While transferring between lines in Noborito this morning I came across a campaigning politician donning a large red sash and handing out pamphlets to commuters on the footpath between stations. This is in no way an uncommon occurrence here, but what surprised me was that my outreached hand actually scored a pamphlet, as this almost never happens. Most campaigning politicians that I've come across will hold back their flyers when I walk past. Who could blame them? How could someone with white skin possibly vote or even read Japanese for that matter. Of course this isn't always the case, just my own experience.

Another surprise was that the politician who handed me the flyer was Tsurunen Marutei, the first foreign-born member of the Diet (Japanese parliament). Born Martti Turunen in Finland he obtained Japanese citizenship in 1979. Tsurunen entered politics in 1992 when he was elected to the town assembly of Yugawara, Kanagawa and in 2002 when Ohashi Kyosen resigned Tsurunen took his seat in the Diet.

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