Takafumi Horie, the former CEO of Livedoor Inc., has nothing to do with the documentary "Campaign," which had a special public screening at the Rise X theater in Shibuya the morning of June 30. However, the subject of the movie, politics, is close to his heart, so he agreed to discuss it with the film's director, Kazuhiro Soda, and its "star," Kazuhiko Yamauchi, following the screening.
Three years after his arrest for securities fraud (he was subsequently convicted but remains free on appeal) Horie is still a media star, and there were plenty of press people in the tiny venue taking pictures as the three men discussed the electoral process.
In 2005, Horie ran as an independent for a Diet seat in the Hiroshima 6th district but lost to veteran Shizuka Kamei, who had recently bolted the ruling Liberal Democratic Party because of his objection to reforms being pushed by then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. Horie and Yamauchi compared campaign experiences.