Street Lamp 2
Originally uploaded by nofrills.
1 August 2007
29 July 2007
Election Posters (Tokyo)
Election Posters (Tokyo)
Originally uploaded by nofrills.
See notes for more details.
We'll have an election tomorrow (29 July 2007). It's for the House of Councillors. At elections, all the posters should be put on this official board, according to the election laws.
[UPDATE: 30 July 2007]
The results came over night. Of the twenty candidates in Tokyo (some of them don't have their posters on this board), five are elected, whom I've marked as "notes" on the picture. The largest opposition, the Liberal Party (LJP), took two out of five. One seat went to an incubent member from the Komei Party, which is no surprise. An independent candidate, Mr Kawada, took one seat. And surprisingly, the LDP failed to get their incubent member through but the newbie-cutie Ms Marukawa did win a seat.
Overall, the election's result is a sweet victory for the Liberal Party of Japan. At the same time, it is a nightmare for the the governing Liberal Democrat Party, who are not liberal or democratic in my view. They have lost the control of the Upper House for the first time in fifteen years or so. This must be hard, even if not unbearable, for the prime minister Shinzo Abe, who is a grandson of Nobusuke Kishi (a war criminal) and Kan Abe (a pre-war era pacifist), and a son of a former foreign minister.
The Financial Times has published a good article, "Japan’s voters give Abe a thrashing":
www.ft.com/cms/s/620ca81e-3dfa-11dc-8f6a-0000779fd2ac.html
According to the reports, the turnout was 58.64 per cent, which is relatively high -- you may have read how Japanese voters are lazy, and it is sadly true. Shinzo Abe's arrogant government has "reformed" educational principles, and wants to "reform" our constitution, which will change Japan for ever, but less than 60 per cent of voters had their say. Don't say it's "because the Japanese are shy" or "they can't say no". 40 per cent are not interested. 40 per cent do not think their votes would change anything. I think this is what is called "apathy".
The left-wingers, the Social Democrats and the Communist Party, are now totally marginalised. Their decline bagan years ago, but this time, it's ultimate. I think they should have joined together if they were to defend the Article Nine. Both the LDP and the LJP are willing to get rid of the Article Nine, while the majority of the Japanese people want to keep it (according to a recent poll).
Colombia's equinoXio digital magazine kindly used this pic for their article on this election in Japan:
http://www.equinoxio.org/?p=1684
The OpenDemocracy.Net kindly used this pic on their front page for their article by Andrew Stevens:
http://www.opendemocracy.net/
http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/institutions_government/
japan_election
A Street View with an Election Poster Board
A Street View with an Election Poster Board
Originally uploaded by nofrills.
We'll have an election tomorrow (29 July 2007). It's for the House of Councillors.
At elections, all the posters should be put on this official board, according to the election laws.
19 June 2007
18 June 2007
a red circle and blue and white
a red circle and blue and white
Originally uploaded by nofrills.
Pachinko-Slot advert in town.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachinko
10 June 2007
night (the speed of light)
night (the speed of light)
Originally uploaded by nofrills.
Collage of two pictures - with a car passing and without.
night (foot lights)
night (foot lights)
Originally uploaded by nofrills.
I've been cleaning up my hard disc drive, and have just found this photo, taken in September 2006.
24 May 2007
20 May, -15 BA, slanted
18 May, -15 BA, slanted
Originally uploaded by nofrills.
The second "N" is falling. I won't let you fall apart...
19 May, -15 BA, # 4 (slant)
18 May, -15 BA, # 4 (slant)
Originally uploaded by nofrills.
SETLIST:
DAY ONE - 18 May 2007, Tokyo:
Hyperpower!
The beginning of the end
Last
Survivalism
March of the pigs
Piggy
Capital G
Burn
Gave up
Help me I am in hell
Me, I'm not
Eraser
La mer
Into the void
The good soldier
Wish
No, you don't
Only
Suck
Hurt
The hand that feeds
Head like a hole
DAY TWO - 19 May 2007, Tokyo:
Somewhat damaged
You know what you are?
Sin
March of the pigs
Something I can never have
The beginning of the end
Survivalism
Ruiner
Burn
Gave up
Help me I am in hell
Me, I'm not
Reptile
The frail
The good soldier
Wish
Only
Capital G
Suck
Dead souls
The hand that feeds
Head like a hole
DAY THREE - 20 May 2007, Tokyo:
Hyperpower!
The beginning of the end
Survivalism
Terrible lie
Heresy
March of the pigs
The Frail / The Wretched
Closer
Capital G
Burn
Help me I am in hell
Me, I'm not
Even deeper
Wish
The good soldier
The big come down
Mr Self Destruct
Down in it
The day the world went away
Hurt
The hand that feeds
Starfuckers, inc.
Head like a hole
DAY FOUR - 22 May 2007, Club Zepp, Nagoya
Hyperpower!
The Beginning of the End
Survivalism
March of the Pigs
Piggy
Heresy
Closer
The Becoming
Burn
Gave Up
Help Me I Am In Hell
Me, I'm Not
Eraser
La Mer
The Good Soldier
Wish
No, You Don't
Only
Down In It
Hurt
The Hand That Feeds
Head Like a Hole
[source: ETS]
13 May 2007
Nagasaki city mayor shot
Nagasaki city mayor shot
Originally uploaded by nofrills.
The mayor of Nagasaki City was shot just before 20:00, Tuesday 17 April 2007, just outside of (or at the door of) his election campaign office. He was shot from the back. He was taken to Nagasaki University Hospital and he is in critical condition - cardio-respiratory arrest (心肺停止).
www.nagasaki-np.co.jp/press/gougai/20070417/01.pdf
This pic is a TV screen collage. The NHK's Nagasaki office is very near (like 300 metres) to the shooting scene, and so the they were at the scene before the ambulance crew took the victim to hospital.
Row 1, left: Paramedics, police and crowd
Row 1, right: Crowd (passers-by) and the police
Row 2, left: Ambulance and the TV crew
Row 2, right: Ambulance
Row 3, left: The victim, Mayor of Nagasaki City, Mr Iccho Ito (伊藤一長) speaking to the public last Sunday.
Row 3, right: One witness, who happened to be near the scene.
The mayor, Mr Ito, has been strongly against nuclear arms -- Nagasaki is one of the two cities that were A-bombed in 1945, the other being Hiroshima.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Na...
The mayor's speeches, the Peace Declaration, on the A-bomb anniversary every year (9th August) have been translated into English. I did a quick search on the web and found some:
www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=6155
www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0809-03.htm
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4133572.stm
findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0XPQ/is_2002_August_12/ai...
The press says the gunman, who was arrested at the scene, is a member of the largest criminal gang (暴力団, or yakuza).
Mr Ito was born in Nagasaki in 1945 (the year the city was A-bombed). He has been the mayor of the city since 1999. The city has an election next Sunday and he runs for the forth term.
headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20070417-00000096-mai-soci
The city of Nagasaki has public bidding problems/scandals and the gunman tells the police that it was the reason.
www.chugoku-np.co.jp/News/Sp200704170369.html
But I am not fully convinced -- in 1990, Mr Motojima, mayor of Nagasaki at the time, was shot and wounded after he exprpessed his views on the war and the Emperor Hirohito. Though he was a conservative politician, he said the Emperor had the responsibility. (My translation here is very rough, so please check a more reliable source if you really want to know about this.) Anyway I know little about Nagasaki City and don't know what exactly is going on.
[UPDATE]
For news articles in English:
news.google.co.uk/news?ned=uk&ncl=1115453030&hl=e...
According to the Jiji.com news, the mayor is almost braindead. He was shot twice from the back, and the two bullets tore his heart, which means he was shot at close range.
headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20070418-00000014-jij-soci
[UPDATE 2]
He was declared dead at 02:28 (JST), 18 April 2007. 合掌.
Newspaper
Newspaper
Originally uploaded by nofrills.
SEE NOTES for language tips.
A man was reading a tabloid which tells there was anger even among pro-change lawmakers. 14 April 2007, Tokyo, Japan.
The tabloid article is mainly about party politics, but the point is the referendum, which must be flawed - as far as I can see reading some serious news articles (in Japanese). Read about it in the BBC (in English):
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6553231.stm
12 May 2007
8 May 2007
7 May 2007
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