Whenever you walk down the street in Japan, it seems that you can always find a billboard or poster advertising some candidate or some political party.  In illustration of that fact, I found this poster while hiking near Mount Kurama, a strange decision, for this poster would never be seen by large numbers of people, as it is neither near a railway station or a town:

It also confuses me that the poster here (and others that I've seen) are bilingual:

 

This could be just another manifestation of the Japanese manner of putting English on signs in order to make them more interesting or exotic, of course, and I think that is what it must be, because the foreign population in Japan really makes little impact on the policies of Japan.  This could also be though a remnant of regulations left over from the establishment of the Japanese constitution.  I really don't know.

However, I think the way these posters are set up is an interesting window into the way politics would like to be viewed in Japan.  Whether or not they ARE viewed that way, of course, would take more research to discover.

The person featured is not an accurate photograph, rather a sort of 1950s style color wash drawing, very idealized, almost, and the pose, too, with the candidate looking off into the distance, with his inspirational phrase next to him.  I cannot understand the first part, but the second part is interesting:

日本は変わらない -- I read this as "Japan will not change" or perhaps "Japan must not change" (again, any help with the translation would be helpful)  

In the context of the first part of the sentence, this might sound less strange, but to me at least, it seems like the stylized image and the sentiment of stability and peace are inspiration to those who feel their lives require that promise.

 

Current Mood: listless