I’m so tired of “extreme” soft drinks. So much attitude and so much fuss over fizzy water. So it’s so refreshing to see:
Yes, Coolish, the kinda-cool ice drink. No promises of quenched thirst here. Just the promise of a moderately tepid drink that could possibly give you moderately increased social standing. Finally, a drink I can believe in.
If you had to pick one of the places in Tokyo that the beautiful young things hang out, top of the list would be Shibuya:
The first time you arrive in Shibuya at night, you figure that the makers of Blade Runner must have cut them a significant cheque for “inspiration rendered” at some point. The immediate visual assault is an incredible blitz rendered in neon and billboard, towering over from all sides. Seven-story high video screens blasting garish ads squarely targeted at the two-second-sound bite generation. The latest hot J-pop band. Movies about to be released (Ocean’s 13, at the moment). Crazy animations about…. things.
The utter incomprehensibility of it all only adds to the appeal, and heightens the bustling, rapid tempo that dominates. “Bustling” doesn’t even do it justice – for instance, it hosts the busiest pedestrian intersection at the world. Here it is from a safe distance, mid-wave:
And a less safe distance. There’s a road under there somewhere:
Probably as fascinating as the surrounds are the people who meet there. Dressed up to the nines, or dressed down in an effortlessly casual way that took hours of careful preparation, their thumbs working overtime on their keitais emailing their friends. You can observe whole cross-sections of Japanese youth culture, all in one convenient place.
There’s a very famous statue of a dog called Hachiko in Shibuya. It really is quite a touching story, but I’ll let you read it for yourself. Perversely, everyone who meets anyone else in Shibuya agrees to meet near the Hachiko statue so they can find each other. I’ll leave it to you to work out the problem there.
Really, it is an incredible place that is among the best examples of modern Japan’s pace and intensity. Visit at dusk to watch the ongoing competition between the splendor of a lovely sunset and a sizable chunk of Tokyo’s electricity grid.
For most of the time since I’ve arrived in Japan, I’ve been fascinated by the election process. Politics are generally interesting, but politics in Japan have some fairly unique features. Finally, some of my questions are answered!
Campaign is a fly-on-the-wall documentary about the Japanese electoral process. Most of the documentary is presented in a very unobtrusive manner, with no commentary from the director. It’s hard to know if it was skillfully edited to do so, but the whole story left me just a little bit more sorry for the state of the democratic process. Although it’s about the Japanese political process, no doubt many of the lessons can be applied to many countries.
The long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) of Japan decide to put up a Mr. Yamauchi as their candidate in a council by-election (he’s on the poster above). Yamauchi runs a coin and stamp collecting shop, and is by most accounts, just a little odd. He has absolutely no experience in politics. He did, however, go to the right university, has a pipe dream to be Prime Minister, and looks nice in a suit.
So, the massive machine of the LDP swings in behind him, organising posters, appearances at events and a loudspeaker car. Amazingly (or not), none of the candidates run on any real policy, other than to “pursue the reforms”. In fact, the main tactic employed is blanket name-brand coverage. Say your name as many times as possible to as many people as possible. One senior campaign adviser to Yamauchi solemnly observes that he should aim to say his name once every three seconds, and to “bow to everyone, even telegraph poles”. So, Yamauchi swings into action, hitting the streets by foot and touring in one of the infamous vans fitted with loudspeakers that begin bleating their repetitive messages at 8am on the dot. On a personal note, even Yamauchi wonders whether the announcements will annoy people at such an early hour. I can answer that. Yes. Yes, they do.
For Yamauchi, this is really like boot camp. Although he’s the candidate, he’s at the bottom of the food chain. His senior, seasoned campaigner advisors constantly berate him for his manner, his bowing technique, that he doesn’t shake hands correctly, or that he’s late for events. He’s always made to be keenly aware of the debt he owes his party for helping him, and to return favours in the future when they are due.
Ultimately, he is a somewhat pitiable figure. He has to put up with a lot to achieve his goal, which he uniformly absorbs without comment. Perhaps the most telling moment is when the Prime Minister of Japan at the time, Koizumi, makes a personal appearance to promote Yamauchi as the LDP’s candidate in the by-election. However, Yamauchi is not deemed important enough to actually appear on the platform with the Prime Minister – he has to be content with standing below the more senior party officials where no-one can see him, frantically waving his hands to the crowd. He was, however, very excited to shake Koizumi’s hand as he briefly walked past, and personally pledge to “push the reforms”.
Perhaps the most sobering point of all was how aware the participants were of the many farcical aspects of the election process. However, no-one has the motivation to change them once they themselves are absorbed into the insulated political world.
Campaign is in Japanese with English subtitles – recommended for anyone interested in politics or Japanese culture.
4000 Miles North 