Who let the dogs out?

The Denenchofu/Okusawa areas of Tokyo are generally kept pretty clean. Garbage is taken away regularly and efficiently and people usually clean up their doggy doodoo. Occasionally though, one can step in a pile of smelly dog crap that someone missed, as I almost did today.

The Kokuminshinto, aka the People's New Party, an insignificant bunch led by the fellow who went got mad and resigned his cabinet post after 3 days on Friday, has put up new campaign posters emphasizing why the country needs watchdogs like the PNP and alpha male Shizuka Kamei. It's to protect the country by opposing permanent resident "foreigner" suffrage in local elections---naturally this would include PR of Korean descent---and to protect families from the damage that would occur should married couples be allowed to keep their separate surnames. (Non-Japanese and mixed couples may keep their family names when hitched, but they don't count anyway.) Alberto Fujimori, although originally a foreign dictator* who was later put in the hoosegow for killin' and stealin,' once ran as a member of the PNP while under house arrest in Chile. Alberto, a buddy of Blinky Ishihara, had been hanging out in Japan for a number of years prior to being arrested in Chile.

They are recruiting volunteers should anyone be interested. Phone number is on the blue poster. Can't see it? 03-3239-454X. I shan't post the last number, but anyone who could add 1+4 could figure it out. The e-mail address is on the poster too, should you prefer a more modern method.

Edited: For corrections/clarifications and a few additions, not the least of which is the sexy alpha male's mugshot. By the way, need I mention Kamei and his party want to roll back postal reforms?

Sic 'im Shizuka-chan!

*Dictator is too strong. He was merely an authoritarian president who was later convicted of various human rights abuses and other crimes. Wikipedia notes that, ironically, "there is no law banning participation in an election by someone under house arrest in a foreign country" in Japan. (Kamei conveyed Fujimori's "original campaign statements.") I guess that's much safer than allowing non-Japanese permanent residents to vote in local elections.

Blinky Ishihara's Japanese citizen buddy goes to the pokey

Blinky is blinking more rapidly today as news comes that his old friend and comrade, Alberto Ishimori, has been convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to 25 years in the slammer:

Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori was found guilty of mass murder and kidnapping Tuesday and was sentenced to 25 years in prison, a rare instance of a former head of state being found guilty in his own country on human rights charges. LA Times.

Now how can this be explained? Is this criminal the usual dangerous foreigner with the criminal DNA common to the species, or is he Japanese? Will the Japanese media refer to him as a Japanese citizen? We'll have to watch for this---I missed the noon news. And what will ol' Blinky say? Talking about Mr. Fujimori will be "interesting".

Wouldn't this be sweet

Peru's Fujimori, a buddy of Blink Ishihara, is considering running for office in Japan. Fujimori was shocking found to be eligible for Japanese citizenship when he was hiding in Japan to avoid extradition to Peru on corruption charges. Amazingly, it is not the LDP who has supposedly contacted him, but the People's New Party. I don't know the Japanese name, but I have never heard of it. According to the article, it is likely to jump into bed with the LDP if needed to assure the LDP almost continuous hold on power since the end of WW2. They are mostly former LDP members according to the article. Mostly retro-grouches whom Koizumi forced out after they opposed his postal reforms.

Peru is not amused. (Excerpt from tvnz.co.nz.)

Omar Chehade, the head of the extradition unit in Peru's attorney general's office, said Fujimori was considering running for office "to avoid an extradition that is on the verge of being ruled on."

"Fujimori continues to play with his dual nationality and this shows he's desperate," he said.

Fujimori is under arrest is in Chile hoping to avoid extradition back to Peru. Japan will take him back. Criminal suspects of Japanese descent have a much better chance of getting a break from immigrations than refugees from anywhere else being persecuted for any reason do.

The full story is here.