Koizumi shrugs off scandal, remains presumptive favorite  

key takeaways

• After polls showed that Koizumi Shinjirō’s support was largely unaffected by a scandal that forced his communications director to resign, his status as the frontrunner is secure.
• His sizable lead among Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) parliamentarians – and Takaichi Sanae’s seemingly soft support from lawmakers – could position Koizumi not only to finish first in the first round but to win a runoff comfortably.