Masuzoe led opinion polls through the final week of the campaign. His most prominent opponent, former opposition Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa, had the backing of the popular former LDP prime minister Jun'ichirō Koizumi. In a rare display of humor, Masuzoe dismissed a question as to whether the "tag team" of ex-prime ministers was intimidating, saying "I wouldn't care if they had a hundred prime ministers!" Hosokawa, as well as rival Kenji Utsunomiya, both made opposition to nuclear power a key issue in their campaigns, while Masuzoe, who supported a gradual phase-out of nuclear power, focused on social welfare issues. He ultimately won the election amid low voter turnout following a blizzard in Tokyo the previous day.