A recent NHK poll showed that 62% liked the idea of Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto fielding candidates from his Ishin no Kai in the next lower house election so that he can have a greater say in national politics. What are your thoughts on this?
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1
Probie
I think those 62% are idiots. The same kind of idiots who vote for people like Hashimoto, or Ishihara.
1
DP812
Because blind nationalism worked so well in the past? Hashimoto should be expelled from politics.
-2
Pukey2
My opinion: you get what you deserve. Not my country so I couldn't care less which direction this country is headed - the days when it can frighten its neighbours are over.
-7
fds
so i take it you think the current government is doing a good job? what's wrong with nationalism? japan needs fixing and at least they are trying.
-3
Thomas Anderson
People are crazy.
-2
Thomas Anderson
No one is implying that.
Everything. Remember what happened to Germany and Japan?
Try? There is no try...
1
Cletus
I think they could get some good data from this poll, like 62% of those that answered are idiots, 62% of those that answered agree to having their rights trampled and 62% of those surveyed are closet nationalists.
Oh and fds, you ask what is wrong with nationalism? In Japan a lot just look back to the 30's for the answer to your question.
1
electric2004
Actually the mayor should not field candidates. They should do this by themselves on their own initiative. Oh wait, this is Japan.
0
lucabrasi
It's a good idea. It'll be a useful way of ascertaining which of the candidates are complete fruitcake-Nazis without having to plough through their platform policies. Nice one, Toru!
3
Probie
Where did I imply that?
Nothing, if you're a Hitler wannabe, like Hashimoto and Ishihara seem to be.
No. They are trying to make everything about themselves. Hashimoto had a suck on the power-pipe and he just wants more. Ishihara is just in his own world.
Let Hashimoto get into parliament. Let him become PM.
Then watch him become the most unpopular PM ever.
An idiot who says that civil servants don't have human rights, should not have the power he does. The tattoo thing too makes him look... unstable, to say the least. Not someone who a country should have making decisions for is and being it's figurehead.
-3
marcelito
Hashimoto says some stupid things like the tatoo issue but he is also trying to shake up the establishment and is pro-cutting government waste , pro -reform and anti nuke...you may hate some of the things he says but Japan needs people like him to at least try to reform the corrupt , ineffcient oyaji ruled political system we all have to put up with now. The current crop of Japan`s political " leaders" needs to be thrown out one way or another.
-3
marcelito
BTW - very easy for media to take things out of context and selectively quote & misquote a political figure who they feel is a threat to the establishment. Evidenced by the almost total absence of reformers in the current system.
2
lucabrasi
@marcelito
That's pretty much word-for-word exactly what they said about Hitler and Germany. Literally. I'm not being facetious.
Sometimes the side-effects of the medicine are worse than the disease.
1
ExportExpert
Not alot of people on these islands think very hard it seems, 62% of them certainly have no clue.
-1
Pukey2
Hey, I was going to say that!
-1
marcelito
Very well, so just let Japan continue to rot away under the current effective political leadership then. Seriously, I get what you are saying ..he is a nationalist admitedly but comparisons with Hitler I think are a bit far fetched I think.
0
caffeinebuzz
While it's ridiculous now to make comparisons to Hitler and various other despots; there is a potential slippery slope to disaster, if politicians like Hashimoto make scapegoats of other groups to maintain the spotlight and increase their popularity. It might be tattooed public servants today, but it remains to be seen if other groups will be targeted in the future (as extremist politics always needs a demonized "other" , to scapegoat). While most people are fed up and frustrated by the current political establishment, the alternative of nationalist populism is not one that any country needs. Even though I personally think Hashimoto is not much of a threat, I'd be keeping a wary eye on his support base who usually hold less moderate views.
1
DP812
Man, I just love when an idiot can only think in black and white terms. "If you don't support Hashimoto, you must be 100% in favor of the current government."
Is this a serious question or are you being sarcastic?
Isolationist, nationalistic policies will not fix Japan. I suggest you read a history book.
As I recall, there have been a lot of "reform" politicians popping up in the U.S. lately -- people like Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Donald Trump, etc.
"Different" is not synonymous with "good."
1
DP812
I believe there were people saying this in Berlin back in the 1930s...
0
edojin
Hashimoto should keep his antics in Osaka. Don't believe his ideas are suited for the rest of the country. Osakans might like what he is doing to their city, but his actions might not be right for all of Japan. Yet voters sometimes pick bizarre personalities over reasonable candidates. We'll have to wait to see how this questional wave rides out ...
-1
marcelito
Very well DP...your suggestion for a politician ( with enough clout ) to try to steer Japan out of its slow decay and decline is exactly who right now then? Please find me one and I,ll be rooting all out for him. Yeah, didn't think so...
1
DP812
What part of "different is not synonymous with good" were you incapable of understanding? Because it seems pretty damn clear to me (but then again, I'm not the sort who supports backwards-thinking nationalists). Your attitude is the exact same one I see in the Tea Partiers in America -- knee-jerk reactionaries who are so incapable of independent thought, they jump behind anyone who promises something different, regardless of what "different" actually entails. Hashimoto is a nationalistic nutjob, and if you think the answer to Japan's problems is turning back the clock to the days of nationalistic policies, then you either have zero knowledge of history or are just a moron.
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