This is what happens when I get sick. I binge-watch all the shows I've ignored to date, I type strange and long-winded e-mails saying a whole lot of nothing to friends all over the world, and I click on random but possibly interesting articles I see posted online. This blog post is about the random click that introduced me (virtually) to a most unlikely candidate running for office: Mr. Ueno Ryutaro of Chiba.
He calls himself society's trash. He calls himself a piece of shit. He is open: how he dropped out of school and society at 15, how he's a shut-in, how it's not anyone's fault but his, and that he's 25 years old. He has no qualifications. He's never had a job. He's never been in love. But, he wants to be a city council member.
Interesting.
I read his manifesto. He's an articulate young man. He makes good points. He says Japan needs to become a country where people from all walks of life are welcome. He talks about the rights of those who are asexual and now I'm really impressed. (LGBTQ rights are one thing. To expand the list to asexual people is a bit of a coup, I think. All this from a 25-year old!)
Part of the problem, why this strikes such a nerve right now is that part of the binge-watching of shows has included the third season of House of Cards. Which, by the way, if a very depressing show to watch when you can't breathe through your nose. And, Mrs. Clinton is running for president. My friends will be for or against her disagreeing politically but agreeing vehemently they're right and all others are wrong. I don't think I'm particularly fond of elections. They seem to bring out the worst in people.
But, this Mr. Ueno, the 25-year old self-proclaimed shut-in, trash, piece of shit wants to be on city council. What are we to think? What makes him qualified (he's not, he says), and if he's not qualified why should anyone vote for him? Is it possible that watching the world go by for 10 years, only from the point of view of television, library books, and the internet gives him unique insight into Japan the rest of us miss? Maybe, having time on your hands is really the best way to form ideas--in his case a manifesto--clear in thought and well defined. Do we need more idealists in office instead of the same old system that churns out political dynasties that preach the same message year in, year out?
Mr. Ueno says in his manifesto that Japan should be a country people with one-letter names and people with names in katakana can live together happily. One letter names refer to people who are Chinese and Korean, and katakana names mean the rest of us foreigners. Thank you, Mr. Ueno. These are kind words. And, I do agree. I would like to live together with my friends (and others) in Japan without discrimination or indifference.
Can a shut-in be a politician? I'm not addressing the question whether he will need to actually leave his home to go to city council meetings (will he attend virtually? will this be allowed?). My focus is on whether cut-throat politics like those of Frank Underwood are really the only way to get things done in this world, or whether perhaps an idealistic man who hasn't left his home in 10 years should be given a chance to speak on behalf of those he feels have less of a voice. I don't get to vote in Japan so it's all moot in the end. That said, I'm intrigued.
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