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Elections in Japan = Noise Pollution

The election campaigns for the Upper House election have begun. The most noticeable form of political “campaigning” in Japan is the candidates’ use of loudspeaker trucks to drive around voting districts and blast out self-introductions and other types of audio spam. If you happen to live near a major station, you might also encounter the candidates delivering speeches over loudspeakers.

However, the use of annoying loudspeakers sometimes backfires. In this popular YouTube video, we can see Governor Ishihara of Tokyo attempting to give a speech on behalf of the Sunrise Party of Japan, only to find that a nearby DPJ loudspeaker truck is making his words almost impossible to hear:

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27 comments - What do you think? Posted by James - June 26, 2010 at 8:41 am

Categories: Politics Tags:

Kono

Oh man…election time in Japan is pretty bad, but it’s worst in Korea…in Korea…they feel the need to blast music through their speakers 24/7
Brent

The DPJ truck has the politician Shinkun Haku on it. He was born to a South Korean father and Japanese mother. At his time of birth Japanese nationality law admitted Japanese nationality for baby of Japanese father, so he was Korean. He later acquired Japanese nationality.

The reason this is a problem is because he is interfering and he also was a Korean.
Tony D

“However, the use of annoying loudspeakers sometimes backfires… Ishihara of Tokyo attempting to give a speech…a nearby DPJ loudspeaker truck is making his words almost impossible to hear”

You make it sound like a bad thing! Give me a noise truck over Ishihara’s vile hate-speech any day…
Craig

Bloody election loudspeaker pricks. I want to smash their windows as they drive by yelling in my ears.
nagoriyuki

However, the use of annoying loudspeakers sometimes backfires.

Well, actually that was really a rare case.
Some political parties including DPJ had made agreement beforehand to use the place in order, but the DPJ truck didn’t keep the rule. DPJ didn’t wait its turn, and suddenly began shouting when supporters of the Sunrise Party of Japan were in the middle of their speech.
Jerry

They should use a Vuvuzela

yoga boy

I wish I had one so I could use it to drown them out….would love to see their reaction.

jaazmeen

Yeah, like I’m gonna go vote for a prick who comes past my house at 8am on a Sunday yelling over cheap inaudible speakers.

I had a van outside my building last week, and the little moron was moaning in a monotonous voice about foreigners.I suppose i would of only made his case stronger if i had put a brick through his windshield.
RMilner

If foreigners were given the vote, would the candidates who are against foreigners having the vote want foreigners to vote for them?
sublight

Solution: require that all the trucks must be parked in the same 100-square-meter area, so they end up drowning each other out, get frustrated and go home.

At least they’re prohibited from blasting before 8am. Walking to work early one morning I saw at least 4 of them lined up on the main street, all waiting for the clock to strike 8.
toro

It’s so blatantly obvious xenophobia is a part of the problem and Ishihara is a definite
xenophobe and a racist, admit it for once! I want Japanese people to respond to that, there seems to be no Japanese on Japanprobe what’s up with that?

As I said don’t give a flying flip as long as they don’t do it at 3 AM and it
would be appreciated if they would simply lower their volume…hey we are supposed to live in a free world, they can do whatever they want as long as it’s legal.

Ishihara however a total nutjob lol….when will Tokyo ever replace him will
be a God send…he’s been there what?? far too long to even count lol

石原さんは人種主義です
かれは恐怖症てきです
石原さん無知のかただな

Mark in Yayoi

Toro, it might not bother *you* as long as they’re not making noise at 3 AM, because that’s when *you’re* sleeping.

Unfortunately, in today’s world, it’s not possible for the entire population to sleep exactly from midnight to 8 AM, or whenever it is that politicians are forbidden from making noise.

Today’s society requires that certain people be awake at odd hours to keep things running — the JR employees who are awake at 4 AM to get the first trains moving, the employees of 24-hour convenience stores, night watch security guards, etc., etc. — and these people need to sleep, too. And those hard-working sleep-deprived salarymen probably don’t appreciate being woken up so early in the morning on the weekends when they want to catch up on sleep, either!

Politicians shouldn’t *ever* be able to disturb the peace with their noise pollution. If they have to make speeches, the speeches should be confined to public suqares where there are no residents. Or, better yet, let the speeches be downloadable from the internet and listenable from the privacy of the voters’ headphone-equipped homes.

toro

Well if it really bothers that much sir then become a politician, become the Japanese PM or lawyer, and change the law otherwise just leave it be, there are far more pressing damning issues to worry about anyway than this!
Hey if it gets the job done, if people have jobs and are making money out of this, no harm no foul, if the law says Yes you can then peace out then! It’s
fair game!

There are always people anywhere out there who don’t like the way things are going on anywhere they live, such is life you simply can’t satisfy everybody! And you think we all live in a perfect world, yeah whatever good luck brother lol

I mean geeze we can try to make it as near perfect as possible

It’s like people who don’t like the way people hang their laundry outside, or grouching at people who don’t say excuse me when they bump into you on the train, or if you lose a game, or grouching at the way the umemployment rate stands etc…

Futureal

Interesting subtitle on that video – “if you’re Japanese, follow the rules”… sounds exactly like the kind of non-sequitur Ishihara makes. Odd condition for membership in an ethnic group.

helical

Calling on people of a group to live up to what one considers a defining quality of the group isn’t exactly malicious.
It only starts turning bad if it’s followed by “… unlike those other (insert whatever race/ethnicity/nationality)”. Unfortunately, that part is implied quite often, as I believe it is for the subtitle in this particular video.
RMilner

It depends on what “the rules” are.

nagoriyuki

So, saying “If you’re American, have respect for freedom” is racism and xenophobia as well?

toro

no dude not what I said, I’m talking rights! Freedom of speech and such…
I’m saying Japan is supposed to be a democratic society with freedom principles and ideas.
So I said as long as it’s following the laws, and that they do have rights.

xenophobia and racism are a Japanese problem is what I mean , Ishihara simply
reveals that clearly
Futureal

The short answer is no. Almost nobody conceptualizes “American” as a single ethnic group, so it can’t be racism. It could be xenophobic for its implication that non-Americans would be less likely to respect freedom. But you’re putting words in my mouth anyway, so moot point.
nagoriyuki

@Futureal

I asked the single question because I just wanted to make it clear why Ishihara’s statement sounded like racism or xenophobia to some of you here.
His words can be also translated like this – “Every Japanese should follow the rules.”
Now, does it sound like racism, or xenophobia to you?

I think it doesn’t make difference that America is a multi-ethnic country in this case.
“If you’re an Englishman, be kind to ladies.” – means that non-English would be less gentlemanly?
I don’t think so. It shows no more than what they’re proud to be.

By the way, every time I hear the words “If you’re Japanese”, I remember this man.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cr0L8sJuEto
I hope this video won’t offend any of you.

toro

That’s why I really just cannot stand this guy because he’s so very isolationist, no doubt closed minded which probably the old crone has sadly never set foot outside of Japan gosh what a sorry geegee,
and for him it’s just 100% nothing but Japanese, that’s it with this guy period, and the heck with anything other than that in his eyes! It’s pure Japanese or nothing with this crone lol
Why people follow him like a cattle drive lol, please good Lord hope you are smarter than that!
toro

And I am not saying all Japanese are racist and xenophobia, but they are a good amount of out there unfortunately–just to clarify such as the Yamanote train situation, this dolphin hunt deal, and even go as far as relating this to the Futenma issue.
jason black

Hey, look, the residents of Tokyo KEEP CHOOSING Ishihara. That should tell you something about these people, shouldn’t it?

RMilner

I don’t think it is as simple as that.

Ishihara stands as an independent. A lot of his support could be from people who are aganst the major established parties, rather than because he is right wing.
LOD

And the same Tokyo people largely chose DPJ for the House of Representatives in 2009, so it really means they don’t give a damn whether they are left or right.
LB

Yes, it tells you that, like voters everywhere, they will keep electing the man who “brings home the bacon”. When one considers dreary issues such as air quality and other things, Ishihara has helped make life better for a lot of people in Tokyo. Sure, he’s an unlikeable racist git – most people don’t give a rat’s ass. Jesse Helms, for another example, was also an unlikable racist git, but he brought work to North Carolina and really took care of his constituents during his 30 years as a US Senator. 30 years – what does that tell you about North Carolinians?

That like most people they like to work and keep food on the table.

But feel free to continue to tar everyone with the same brush if it helps you preserve your simplistic, blinkered view of the world.

toro

No no no they don’t have to shut up! It needs to be restricted, more concentrated, and not so off the wall like they are doing so far simple!

I said lower their volume some, and just need to be handled in a more coordinated, organized,
lawful manner that’s all. In a manner which the candidates can get their
votes, say their goals etc and such and make their mark!

They should have an open campaign panel where they have all the major candidates sitting together in a town hall type forum where each is given a chance to speak, can connect to their people, and even debate amongst each other…

CNN did that with Obama, and McCain! Why can’t they simply do that here lol

If America can do it why can’t Japan lol

Just have approved designated places in a timely manner for these things like in front of major train stations, in parks, stadiums,kominkans, areas with the most people , and just not go into the residential areas…and yes the sad lack of grassroots here doesn’t help either, nobody much even volunteers to go door to door. It’s sad not even high school students participate much to help the possible future leaders of Japan

I really don’t think people understand the democratic process in Japan like they do in the USA.

Not many people even volunteer at the candidates offices etc very unfortunate..just have a look at Obama’s grasshoots, yeah it was that frickin amazing, the energy was superbly massive! Americans are a mighty force in their government and are a serious part of it at least apparently! It’s supposed to be a government of the people, by the people right lol? At least for cry sakes they can choose their leaders!

And still Japan politics hasn’t even set foot on the internet full fledge yet, Obama at least took the fullest advantages of the internet it seems.

Politics and society are still seem sadly separated here elections here are like a fossilized dead fish compared to election years in the U.S, even a dog can see that difference lol…dead versus alive lol

It’s most very unfortunate in Japan the PM cannot be choosen by society that’s just absolute baka! unfair!

No town hall meetings much in Japan either which is odd, and the fact that the candidates are very impersonal and don’t interact with their public, instead just mouth off like a crying infant incessantly lol, don’t even talk directly to each person and don’t even offer a chance for Q and A sessions lol! And also sad is that NHK, Fujitv and alike don’t even offer crap
as compared to CNN, Msnbc, Fox News when it comes to elections… Even found a cool youtube of CNN’s latest tech showing the newscasters doing election news in holography!

Here in Japan they just campaign and run amuck about wherever like a bat out of hell on the loose blasting like a bunch of noise–the total lack of control is the problem, at least in America they usually seem to have each candidate campaigning in approved designated spots all over the country and at least under regulatory measures and control and are seemingly handled in an organized fashion appropriately.

And see it’s obvious, you have some leaders who have good ideas but are thrown on the back burner because of that group of power brokers, those bureaucrats who
are single minded stubborn, tough to change, and are only in it for their own interests and the heck with anything else mentality which sadly causes that would be leader to fall flat on his face! Ozawa is unfortunately that example of that frickin gigi, that preverbial puppetmaster! and the sad thing is the PM is powerless and
is just a cover of the book, or just the face and not the brains behind it all! He’s not a leader, at least not yet, and unfortunately he’s bounded by the reins of those God forsaken bastards upstairs!

That’s what needs to be changed are those flaming blockheads! That’s why things seemingly hit that brick wall and don’t get through that wall yet!

Thank you now peace out

Elections in Japan = Noise Pollution

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