It’s the annual Senate election season in Japan again. In a hot weather of over 30 degrees Celsius, the candidates gave speeches and canvassed votes in a hurry. Most of the time, you recite your sutras and I go on my way.
It is extremely rare to see 2,000 people gathering like this, as if they are fans chasing stars, unless they are really big-name politicians.
The photo was taken on June 26, in front of the famous Sensoji Temple Kaminarimon Gate in Tokyo. The protagonists are two female candidates launched by the ruling party Liberal Democratic Party .
The one in blue is called Imai Eriko. She was elected as a member of parliament and served as the Cabinet Office Minister during the Abe period. Her other identity is a member of SPEED, a singing group that was popular in Japan in the 1990s.
The one wearing pink clothes is called Raw Rice Akiko . This is the first time he is running for election. Her alter ego is that of a former Kitten Club member.
Kitten Club can be said to be the first multi-person girl idol group in Japanese entertainment history, and it is also extremely popular. Its model has been influential to this day.
The Kitty Club disbanded, but many of its former members became big stars in the entertainment industry. Akiko Ikuda focuses on acting, while other members such as Shizuka Kudo and focus on singing.
It is quite recent for idol artists to go to college. People who debuted as idols in their early years know that they didn’t read much. When you go to high school, you have to choose a school that allows you to take time off to film and perform, and the school rules are not strict.
Why can Eriko Imai and Koko Naudae suddenly become candidates for Congress?
popularity. Ready-made visibility.
Will voters really be stupid enough to vote for such a candidate?
of course. Not every voter has sound judgment. As long as the vote is valid, who cares whether it was cast by a person with brains or a person without brains.
In 2016, Eriko Imai was elected under the "disbelief" of many people.
Of course, there are very few celebrities who can transition into politics. Especially the short-lived teenage idols, because they have few studies and a narrow circle, they are very lucky to be able to stay out of the sea, not be defrauded of money and sex, get married and have children and live a normal life.
People like Eriko Imai and Akiko Nauda must be human beings, and they must be ambitious human beings. Otherwise, how could He De attract the LDP with so many well-known female celebrities?
The characters of these two people are aimed at accurately impressing the majority of female voters.
Akiko Naidaa: She didn’t get married until she was in her 30s, gave birth to a daughter at an advanced age, and suffered from breast cancer at the age of 42. She is a confident and strong beautiful heroine who works while fighting cancer.
Eriko Imai: Married and divorced, a single mother who lives hard with her deaf-mute son.
A disabled child and a member of a disadvantaged group, her character was so perfect and invincible that it was equivalent to finding an "LGBT plus-size black female model" as a brand spokesperson in the United States.
Shortly after Eriko Imai was elected in 2016, the scandal of meddling in other people's families broke out.
The man's name is Ken Hashimoto. He opened a dental clinic in Kobe . He is also a Kobe city councillor. He is rich and handsome. For Eriko Imai, the only drawback is that the other party has a family. After the
scandal broke out, despite the accusations made by the man's wife and the photos taken of the hotel booking, Eriko Imai insisted that "the two did not cross the line in their relationship."
Takeru Hashimoto lost his status as a member of parliament, closed his clinic, got divorced, and supported Eriko Imai wholeheartedly. He doesn't care about taking care of his two children and picks up Eriko Imai's son every day.
Imai Eriko suffered a fracture in a fall in May this year. This time she was running for parliament on crutches. Ken Hashimoto accompanies Kurama.
was originally the most difficult type of cheating to be tolerated by the public, but she insisted on "not crossing the line" and waited until the man got divorced before the relationship developed into a relationship. The story goes like this: A single mother with a deaf-mute son, on the road of hard work, met a rich and handsome man who gave up his family and career for her.
Eriko Imai has no outstanding political achievements, but she is already a full-fledged politician in terms of face and mentality.
Is character so important?
Definitely. Otherwise, among the thousands of voters, who will sympathize with you?
There was a former Yoshihide Suga , who was promoted as a common people prime minister from a "farmer family". Because his family was poor, he gave up playing baseball after entering high school; in order to find a way to make a living, he came to Tokyo to try his luck... and established the inspirational character of "a noble son from a poor family".
In fact, his family is a powerful family in the local area. He is known as the "Strawberry King of Akita Prefecture" and his level is equivalent to the "Strawberry King of XX Province".
His grandfather has been the boss of the local agricultural and commercial organization for half a century, and has held tight power for half a century. His father inherited the family business and later gained political status as a local councillor. He was sent to Tokyo, and his grandfather and father had high hopes.
However, sitting among a bunch of second and third generations of prominent families, Yoshihide Suga is indeed "poor".
In Japanese politics, most people are accustomed to the tradition of "political hereditary". Looking at the family backgrounds of the politicians standing on the stage, their parents have a good background. They have not been cabinet ministers, but at least they have been members of Congress. But it is impossible for every parliamentary seat to be occupied by the “second generation with background”.
is a real commoner without background. It is too difficult to stand out. Firstly, there is no financial sponsorship, and secondly, there is no publicity. During the election season, no one is willing to give a speech on the street, and no one is willing to take a second look.
took a different approach in order to gain popularity. If you can't fight with dad, then fight with eyeballs.
Celebrities like Eriko Imai and Koko Nauda who are well-known and blessed by their personalities are taking shortcuts. They have a good chance of winning, so the Liberal Democratic Party is willing to support them.
Their successful election as members of the National Assembly means that the Liberal Democratic Party has gained two more seats and strengthened its power territory.
It doesn’t matter whether they are really talented or hardworking. Anyway, those old men still have the final say in Congress.
