Revelling in their democratic right, the citizens of Tokyo vote today on whether to opt for a party of out of touch old men complicit in cronyism, or a party of out of touch old men possibly not quite as complicit in cronyism.
While I — opting to accompany the missus in order to feel at least a part of such a splendid political process — could only get this far before being told in no uncertain terms that I wasn’t allowed in with her.
Which wasn’t what I went for, and wasn’t very welcome.
jerome says
Sorry to hear that. Never had the chance myself. Given the chance not even sure I would.
Sorry for both us when it comes to the state of politics here.
fh says
Oddly, I had no trouble going in with my wife. They just said that I couldn’t watch her fill out the ballot, so I stood about 3 feet away while she did it. But I was also carrying our daughter, so maybe that had something to do with it? Anyway, they were quite nice about it, so sorry to hear that you were treated differently.
Lee says
Thanks fh. I’ve actually been in the past quite a few times, in two different cities, so I arrived there expecting no problems whatsoever, which made the whole thing even more infuriating. Especially as the fella who ordered me out wasn’t especially nice about it.
That said, I accept it might be law that those not eligible to vote aren’t allowed in, but as there were kids in there, I’m not so sure…
Robert Sanzalone says
I love Japan and I love living here. I see this type of hypocracy all the time and it infuriates me. Japanese will “tsk, tsk” other countries if they see racially motivated descrimination and will be sure to broadcast young, good looking Japanese people going to other countries to “help” with their issues. They will never, EVER acknowledge Japanese could ever be accused of the same (unless they were mentally ill or of some non-Japanese heritage…. of course).
Thank you VERY MUCH for sharing this Lee. It’s the small details which pull away the mask.