crying anymore”). She was just using her father's office to catapult herself into the limelight. As a young woman she could have done more to empower and inspire young women all over Japan to be more than bikini pin-ups for the chauvinistic boy's club. She chose to be (or is) the typical airheaded bikini model we see every night on J-TV. What a waste.
Apsara at 10:24 PM JST - 21st October

"I regret the break-up of the support group but it’s no use crying anymore”

It was her father who said that.