Posts Tagged ‘taro aso’

Taro Aso still has fans

When Taro Aso stepped down as Prime Minister last week, a small crowd of fans gathered along the street to express their thanks as his motorcade drove by:

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The worst political commercial ever?

Yesterday, I posted examples of commercials Japan’s two major political parties are airing on TV to convince voters to head to the ballot boxes for this weekend’s general election. As an example of an ad from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), I included their longer CM that includes a mini speech from Prime Minister Taro Aso.

At the time I could not find a copy of the 15-second version of the Taro Aso commercial. Now that I’ve found it, I’d like to share it with you all, since it is one of the worst political commercials I have seen in my life:

Most of the commercial consists of Taro Aso silently standing and staring at viewers. It seems like he can’t keep still – it’s almost like he’s wobbling his head around a bit. He isn’t smiling. Those unfamiliar with his natural facial expression might think that he’s scowling.

A narrator asks who they think can protect their lifestyle and this country. Aso keeps standing there, saying nothing. The commercial ends with the LDP logo and slogan (“Protect Japan /a strong sense of responsibility”) appearing in front of Aso.

Even though I don’t particularly like Aso, it’s a painful to watch this commercial. The LDP’s web attack ads are truly skillful examples of political commercials, but this is a train wreck. Aso is not a popular prime minister. A lot of LDP politicans who are trying to hold on to their diet seats have deliberately avoided placing Aso on their campaign posters. Why would they want their national TV ad campaign to put the focus on an uncharismatic and unpopular leader? It’s almost as if they are trying to increase the scale of the defeat they will likely suffer on the 30th.

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Election commercials on Japanese TV: The LDP vs. The DPJ

A few days ago, I introduced some of the YouTube attack ads being used in Japan’s 2009 general election. In this post, I shall share two examples of commercials that the two major parties are airing on TV.

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Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Commercial

Prime Minister Aso is speaking about how his party aims to create a peaceful society. He wants children to realize their dreams, young people to have hopes, and for the elderly to have peace of mind. Taro Aso wants to create a Japan in which people of all age groups can move forward without barriers or worries about the future. Aso and the LDP will pursue this goal with realistic and concrete measures. They have a strong sense of responsibility and can protect Japan. The commercial ends with a message asking viewers to think about Japan when they go to the ballot boxes. (“This summer, think about Japan.”)
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Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) Commercial

This commercial is addressed to all of you out there who are angry about your taxes being wasted. Viewers are told that politics much be changed before their way of living can be changed. DPJ leader Yukio Hatoyama appears on the screen at the end of the commercial to declare, “first, we need regime change!”
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Political masks in Japan

A Reuters news video about companies producing Aso and Hatoyama masks:

If you like this kind of stuff, you’ll also enjoy their blog post about political puppet fights.

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General Election 2009 – The Trailer

An intro that TBS evening news has been using for its coverage of 2009 election news:

Sadly, the actual coverage is nowhere near as exciting as the intro would suggest.

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Taro Aso: Popular?

A FTV morning news program gives us a peek at Prime Minister Aso charming “large” crowds:

Some of the “big” crowds gathered to see him like his friendly grins and his line asking if he looks better in person than on TV. However, FTV concludes that the onlookers are mostly there just because he’s a famous person, not because they love and support him. Their latest poll shows a 17.5% approval rating for the Aso cabinet.

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