Aso on TV all the time. Hatoyama clutching a bunch of mics on the news every day. Politicians outside train stations shouting through megaphones. Vans trundling through neighbourhoods with loudspeakers blaring out. Any one would think there was a general election going on. Oh wait a minute.

The nation is deciding. Now.

It seems that voters face a straight choice between a man:
...from a political and industrial elite
...whose grandfather was prime minister
...whose family founded a giant industrial company
...who studied in the United States
...who studied at an elite university (Stanford)

and a man:
...from a political and industrial elite
...whose grandfather was prime minister
...whose family founded a giant industrial company
...who studied in the United States
...who studied at an elite university (Stanford)

If I was a betting man, I'd put a ton of money on the winner of this election being a man:
...from a political and industrial elite
...whose grandfather was prime minister
...whose family founded a giant industrial company
...who studied in the United States
...who studied at an elite university (Stanford)


The streets are awash with photos of candidates with pleasant smiles and cheesy grins, though the guy in this one looks like he'd rather settle the election in a more physical way than the law currently allows...


Shaping up for a fight?


In the olden days, elections were settled with games of rock, paper, scissors, but more recently, polling stations and voting slips are used.

Polling stations have been open since seven this morning and the early signs are that there could be a record turnout.

Here a young voter arrives at her local polling station to cast her ballot...

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 30, 2009 at 4:13 pm. You can skip to the end and leave a response.