Jiminto wins the Youtube battle.

As a followup to my last blog entry, here are some videos from Youtube. (Apologies in advance for clunky translation, I tried to keep the spirit of the language and be accurate. Accuracy is another thing I may have failed at.)

Both the LDP (Jiminto) and the DPJ (Minshuto) have Youtube presences, but the LDP rules the day when it comes to style. If you forgive their cheesy logo.


Drawn by a four year old! (probably)

But I question the logic of the commercials, which prominently feature current PM Aso glaring at us. I suppose his glare conveys his sense of responsibility and ability to protect us from terrorists.


Narrator: Who can really protect your life and this country's future? Jiminto.

Highlights - Lion King worthy soundtrack, Taro Aso glaring into my soul.


This is another Jiminto add

Woman: Oh! It's you.
Man: Welcome, it's been a while. It's not just lip service, we're now making policies like this.
Woman: All right then, why don't you show me?
Man: This store's 'Manifesto-men', our best Ramen. We'll win or lose based on it.
Customer 1(American): There's not enough oil!
Man: Ok, we'll supply more.
Customer 2(Resembles Shakaito president Fukushima): Wait, weren't you going to stop supplying oil?
Man: Ending supply.
Customer 3: There's not enough local ingredients...
Man: That's silly. Look, here's some more.
Customer 4: There's no growth here, is there?
Man: Nonono, Look, here's some.
Child: Treat children well too!
Man: Yes, yes, yes. I'm sprinkling on 26,000 yen's worth of furikake!
Woman: Isn't this totally different than what you made in the beginning?
Man: No,no. It was this from the beginning.
Woman: Huh?

'Just by trying to please everyone, you can't make everyone happy. Unwavering policies, Jiminto'

This commercial is on the offensive, with the man running the ramen shop bearing a resemblance to DPJ party president Hatoyama. It paints the DPJ as a bunch of 'flip-floppers' who will give everyone a handout or lip service and have no principles.

Checking in over at DPJ headquarters, the youtube action is much more subdued. The LDP channel had tons of snappy, quick commercials, but the DPJ's channel is more focused on (long, boring) speeches by DPJ politicians. I do give them props for their main video, which features subtitling and sign-language so anyone can follow along with what is being said. Also, Hatoyama comes across as a good public speaker and he never glared at me.

There were only a few actual commercials I could find, all very similar in style. Here is one:

Narrator: You're feeling anxious about the problems of healthcare and pension. For the sake of your way of life, the government must change.
Hatoyama: First, change political power!
Narrator: We are the DPJ.

However, lest you think that the LDPs style wins them the substance war, you have to remember that the LDP has been in power almost continuously since the end of WW2 and therefore are held accountable for wasteful government spending, pension and healthcare issues, and the myriad other things that the DPJ is calling them out on constantly with the battle cry of Seiken Koutai!

The election takes place on August 30th.

There's Politics in the air..

Here in Japan, terminally unpopular Prime Minister Taro Aso called an election for August 30th last month. Japan's system is greatly different from the US, with elections being called only a month in advance and campaigning done in large part by people shouting from speakers mounted on the top of cars.

Japan's Political Parties:

Jiminto, full name Jiyu-Minshuto, usually translated into English as the 'Liberal Democratic Party' or the 'LDP' has dominated Japanese politics for basically the entire post-war era. However, the LDP has run into problems in recent years. Following the retirement of Junichiro Koizumi, the popular and stylin' Prime Minister from 2001-2006, the LDP has been led by three different men with abysmal approval ratings: Shinzo Abe, Yasuo Fukuda, and Taro Aso. While not controlling a majority of seats on their own, the LDP controls the Japanese Diet through a coalition government with the New Komeito party. Not one to go quietly into the night, the party is waging an aggressive campaign and standing behind its leader Taro Aso. It is the 'center-right' party and is running on a platform of Nihon o mamoru, sekininryoku, which roughly translates as 'Protecting Japan, the power of responsibility.'

They are expected to lose big-time...

Minshuto, translated into English as the Democratic Party of Japan or DPJ, is currently the second-largest party and led by Yukio Hatoyama (according the Wikipedia, a Baptist??). It is a relatively new party, established in 1999 as a a combination of several smaller parties. The DPJ is expected to win the election on August 30th. Their slogan Seiken Koutai, 'Change political power', is straightforward and clearly appeals to Japan's frustration with the ineffective Jiminto of the last few years. However, the DPJ has its own problems, such as a lack of unity and a number of publicly popular but possibly wrong-headed policy proposals, such as dropping the tolls on Japanese highways (clear why this is popular, but without concurrent cuts in spending this would increase Japan's already ridiculous public debt.) They are considered a 'centrist' party.

Komeito, known in English as the New Komeito Party to distinguish it from one of its fore running parties, is currently the third largest party and forms the majority coalition with the LDP. The party was founded by members of the Buddhist sect/cult Soka Gakkai

Shakai-Minshuto, the Social Democratic Party of Japan, used to be the major opposition party in Japan but is a very small and uninfluential party at present. They currently are members of the minority coalition with the DPJ, and are ideologically center-left.

Kokumin Shinto, the People's New Party, is a party formed very recently in 2005 by members of the LDP who objected to former Prime Minister Koizumi's politics. It is one of the more right-leaning political parties, but is currently a member of the DPJ's coalition, for whatever reason.

Nihon Kyosan-to, the Japanese Communist Party, is a Leninist party, but advocates turning Japan into a communist state through Democratic power rather than revolution. The party is extremely active, especially in Nambu-cho, where I see their signs scattered around all over town. Ima koso, Nihon Kyosan-to!, 'Especially now, Japanese Communist Party!' They don't belong to either the minority or majority coalitions.

I hope you enjoyed your primer on Japanese Political Parties. I'll try to update with more interesting stuff as I find it on the elections.

You know you've been in Japan too long when...

You know you've been in Japan too long when...

...a teacher remarks to the students that 'You should have no problem finishing your rice today, because there's seaweed! So eat up!' and you not only find absolutely nothing strange with this comment, you agree with it.

...you keep your AC on 28, and it feels cool to you because you spend the entire day in an office with an average temperature of 30 with only your handheld fan to keep you company.

...you really really want to eat cold noodles for dinner. Zaru Soba YUM.

How I passed my Japanese driving test on the first try...

Yesterday I drove to the not-so-near town of Yurihama (about 1.5 hours by car) for the second time to continue my license-getting process.


The Crank.

I have until now been driving under the auspices of an international driving permit, which was acquired through my neighborhood AAA and valid for one year. OH LOOK, I've been in Japan for over 11 months. In reality, I should have taken care of all this license mess weeks, nay months, ago. But in the end I was doing it the way I do everything, close to the deadline with moments to spare.

Changing an American drivers license (or a South African one, or a few other countries) to a Japanese license is for many a lengthy and painful process, but easier than getting a Japanese license from scratch. First, you have to get JAF (the Japanese equivalent of AAA) to translate your license from English to Japanese. Then, you have to make an appointment at the prefectural (state) driver's license center. Then, you go in (1.5 hours each way), and give them your paperwork (including the translation, your American license, etc) and have a short interview (in my case, they spent about 15 minutes asking me about my driving history in Japanese).

Then you wait for 1-2 weeks while they check through your paperwork. Then they call you and set up an appointment for you to come in and do your test. Your first test.

My appointment was yesterday. I waffled between confidence and panic. Would my preternatural ability to pass stupid tests come through, or fail me? I read through some materials provided by our prefectural advisor and hoped for the best. On the way to the driving center (1.5 hours drive), I practiced the skills that I knew would be tested.
Turn while braking and don't accelerate through the turn.
Check every mirror and your blind spots before completing a turn.
Drive very close to the left side of the road.
Stop fully and completely behind the stop line.

Once I got to the testing center (1 hour early), I again read through my materials in between reading google news and facebook on my phone. Once it was time for my appointment, I went through the paces. First, fill out an application (and shock my application advisor with my ability to write Japanese). Then, eye test. Then, written test. Then, watching a video about the practical driving test. Finally, the moment of truth, the driving test.

I watched the video really carefully, mimicking and practicing with thin air what the people in the video were doing. But I was still extremely nervous. My application advisor and a test administrator came out with me to the old taxi that would be my testing vehicle. I was still very nervous. I was then told to check out the car and familiarize myself with it, then we would have a 'practice', then the real test would begin. I sat down and adjusted the seat and took stock of where all the controls were. The test would begin when I got into the car, and finish when I exited the car and closed the door.

I got back out of the car, and my advisor got in the back seat while the test administrator was in the passenger seat. I followed the steps prescribed in the materials and the video. Look around the car to make sure there are no obstacles. Open the door, sit down, close the door, and lock it. I went for my seatbelt but remembered that comes later. Check the seat position, and the mirrors, adjust accordingly. Seatbelt. Check to see if the parking break is engaged. Press down on the brake. Check the gear (park, good.). Turn on the engine. Put the car in drive. Check in all directions to make sure it's clear. Drive forward.

OH WAIT. The parking brake is still engaged. At this point I'm sure I've failed. But I mutter a quick 'Sumimasen' (I'm sorry) and continue, this time with the brake disengaged.

Now is our 'training time'. The test admin tells me to make a circle. I do so, and worry the whole time I am doing it wrong. I check the mirrors constantly since the course is so small I'm basically turning constantly. My signal won't stay engaged because I'm turning so much. I hold it down and hope for the best. We make the round and he tells me to pull out onto the 'road' part of the course, and that my test will begin now. I'm ridiculously nervous and pull into the wrong side of the road. He corrects me, I apologize and fix myself. Then he says 'Your test begins now.' No harm no foul perhaps? But I still think I've already failed.

From here on it's a blur. I'm turning a lot. The only thing I am vividly aware of is my head checking my mirrors and blind spots at least once every 10 seconds. I fail to get to 50 km/h on the straightaway as prescribed in the pre-test prep, but I do manage 40... When I pull into the narrow 's-curve' and 'crank' portions of the test, I'm almost happy because they seem way easier than trying to turn at the test admin's every whim. I keep up the best I can but I'm STILL sure I am screwing up royally. I feel peace with this and hope that my post-test critique will give me information I can use to pass next time.


The S-curve.

We make the rounds for what feels like an eternity and no time at all, and return to the starting point. I complete the final steps. Brake. Engage parking brake. Turn off engine. Unbuckle seatbelt. Check out the window to make sure no one will be hit when I open the door. Open the door, step out, close the door.

Test administrator gets out of the car and says 'ok!'

I don't understand that this means I've passed until my advisor gets out and says 'ok! Passed! You pass!'. huh? I passed? Are you serious?

On the walk back to the center, I get asked where I went to driving school. I get asked who helped me pass the test. It's all very amusing to me and I say some stuff about 'friends' helping me out. I had no formal training! I get no critique whatsoever...despite the errors I am sure I made.

Oh well! No use in complaining. I've won! I beat the test! I wait, get my picture snapped, get my license, and head on my merry way home. Success!

And I can still barely believe it.

Curses!

The year thusfar has netted me three minor sports injuries...

In February, I banged my shin on a metal rail while snowboarding.

In May, I threw out my back while running and spent 2 days in constant pain hardly able to move, and about a week severely impaired, and it's still not 100%.

And, this weekend, I fell off a skateboard and hit my hand on the ground, spraining it minorly in the process.

Who knows what else the year has in store for me!

Maybe bad luck comes in threes...and I'm done with it.

Picspam

I've set up a flickr, and am dumping copious photos there for your perusal and enjoyment.

I can't be bothered to actually write entries...PSH.

Maybe tomorrow.

Here's the link: go for it!

ひさしぶりね It's been a while

I haven't felt like blogging much lately. However, I have a free period at work (rarer these days) and some half-hearted motivation at the moment so here we go.

May 2nd through 6th I was off work in what is known in Japan as Golden Week. Golden Week is a series of national holidays in April (29 - Showa Day, the birthday of the emperor sometimes known as Hirohito) and May (3 - Constitution Day, 4 - Greenery Day, 5 - Children's Day). Since this year's Constitution Day fell on a Sunday, a 'make-up' holiday was given on Wednesday.

I celebrated with some light travel. Many people expect me to travel a lot, but really I don't. I came to live in Japan I guess, and I am not currently itching to go to Taiwan or Hong Kong or Australia or anything. I mean it would be nice to go to those places, but at the same time it's a lot cheaper for me to go places within Japan and I still have tons of fun.

Back to vacay. Vacation was great. I spend Saturday shopping at an outlet mall in Osaka, then Sunday visiting an ancient temple complex built into Mt. Hiei in Kyoto with my good friend from college Adrianne. Following that, me an 5 other friends booked it to Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture for 3 days, 2 nights of...whatever we would find there.

The weather was not so wonderful, rained on and off, but we really made the most of it. Monday we got to Shirahama and after scoring some ramen, hung out on the beach for a while. For dinner, we ate some surprisingly tastey Japanese cuisine prepared in a hole in the wall by a lone Japanese man with a collection of tacky animal figurines on his shelves. Four of us then settled in for the night at our inn, and two of us...slept outside. In the rain.

The next morning, we had some Lawson's (a popular convenience store) for breakfast and then hung out at the beach some more. The weather was pretty awful, raining hardcore all morning, so we decided to check out some 温泉(onsen), hot springs, since that is the other thing Shirahama is famous for. We went to the nicest Onsen I have ever been to. There were multiple baths, and a few outdoor options. I think we spent nearly 4 hours there, with our schedule something like bathe, walk to a different tub and bathe some more, eat lunch, chill, bathe, rinse off, go home. It was great!! Of course, Japanese baths require you to be totally naked, so the girl portion of our crew (Raz and I) went one way, and the boys (Satoshi, Joe, Karl, and Dan) went the other.

After the onsen, Karl and Dan (the outdoor sleepers) decided that with all the rain we'd been having, they would head back early to Osaka. That left 4 of us on the beach, relaxing and enjoying the few moments of rainless cloudcover. Satoshi and I sampled the local microbrew (He got the Pale Ale, said it tasted like Sam Adams from the states. I tried the American Wheat, thought it resembled Shiner. We were both pretty happy since it tasted different from the many somewhat indistiguishable Japanese lagers.)

There was some fear of the rain starting up again, so we grabbed more convenience store food and went to eat dinner at the hotel. The next morning we got up fairly leisurely, made our travel plans back, and with 2 hours to spare decided to jump into the ocean despite the weather. I will say it was cold. But, I was also the only person who didn't shiver in the water. Joe ascribed it to me having extra padding. Oh Joe. Don't you understand women at all? I kid, I kid.

Back to work now. Tomorrow I get a cat!