Japanese Elections

Only the Japanese would use music from the "Terminator" movies in their election coverage. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but it does give an interesting example of the use of culture for symbolic meaning. How do we indicate to the people instantly that something important is going on? For years we had used strict rituals, dress, and displays of wealth as an indicator of importance to any event. The use of "important sounding" music regardless of the cultural source may be another one. (Although it reminds me of the use of the color red for the Communist or the Nazi parties.) We have to pay attention to these tools of solidarity because they have meaning as to how we understand what cultural cues become important. As we become more aware of our diversity in occupation and lifestyle and the reach of masses of humanity becomes larger, the key elements of organic solidarity become more and more complicated. Perhaps now the only things we can unite under are Coke-Cola, McDonalds, and Hollywood movie references.

Seriously though in case you haven't heard the news. The "Democratic Party of Japan" DPJ has won in a landslide victory gaining 308 seats in the house of Representatives. This is an amazing change for the Japanese as a political system. In true Japanese fashion "Rozen Aso" has resigned his position as PM. This will change the political environment in Japan and balance a decades long rule of of the "Liberal Democratic Party" LDP. I don't know much about the new PM Yukio Hatoyama other than the fact that his grandfather was also a form PM. (Seriously Japan, there is some caste system of elites or what?)

Another interesting turnout was the 9 seats for the "Japanese Communist Party" JCP. I was talking to a fellow Graduate student in my department of the progress of the communist movement in Japan. What I find interesting is that of all the countries I can think of, I think Japan would be most likely to be amicable to a communist state. Typically most Japanese have no essential distrust of monopolies or government run services. Your average Japanese person wouldn't know that Japan Rail is now a private company and not a government run system. I think if anyone is at all interested in seeing new things happen in the field of Communist revolutions, Japan would be a place to look. I feel there are similar conditions going on in Japan which Marx may have seen going on in Germany.