My two cents on politicians

In May 2007, it seems that I was getting worn out with Japan's style of political elections. Unlike in the US, these local Japanese politician would ride around in their area in a van with a bull horn attached to the top. They would say things like how the voter should vote for them instead of their opponent. If you were on the 9th floor of your apartment, this type of noise pollution became a nuisance since the loud noise travels and you could be picking up static from across town. I remember once I was on the street walking to the local city hall office to get my alien registration card extended till my contract was completed and one female political hopeful was riding around waving to everyone. Everybody else was carrying on as business as usual. I decided to wave back and did so which got a chuckle out of the woman.

Anyway, for nearly two months, I would commute to and from Warabi Station. It seems like every time I commuted, I saw the same guy greeting everyone and shaking hands. I got so sick of seeing this political hopeful and deliberately ignored him when he spoke in my direction in broken English one morning. I was getting so fed up with all of the political hype.

Then in June my mother-in-law was at our place visiting and she heard that a big minister from the federal level was going to be in Warabi to help the current mayor get re-elected. This dog and pony show consisted of the big wig, two mayors of neighboring cities and the governor of Saitama. Secret service types were noted standing watch on the top of nearby buildings. The following day was the election and the people decided. They went with Mr. Handshake instead of Mr. Hype. The guy who was out hustling votes one handshake at a time the months prior to the election beat the former mayor by 309 votes. Once I learned this, I felt bad for snubbing him on the street that one morning. I later learned that he worked full-time and before and after work he worked the crowds near Warabi Station.

Prior to this election, I remember seeing some senior citizen types hustling up some signature for a petition. I noticed the katakana on the sign on their desk which read "Elevator". Having been commuting out of that station for 2+ years, I was disappointed that their was no elevator. All those trips that my wife had to make the first year to the US when her US residency was not finalized. It would have came in handy when she was toting her suitcase to have a elevator instead of dragging her suitcase down two flights of stairs. In the late part of 2006, an elderly woman fainted while riding the escalator and collapsed onto my mother-in-law. Had it not been for my wife's quick actions to press the emergency stop button, my mother-in-law would have been banged up worse as the escalator met the top floor. I was not with my wife and mother-in-law when this happened. My mother-in-law was in bad shape for 10 minutes and she finally came to only to stagger down the flights of steps as the ambulance waited to take them to the hospital.

Apparently, the city of Warabi and Japan Rail feel that the other should put in an elevator at the station. Maybe Mr. Handshake can make things happen.

The Divine Wind Vault http://divinewindvault.blogspot.com (C)2006-10