If you are still feeling 明るい (akarui) after that, check out what the great folks at NicoDou have come up with based on this after the jump.

First off, we have a very well done MAD. Not exactly PG, but hey, this is meant for 20 year olds, right?

The dance is too much for people to not do:

The band version is amazing:

A classic NES version:

And a SHUZO version:

Technorati Tags: akarui, band, Coming of Age Day, dance, Go! Go! Election, Indian, ＧＯ！ＧＯ！選挙, MAD, nes, remix, seijin no hi, seijinshiki, shuzo, 成人式, 明るい, 松岡, 松岡修造, 修造

www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_9i8HoISo8

I think I like this episode the best since it really reminds me of the good ol’ YD feel. I mean, talking to チンピラ (chimpira) and 女子高生 (joshi kousei) was all we ever did. However, I don’t think either BakaDaruku nor David were nearly drunk enough.

Fantastic. Check out the new SYD channel!

Technorati Tags: BakaDaruku, bousouzoku, 高崎, gaijin, gaikokujin, high school girls, interview, Japanese girls, japanese high school girls, joshikousei, Luka, obama, shin yamato damacy, SYD, Takasaki, video blogs, vlogging, yamato damacy, YD, 女子高生, 暴走族

So, if you have been following all the Japan blogs, you know that 中川昭一 (Nakagawa Shoichi) was totally drunk/high at the G7 and got himself fired (technically he resigned, but we are talking about Japan here). But, if you haven’t seem the ニコニコ動画 no cut version, you haven’t seen the whole thing. The comments and subtitles are just so good.

Technorati Tags: alcohol, マスコミ, drunk, foreign minister, funny subtitles, G7, high, Japanese government, Nakagawa Shoichi, nicovideo, sake, video, 中川昭一

It is an odd feeling for me. I’m such a Japanophile, that I’ve hardly ever been proud to be American. But today, I feel good about it. It’s a strange, unfamiliar feeling, to be sure. So, I turn to the Japan blog community for reactions…

- Free Beer in 小浜市 (Obama-shi).

- Some relevant ニコニコ動画 videos.

- Video round up from Japan Probe.

- Speaking of Japan Probe, they also collected news stories about Obama and the far east.

- The fun Obama is Beautiful World video:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRB2wFhXIPs

And last, the Japanese news paper picture from this awesome list:

Lastly, I bought this coffee just in case I had to be bitter about the election. Luckily, I didn’t need to!

Unless you count California (and numerous other states) writing discrimination into their Constitutions. Oh boy. But, what about gay marriage in Japan? According to this site, it is in the constitution that marriage is between a man and a woman and there are currently no laws for civil union cases when both are the same gender.

We still have a ways to go, I guess.

On the plus side, at least California is getting a 新幹線 (shinkansen)!!!

Technorati Tags: bitter, coffee, election, gay marriage, happy, music, obama, Obama City, president, president elect, prop 8, video, 同性結婚, 小浜

The only problem? She is the Minister of Birth Rate Decline. The official “Special Missions” (特命) that she is in charge of are counter plans for birth rate decline and gender equality.

Lisa over at TokyoMango pointed out:

The job title “minister of declining birth” is kind of horrendous—it takes a lot of power out of her hands already by defining what her role as the person in charge of gender is. Women don’t get to choose their path in life, they just need to have more babies. That’s kinda how that title resonates with me.

Now, Yuko Obuchi is married and has a 1 year old boy. My guess is that appointing her is a 作戦 (sakusen) to show women can have children and hold careers as well.

I don’t think that directly translates to struggling middle class folk, not to mention, there really seems to be more issues with the declining birth rate than just the traditional “career” vs. “family” argument.

In any case, I wish her all the luck in her position and with her tasks. Oh, and by the way, maybe one way to combat the declining birth rate is to make immigration easier. I’m just saying.

Technorati Tags: children, girls, government, gunma, society, Yuko Obuchi, 小渕優子

She’s not really a front runner, but she does have an interesting strategy. She is using ニコニコ動画 (NicoNicoDouga) and YouTube to post videos of herself talking about the issues (or riding in jet planes). Why stand on top of a van in Shibuya when you can be on ニコ動… standing on top of a van!

I’d love to see her do well. Advancement of women and all that. But I have one major problem with her ニコニコ動画 videos; no comments! Comments on ニコ動 give you a sense that others are watching it too. So watching her comment-less videos (commenting seems to have been disabled) makes it feel like she is unpopular.

So, Yuriko-chan, let’s start seeing some commenting, huh? I’d love to see some “wwwwwwww” comments stringing across when you get out of that F-15!

Technorati Tags: government, nicovideo, society, video

Someone aught to draw a Kirby with that look. Then again, what powers would Kirby get from eating Fukuda? Bitter resignation powers?

Check out Pink Tentacle, Tokyo Mango, and Japan Probe‘s coverage for more Fukuda Fun™.

Technorati Tags: 福田康夫, Fukuda Yasuo, gaming, government, Kirby, nicovideo, politics, video