It’s that little gap that makes all the difference

Among its many fine qualities, I think I like this packaging’s enthusiasm the most:

Taken at face value, “Easy & Surprise” will no doubt both prove to be extremely accurate.

I went into the family business

A little late this one, but perhaps you heard there was an election in Japan.  The last PM of Japan, Mr Aso, was spectacularly unpopular – even more so than President Bush.  Yes, really.  In a country famous for being tactful, my Japanese teacher likes to call Aso “an idiot” with feeling.

So, at the end of August, ex-PM Aso’s Liberal Democratic Party were replaced with new PM Hatoyama’s Democratic Party of Japan.   Actually, we should probably say “swept from power” rather than “replaced”, because the election was an absolute rout.  Bear in mind that the LDP had held government for almost the entire period from 1955 until now.  With an electorate so happy to stick with one team, you know the previous administration must have screwed up pretty badly indeed.

The election may have been a few months ago, but the evidence remains.  I really like Japanese election posters – they’re so much more peppy than Australian ones to my mind.  Speaking of which:

Our first is for PM Hatoyama himself.  His poster’s slogan is quite stark: “Regime change”.  Don’t think that too much is going to change, though – Japanese politics is very nepotistic.  Hatoyama is a 4th generation politician; in fact his grandfather was PM too.  Mr Aso is no slouch in that area either, with a grandfather and father-in-law who were both former prime ministers, as well as a sister married into the royal family.

This is Oota Kazumi, another DPJ member.  She doesn’t have a cool slogan, but you have to love a friendly smile and fist pump, suggesting she will destroy her political enemies in a most cordial fashion.

This is Nemoto Takumi:  “First I’ll energize the area, then bring the future you wish for”.  If you ever watch the documentary Campaign about the Japanese election process (which you should!), you can learn how to do these kind of vague promises like no-one’s business.

Mashiko Teruhiko says, “As Minister for High Necromancy, I will command my legions of the undead to crush those who would oppose us”.

Ha ha, just joking of course: Cabinet positions like Minister for High Necromancy are only chosen after the election.