The Liberal Democratic Party will use images of Junichiro Koizumi, the party's new president and Japan's new prime minister, to promote its policies on TV.
This constitutes a striking departure from the media strategy of the party's previous leadership.
Party officials said the new promotional clips are planned to carry several images of Koizumi, who has scored approval ratings of more than 80 percent in most media polls. The clips will be aired beginning around May 20.
Koizumi's predecessor, Yoshiro Mori, suffered dismal popularity ratings after taking office in April 2000.
Even in similar TV broadcasts aired before the Lower House election in June, the LDP leadership chose not to use images of Mori. Most of the leading opposition parties featured their party leaders in their broadcasts.
The LDP'S apparent reluctance to use Mori's image led some critics to claim the party was "hiding Mori."
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