Nadia Lee :: Romance Writer

Looks like Japan may have another prime minister if the current prime minister, Naoto Kan, who's been in power for three months, doesn't win the election tomorrow. His opponent is Ozawa, who as far as I can tell is not only corrupt but doesn't seem to be all that popular among the people. But the people they need to win over aren't the Japanese electorate. They need to convince their party members to vote for them.

Ozawa's statement (which NHK broadcast) was hilarious. He said he himself isn't capable of anything much, but with the party members' help, he can do it. Oy...that's not what people want to hear from their potential leader during a recession.

BTW -- if Ozawa manages to beat Kan, he'll be the fourth Japanese prime minister since Obama's inauguration.

P.S. The picture has nothing to do with Japan, but I couldn't resist.

Masato Akamatsu's Catch

Amaya Soichiro's Catch

They're both Hiroshima Carp players. Aren't they amazing?

Only in Japan would the Prime Minister think it's a fantastic idea to talk about doubling the consumption tax (Japanese equivalent of U.S. sales tax) three weeks before the national election.

Obviously his party lost control of the Upper House. It remains to be seen if he's going to resign over this, which BTW is the standard MO for 99.9% of Japanese prime ministers. He took over in June 2010. (No, that's not a typo.)

The honor goes to David Beckham.

Apparently, according to Japanese friends (female obviously), he's too hot for words sitting in his suit, watching the games.

One of my favorite places to visit in Japan is Shimonoseki. When Hero Material and I go there, we always stop by Kaikyokan. It's a fairly small aquarium, especially compared to the ones we have in Baltimore or San Diego, but it has an excellent selection of blowfish and other marine life.

Here are some clips. The quality is a little poor since I created them using my digital camera. Enjoy!