TV Tokyo began its summary coverage of last Sunday's Upper House election later than the other stations, and included some genuine theater: A short dramatization of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's "crushing defeat."
In this film, actors portrayed principals in the political drama that had just unfolded, and went further with a projection that indicated Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would step down and be replaced by the current foreign minister, Taro Aso.
The drama was a bold idea. Some of the actors were fairly well-known, so the production entailed a certain amount of expense and planning, not to mention risk. Obviously, well before Sunday, TV Tokyo was sure the LDP would be defeated big time.