The impact of the media on voters' attitude toward Junichiro Koizumi and his policy

•We explore the role of mass media in people's perceptions of charismatic leaders.•We use survey data collected immediately after Koizumi's 2005 landslide electoral victory.•Exposure to mass media is positively related to the support for Koizumi but not for his policy.•A significant impact of TV is only observed among women.

This paper explores the role of mass media in people's perceptions of charismatic leaders. Using survey data collected immediately after Koizumi's 2005 landslide electoral victory, we empirically assess the influence of television (TV) and newspapers on individuals' support for Koizumi and for the most distinctive policy.Estimation results based on combined sample of men and women indicate that the frequency of exposure to mass media is positively related to the support for Koizumi but not for his principal policy. After dividing the sample into men and women, the positive relationship between TV watching and support for Koizumi is only observed for females, whereas the positive relationship between reading newspapers and support for Koizumi is only observed for males.