election day

Yesterday was election day here in Japan for representatives to the Lower House. It was a very important election in that those elected individuals would turn around and elect a new Prime Minister, the most recent having been considered a lame duck. I believe it was the LDP (Liberal Democratic Party) who has been in control for 50+ years. They supported the traditional practice of a representative passing a house seat to their oldest son, so that recently, about 1/3 of all house seats where gained basically through heredity. Not to say that the same relationships haven't been taken advantage of in the States at times, but definitely not on this scale.

Yesterday, though, the DPJ (Democratic Party of Japan) has taken control of the Lower House, hereby ushering in a new era of politics for the Japanese. It will be interesting to see what, if anything, changes.

Another interesting party that provided some candidates is the Happiness Realization Party, the political wing of the Happy Science religious movement. Worth checking out! From what some of my students tell me, it sounds like your basic cult.