Tachiagare Nippon’s Ogura Campaigns on a Boat
A recent AP article by Yuri Kageyama highlighted some of the strict campaign laws governing the way Japanese electoral candidates can campaign:
Japanese laws strictly regulate the use of the Internet in elections. Candidates — and even regular voters — aren’t allowed to use Twitter because that would be a violation of laws that also control the number of posters, air time on TV and other campaign operations.
The article is particularly interesting in light of the increasing use of Twitter as a legitimate channel for politicians, corporations, journalists, etc. to communicate directly, and in real time, to any interested “followers” (and, when it comes to politicians and corporations, we may as well identify “followers” as the stakeholders and influencers that they are or have the potential to be).
It is a fascinating topic (one which I may write more about later), but this is just a quick post because I am on my way out. As Kageyama’s piece has been on my mind the past couple of days, I immediately thought of it this morning when I heard some campaigning outside my window.
If you live in Japan, you are no doubt accustomed to the loud campaign trucks which drift around political ridings in the run-up to any election. Imagine my surprise when I craned my neck over the balcony to see yet another irritatingly loud campaign truck, but was instead greeted by this image:
小倉あさこ/Asako Ogura campaigning on the canals of Chuo-ku
Yes, Tachiagare Nippon’s Asako Ogura (たちあがれ日本の小倉あさこ) is cruising around the canals of Chuo-ku on a boat! It’s not Twitter, but it is definitely very creative and the first time I’ve seen this around here – a great way to differentiate yourself in a campaign that is full of the mundane parade of trucks around the streets: Chuo-ku is full of canals and waterways, so why not get out there in a boat?
(Tachiagare Nippon is itself an interesting topic – perhaps I’ll blog about that another day, but, for now, you can read the Wikpedia blurb)
VR Hair Cutting Simulator
Just saw a link to this oddity in my Twitter feed – it looks ridiculous at first glance, but if you think about the technology going into it, it is pretty amazing.
This is part of a project from some students at 東京工業大学 (Tokyo Institute of Technology), usually referred to as Toko-Dai or Tokyo Tech, which is ranked in or near the top 20 universities in the world for technology, so it’s a very cutting-edge institution (no pun intended, LOL) and, although the VR hair cut looks frivolous, it no doubt has some real world potential down the road.
I actually recently met two graduates (one a Masters student and one a PhD candidate) from Tokyo Tech and I can honestly say they were two of the brightest, most engaged, people under the age of 30 I’ve met in recent memory (and I meet A LOT of 25 to 30 year olds from all of the top universities in Japan in my day-to-day work).
Just for fun here is a list of Tokyo Tech’s “Notable Alumni” from Wikipedia that gives you an idea of the calibre of the institution:
- Toshitada Doi – robot Aibo pioneer, co-inventor Compact Disc
- Toshio Doko – former chairman of Japan Business Federation
- Shoji Hamada – potter, Living National Treasure of Japan
- Shigeo Hirose – pioneer of robotics technology
- Toshio Ikeda – former Fujitsu executive director, pioneer of computer production
- Satoru Iwata – CEO of Nintendo
- Naoto Kan – current Prime Minister of Japan (2010-)
- Kanjiro Kawai – potter, refused Living National Treasure designation
- Akitoshi Kawazu – game producer, creator of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
- Kenichi Ohmae – business and corporate strategist
- Keisuke Serizawa – textile designer, Living Natinal Treasure of Japan
- Kazuo Shinohara – architect, former professor
- Hideki Shirakawa – Nobel laureate (Chemistry, 2000)
- Toshikazu Sunada – mathematician
- Hiroshi Takahashi – architect
- Kenjiro Takayanagi – pioneer in the development of television
- Takeshi Takei – co-inventor of ferrite magnet, former professor
- Saburo Tanaka – founder of Kinema Junpo, the oldest film magazine in Japan
- Takaaki Yoshimoto – poet, literary critic, philosopher
The understatement here on their “News & Topics” list is so great (and so Japanese):
Tokyo Dilapidation
I’ve got a little series going of corner buildings that look worn, rusted, or dilapidated, so above is last night’s installment from a walk around Tsukiji.
It is one of things I love about Tokyo: you can see the newest and the latest of everything yet there are so many worn, dilapidated, shack-like structures in the midst of it all.
The shot above is actually 3 shots tonemapped in Photomatix (-2/0/+2), hand-held and shot with one of my favourite low light lenses, the Sigma 30mm f/1.4.
Here’s another corner shack from quite a while ago – this is one of my favourite places, and I’ve taken a number of photos of it (mainly because I keep thinking it’s going to get knocked down at any moment, but, two+ years later, it’s still there…)
