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Taro Aso Speaks in Akiba Date: 9/24/2006 |
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Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Aso, famous for being a Rozen Maiden fan and was subsequently nicknamed "Rozen Aso" (??????), held a campaign rally at Akihabara along with Acting Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan (LDP) Shinzo Abe and Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki, all candidates running for the position of chairman of the LDP. The chairman of the LDP will be the LDP's candidate for prime minister at the next Japanese elections. Abe is currently considered the most likely candidate to be Japan's next prime minister. The open-aired rally was not very heated (Political interest among Japanese youth is among the lowest in first world nations), but Aso attracted much more attention than the two other candidates, presumably because of common interests. There were supporters holding placards with "Our Taro" (???????) written. Each candidate spoke for about 15 minutes, but Aso's speech was notable for the amount of time consecrated to anime and other Japanese pop-culture. Shinzo Abe: Greetings 2% Continuing Koizumi's reform 8% Correcting (economical?) differences 25% Education 14% Economical growth 15% Annuity and welfare 14% (North Korea's) Abduction issue 17% Nation's image 5% Sadakazu Tanigaki: Nation's image 31% Education 24% Local revitalization 9% Annuity and welfare 18% Foreigh affairs with Asia 15% Others 3% Taro Aso: Greetings 5% Japanese animation and music etc. 60% International contribution 17% Annuity and welfare 13% Appeal of LDP 5% Addendum: On Wednesday, Shinzo Abe was confirmed as the new LDP Chairman, taking 464 of 702 votes to Aso's 136 and Tanigaki's 102. Abe is expected to take office as the youngest ever prime minister of Japan on Tuesday. |
| Source: Akiba Blog |
