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The full picture is gradually coming into focus: from the earlier “gift scandal” to the now escalating “smear campaign” controversy. Reports suggest that during both the LDP leadership race and the national election, Takaichi’s team allegedly worked through intermediaries to mass-produce AI-generated attack videos targeting rivals—from Shinjiro Koizumi and Yoshimasa Hayashi to opposition candidates. With 67 evidence emails and chat records surfacing, what began as outright denial is now turning into a growing confrontation between claims and evidence. If proven true, this goes far beyond a typical political scandal—it becomes a direct challenge to electoral integrity. When technology is used to mass-produce narratives, shape emotions, and influence perception, the “public opinion” voters see may itself be engineered. The real question is no longer whether Takaichi steps down, but this: when power merges with algorithms, how much of democracy remains real?