Director Kazuhiro Soda and the protagonist Kazuhiko Yamauchi are former class mates from Tokyo University.
The scene where the campaign volunteers gossip about the "crazy" woman was included because director Kazuhiro Soda's next film will focus on mental illness in Japan.
Kazuhiko Yamauchi decided not to run for the next election as the Liberal Democratic Party refused to endorse him as a candidate. The LDP subsequently lost the seat.