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From TV to politics, Renho blazes a trail

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After all the brouhaha, the DPJ has more budget deficit than the LDP because they decided that the children of foreigners working in Japan particularly Chinese and Koreans must be supported by Japan...and yes, these clowns are pushing for voting rights for them too. Why should the fate of a nation be decided by people who don't want to be Japanese?

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Why should the fate of a nation be decided by people who don't want to be Japanese?

How could the fate of a nation be decided by approximately 0.25 per cent of the electorate (this assuming a voter turnout of 50 per cent, which would be above the national average) who would be voting for a slate of all-Japanese candidates?

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She sure is easier on the eyes than all the old men you normally see in the DPJ and the LDP. But I'm not yet convinced she is nothing more than an opportinist, taking full advantage of her 15 minutes of fame, as opposed to a public servant who truly wants to help people.

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Beelzebub.

How will foreigners decide the elections.

1.) Once foreigners can vote in LOCAL elections tons and tons of foreigners will flood to Japan to control it. 2.) They will ALL aquire PR within the shortest time possible(5yrs on average). 3.) And they ALL will vote for a party that is anti-japan. 4.) This anti-japan parties will appear with a 'pop once foreigners are given the right to vote in LOCAL elections.

I think I covered most of the argumetns I heard so far by "concerned" Japanese.

HTH.

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"as opposed to a public servant who truly wants to help people"

It may just be my experience but I haven't meet many of those.

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Renho is smart; she is tough; and committed to bringing change to the 'Old System'. . . . Moreover, she is an excellent model for women and for Japanese coming from cross-cultural backgrounds : demonstrating that the glass ceiling CAN BE and IS BEING BROKEN.

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Most impressive thing I read in the article...

Renho’s office said she was too busy to give an interview.

Too often we see politicians who are all too happy to get their views in print. She could have given the interview and answered questions and it probably would have not counted as "campaigning" (which isn't allowed until Thursday) as long as she kept away from the subject of her opponents and her platform.

As far as how good of an official she is, until you have some evidence of incompetence, you should give her the benefit of the doubt. Politics will suck the life out of you so fast it is scary (take a look at any before (when they got the job) and after (when they left the job) photos of world leaders).

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After all the brouhaha, the DPJ has more budget deficit than the LDP because they decided that the children of foreigners working in Japan particularly Chinese and Koreans must be supported by Japan...and yes, these clowns are pushing for voting rights for them too. Why should the fate of a nation be decided by people who don't want to be Japanese?

I see the dark side has taught you well!

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"Her Taiwanese background troubled opposition lawmaker Takeo Hiranuma, an arch-conservative who grumbled earlier this year: “I don’t want to say this, but she is not originally Japanese.”"

Today, if your mother is Japanese you are Japanese from birth, although the law may have been different when Renho was born. Mr Hiranuma is one of those people who argue that non-Japanese should naturalise in order to be able to vote. Yet even if they do this, the likes of Mr Hiranuma will still complain that they are not really Japanese.

Mikihouse: If non-Japanese are working in Japan and paying taxes in Japan they should be entitled to all the tax allowances and benefits a Japanese gets. The tax and benefit rules should be the same for everyone, regardless of nationality or gender.

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The future leader of Japan?

http://baikokudo-minsyutou.up.seesaa.net/image/renho1.jpg

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Does this woman have clothes in any color other than white?

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Wow! 150,000 followers. I wonder how many are government bureaucrats wondering if or when the ax will fall . . .

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The article says she is "half Taiwanese". The media eliminating this kind of reporting would help solve a lot of the problems in this country. Renho has been a Japanese citizen for 25 years. She is not half anything

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bababooey's link shows us a different side of Renho. Forgot she was in the entertainment biz before politics. I say more power to her, I hope she wins. I think she is refreshing.

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"Renho is smart; she is tough; and committed to bringing change to the 'Old System'. . . . Moreover, she is an excellent model for women and for Japanese coming from cross-cultural backgrounds : demonstrating that the glass ceiling CAN BE and IS BEING BROKEN."

I have to agree with this. I think the current Japanese leadership, though flawed in many ways, has many good qualities that just simply didn't exist before. The fact that Kan does not come from a politically privileged background is one of them, and Renho and her determination is another.

If Renho were to run for Prime Minister, I would vote for her if I were Japanese. She's probably the toughest, smartest, most determined politician on the block right now. The old, male, ossified established of this country must be broken down.

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Couple of comments:

Although I favor the DPJ, there is something about this woman that grates with me. It might be her background in journalism and her ability to use the "soundbite" to maximum effect. I also didn't like her performance at the government-funded programs meetings. Then again, I suppose there is fine line between grilling somebody and coming across as a grandstanding prat.

Hiranuma is old-Japan. Indeed, for those on the right-wing of Japanese politics, he has all the prerequisites required for being a great leader. Namely, he takes a revisionist view of history and his (adopted) father was a convicted Class A War Criminal. With a pedigree like that, no wonder he looks down his nose at Renho. Indeed, in his world she would be either lying in ditch somewhere after being bayoneted, or working down the Diet as a comfort girl.

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timborder,

Ouch!! But sadly your 100% right on that old dead wood hiranuma

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DaveAllTogether

Does this woman have clothes in any color other than white?

What does that have to do with anything ???

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SemperFi - It has nothing to do with her ability as a public official (which is something I do question). I just wonder what kind of statement, if any, ahe is trying to make by ALWAYS wearing white.

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As Hiranuma goes, so does that Tachiagare Japan party goes (Stand up Comedy Japan). With such right wing idiots as Ishihara and Hiranuma in that party, if they win significant number of seats, Japan is doomed.

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http://baikokudo-minsyutou.up.seesaa.net/image/renho1.jpg

Renho used to be a teenage boy?!

I hope she does stand up to the fossils that run this country and eventually inspires more younger, forward-thinking, hungry citizens to change things instead of patiently waiting their turn.

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she is too young and too long inexperience. just pretty face she wants to television again

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Many others before her promised an opening and a changement from the 'old' system. AND once she will be elected, we won't hear anymore from her and she will be disappeared in the wide and hidden jungle called corruption and cronyism.

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she is too old for bikini so now is good choice for her for television again.

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@proudnippon - maybe it's time for Japan to realize that to move forward it's actually good with some input from both young and old people? That being said, 42 isn't particularly young for politics, if you look outside Japan. Obama is only 6 years older, 48 (without further comparison).

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Her hair is too short. She should grow it longer to be feminine and thus acceptable to the masses.

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Too bad she also supports Taiwan independence. Typical Taiwanese betraying the Han people for Japan. Nothing more to see here.

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Heh Proudnippon doesn't want people to enter politics until they're 60, I guess.

Xuanzhanq, You identify her as a "Taiwanese", while taking her to task for supporting "Taiwanese Independence". Thank you for recognizing they are not Chinese! I'm sure they're happy you recognized them for the free people they prefer to be. Gee, I hope this doesn't get you in trouble with your regime for supporting Taiwan nationalism.

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Wow! The sexism is alive and well on this thread - comments on her hair. clothes and looks. Proudnippon thanks for again proving that many Japanese are still suck in the past.

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@mikihouse "Why should the fate of a nation be decided by people who don't want to be Japanese?"

Good question, so here's a good answer: law-abiding tax-payers within a democratic state deserve representation. Suffrage has been extended to non-nationals in other democratic states. Why not Japan? And as long as Renho doesn't support that notion (she doesn't even support local level level voting for permanent residents) her political "trailblazing" hits a dead-end.

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@mikihouse "Why should the fate of a nation be decided by people who don't want to be Japanese?"

But will we foreigners EVER be Japanese, or simply still be seen as foreigners who simply hold a japanese passport/nationality. Ask Debito Arudou?

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One thing Renho brings to the national debate (as if that really existed in Japan) is the need to confront undercurrents of old-school xenophobia, or the idea that outsiders involved in Japan's politics will be the ultimate demise of the country. Renho has been accused by conservatives for not having "yamato damashii", that inexplicably Japanese spirit. Renho's presence causes alarm among those right-wing types.

But any other argument here stating that Japan's future is in jeopardy because of NJ's coming to Japan and "deciding elections" is absurd. That argument is but a softened version of what some right-wingers are accusing Renho of: naturalizing and then stepping into Japanese politics with non-Japanese inclinations. This of course is not true. I just hope her position on suffrage changes. Renho could be key in this area of national growth and maturity.

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xuanzhang, Taiwan will always be independent from China. typical brainwashed, nationalistic mainland commie.

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Proudnippon doesn't want people to enter politics until they're 60, I guess.

not so my friend. I think she was better bikini idol. play to your strengths

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