Craziness from Japan: American Imperialist Politics?

"Craziness" and "Japan" have - in recent decades - become almost synonymous in many areas. However, the area of Japanes politics can hardly be called "crazy" - what with near-absolute control of the government by the LDP for several decades.


However, recently I was put on to this video, released by Toyama Koichi. In it, he makes some good points about US cultural imperialism and states that he - as a citizen of the United States [of the world] will be running for president. Quite an interesting take.

"I am a revolutionary from Japan, one of America's '51st' states. ... There's something I cannot stand. ... It seems that I am ... unable to vote [in America's election]!"

His message here is basically that since the United States' culture has effectively inculcated every country in the world, and since the United States has little compunction in conducting police actions in countries - in order to make them like the United States - that he (Toyama Koichi) is effectively a citizen of the United States. (I somehow doubt that he would pass the "natural born" requirement though...)

The video is not a serious claim for running for the presidency (he would be way too late to make much of an impact, though). It is, however, a political statement - one that is both humorous and disturbing.

Koichi is of course, better known (in Japan) for his crazy statements when "running" for the office of Tokyo's prefectural governor.