Japanese Pepsi, Coke? Give the voters a beer

Hammers and nails. Hammers and nails. You know, the adage that in Japan you have to hammer the nail that sticks out. This apparently refers to the desirability of conforming. Well, that does not apply to politics in Japan (or anything else, Our Man is beginning to think). While Our Man hammers on (geddditt?) about the LDP (the bad guys) and the DPJ (the good guys, remember?), actually most Japanese quite sensibly couldn't give a toss about party affiliation, having figured out all by themselves that their higher-ups are a bunch of thieving, self-serving bastards. You want proof? At least 70% of voters pay no attention to party labels*. They vote on matters of whether the candidate seems like a trustworthy chap (or chapette). How come? In a traditionally one-party state, you get used to looking beneath the label for any spark of life or signs of humanity.

By this measure, it's looking pretty bad for Taro Aso, prime minister and his equally old-school DPJ nemesis Hatoyama (the one with the wavy hair).

It's like being asked to choose between Pepsi and Coke, when all we really want is a beer.

*No link, Our Man made this up.

Pic lifted from here.