Ikegami has been ranked at or near the top as a critic, journalist and political commentator in numerous popularity surveys.[4] He was voted an "ideal boss" in a 2012 Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company survey, with respondents citing his knowledge of current affairs and the ease with which he explains them.[9]
The Liberal Democratic Party included Ikegami as a potential candidate in a poll to determine potential candidates for the 2014 Tokyo gubernatorial election, but Ikegami told the Nikkan Sports tabloid that he had no interest in running and that he had already agreed to cover the election for the Tokyo MX television station.[10]
