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Election, DPJ v LDP

By Shibuya246 · · 2 min read · 12 photos · 8 comments

Today is Election Day for Japan to choose all 480 seats in the lower house of parliament. The opposition party, Minshutou (民主党) Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) are likely to take office against the incumbent party, Jimintou (自民党) Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

Considering that the LDP have been in power for most of the last 50 years, this win will be a historic change for Japan. The leader of the DPJ, Hatoyama-san will almost certainly be named Prime Minister.

Being a good Political candidate in Japan, also means being able to get up on the mini-van and give a speech
Being a good Political candidate in Japan, also means being able to get up on the mini-van and give a speech
The DPJ ran on the slogan of 'Change of Power, prepations completed'Photo dataCameraNikon D700Focal length220mmAperturef/16Shutter1/1000sISO1250Taken29 Aug 2009, 11:11
The DPJ ran on the slogan of 'Change of Power, prepations completed'
There was quite a large turnout at the local station to hear what the candidates had to sayPhoto dataCameraCanon PowerShot G10Focal length6mmAperturef/4Shutter1/500sISO80Taken29 Aug 2009, 11:15
There was quite a large turnout at the local station to hear what the candidates had to say

I went to Gyotoku Station in Chiba-ken to hear these speeches from the Minshuto local candidates and Kan Naoto, one of the popular senior members of the DPJ. My friend who is a local councilor in Chiba was asked to be the presenter of speeches at the event.

Keeping the speeches rolling and the crowd entertained
Keeping the speeches rolling and the crowd entertained
Keeping the crowd engaged by waving all day must be a tiring job
Keeping the crowd engaged by waving all day must be a tiring job
The board showing details of the local candidate in ChibaPhoto dataCameraNikon D700Focal length98mmAperturef/18Shutter1/1250sISO1250Taken29 Aug 2009, 11:27
The board showing details of the local candidate in Chiba
One of the many volunteers hands out small fan coolers with the candidates name on
One of the many volunteers hands out small fan coolers with the candidates name on
More volunteer work, handing out fans and leafletsPhoto dataCameraNikon D700Focal length185mmAperturef/9Shutter1/320sISO1250Taken29 Aug 2009, 11:28
More volunteer work, handing out fans and leaflets
Kan Naoto joins the local candidate on the mini-van. He already has a winning grin
Kan Naoto joins the local candidate on the mini-van. He already has a winning grin
Kan Naoto makes a speech to the crowd, asking them all to turn up for votingPhoto dataCameraNikon D700Focal length180mmAperturef/16Shutter1/1000sISO1250Taken29 Aug 2009, 11:43
Kan Naoto makes a speech to the crowd, asking them all to turn up for voting
Waves and speeches, all in the hot sun
Waves and speeches, all in the hot sun
If you havent seen and heard one of these trucks whilst living in Japan you are very lucky. They can be quite loudPhoto dataCameraNikon D700Focal length270mmAperturef/14Shutter1/800sISO1250Taken29 Aug 2009, 12:04
If you havent seen and heard one of these trucks whilst living in Japan you are very lucky. They can be quite loud

With a large amount of people expected to turn out for voting today and the anticipation of a historical change of power, you can expect to see some TV coverage on overseas networks talking about this topic.

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8 comments

Comments are closed. These are from readers when the post was first published.

  1. Mullenkedheim

    The LDP candidates in Toyama were running on the slogan "We will make sure nothing changes. At all. Ever." It was pretty horrifying.

  2. Marfil

    Mullenkedheim have you a picture of that slogan or was it ironic –sorry I'm not good at that–? ;) I honestly don't know if the DPJ, or the idea of make politicians stronger and weaken burocrats would be the solution to Japan's problems, as I read in the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/26/world/asia/26japan.html). In my gaijin opinion I think what Japan's system needs, no matter the ruler party, is a more independent Prime Minister, although not so much like a president in presidential system. Nowadays the government can be dissolved by the Diet if it passes a motion of no confidence, and the Cabinet can dissolve the House of Representatives; that creates a "no moving point" when any of the two branches proposal changes that will affect the status-quo.

  3. moichispa

    I hope that you will they us who had won tomorrow

  4. shibuya246

    That's pretty funny. I guess they were practicing what to do as the Opposition Party, say the opposite of what the other guys are saying :)

  5. shibuya246

    One of the difficulties the LDP has faced recently is a quick rotation of PrimeMinisters. None of them were very popular, but having them change every 5 minutes gave people and uneasy feeling.

  6. shibuya246

    It does seem like they could do with a slight change of that, and probably some points in the Constitution as well, but getting people to vote for change in those areas is always difficult. It shows you that when you get the chance to write a Constitution for a country you better get it right the first time.

  7. shibuya246

    Communication is definitely key :)

  8. shibuya246

    DPJ by a long way