Key Points
Former Japanese PM Yoshihiko Noda was filmed personally handing out campaign flyers to commuters at Minami-Funabashi Station, with no entourage or formality.
Grassroots, in-person campaigning is common in Japan, where strict election laws prohibit paid ads and freebies, unlike in countries like India or the US.
The video sparked widespread comparisons online, with many users contrasting Noda's humility to political conduct in their own countries.
HUMILITY, KNOWN AS KENKYO, is a personality trait most coveted within Japanese culture. The concept of Kenkyo is associated with modesty and putting the interest of the ordinary people before one’s own status. This cultural value represents a broader social principle within Japan, that covers staying grounded, listening to others, and avoiding placing oneself above ordinary people.
In an honest display of this principle, Nodo, the former prime minister of Japan, was seen standing by himself outside a train station on Friday, September 18, 2026, handing out campaign flyers to passers-by. A video of the same has gained quite some attention on social media platforms, sparking a discourse amongst netizens about former PM Noda’s humility and conduct.
The video, which was taken early Friday morning, on September 18, 2026, shows 69-year-old Noda standing among commuters at the Minami-Funabashi train station in Japan’s Chiba prefecture. Some passers-by recognized the former prime minister, greeting him by bowing and taking the flyer he was handing out, whereas some people paid no attention to him and continued on their way. However, Noda responded to every interaction, or non-interaction, with a smile and a slight bow before acknowledging the next commuter.
As per a Reddit user, the flyers that Noda were handing out were allegedly campaign leaflets that focused on local issues such as disaster insurance, child-support, and prefecture reforms.
A video clip of the moment has gained significant attention from netizens from Japan and beyond, with many admiring Noda for his behavior and humility.
Many social media users reacted to Noda’s video with surprise. For them, someone like Noda who held the high-rank of a prime minister, standing alone and handing out flyers at a train station was an unusual thing to witness for politicians. Usually, politics is a sphere often associated with hierarchy and formality, and politicians are rarely seen interacting freely with ordinary citizens. Netizens have praised Noda’s humility, while some argued that politicians conducting such kind of grassroot-level interactions with citizens is a common sight in Japan. Nevertheless, the widely-circulated video has gained attention even outside of Japan, especially in India, with netizens comparing Noda’s conduct to that of the politicians in their countries.
Yoshihiko Noda served Japan’s prime minister between 2011-2012, at the time when the country was recovering from the devastating March 2011 tsunami and Fukushima nuclear disaster. Ever since he was a young, local-level politician, Noda would stand at public places and discuss issues with the public, a tradition he still continues.
Noda’s humility and his humble behavior, even though he held such an important office, has captured the notice of Indian netizens who couldn't help but compare him to their own politicians. Many have leveled sharp criticism towards how Indian politicians — even though they no longer hold an office — do not have the same humility as the former Japanese prime minister.
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“The humility to return to where you started, and the perseverance to keep doing it year after year, are qualities worth noticing very very few have this quality And in our country almost none,” one X user commented.
Another wrote: “ This is just not possible for Indian politicians to emulate. Forget emulating, they are so drunk on power that they lose all humility. Politics = business, not a mode of service to the people.”
A third user remarks: “Did he not think of becoming God all these years? He must learn from Indian politicians
Such a sight — politicians handing out flyers and interacting with citizens on a grassroots level — is not uncommon in Japan. Elections and political campaigning in the country are a strictly regulated process and are vastly different from the kind we witness in India. Japanese politicians are prohibited from using paid ads, handing out freebies, and from conducting door-to-door campaigning. They are allowed to put up political posters only at designated places.
In such a situation, grassroot-level and interpersonal interactions with voters hold much sway. Politicians stand at busy public places — such as train stations — and hold public speeches detailing their policies and agendas, and personally hand out flyers and pamphlets. As a result, Japanese electioneering is usually quiet, and hyper-local in nature, as compared to the massive spectacles seen in countries like the United States or India.
(Edited by Harsh Pandey)
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