Image and issues always compete for voters' attention on the campaign trail, with the former usually winning. A successful candidate is the one who uses the media most effectively in shaping an image that's acceptable to more people than the next candidate's. Issues, on the other hand, have become more or less window dressing that give a general indication of a candidate's ideological bias.

Media critic Yukichi Amano took this dynamic for granted in his analysis of last month's Upper House election, which appeared in the Asahi Shimbun recently. Amano not only believes that the Liberal Democratic Party lost because of image problems — an assertion few people would deny given all the scandals the LDP has suffered through recently — but pins the reason for the loss on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's use of eye contact.

Since taking office last September, Abe has continued the daily, casual press conferences started by his predecessor Junichiro Koizumi. Amano believes this is a good idea but it's only effective if you understand how TV works. Unlike Koizumi, who proved himself a master at media manipulation, Abe has no clue as to how unflattering TV can be.