Almost Election Day

Tomorrow is election day.  For me, a guy who follows Japanese politics with the same interest and zeal as fans follow football, this is like the eve of the Super Bowl.

Still, there are things I am of two minds about when it comes to Japanese election campaigns, such as this:

On the one hand, I love the fact that candidates take to the streets and will give their stump speeches to whoever is willing to listen, even if it's just the wind.  There's also some charm to the waving supporters and the white gloves.  

On the other hand, I am pretty tired of the candidates and their staff shouting over loudspeakers in my neighborhood periodically from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM everyday.  I'm curious as to how many additional votes that actually garners.  I guess I find it hard to believe that people sitting there in their living rooms watching TV getting interrupted with a loud, "Vote for me, Seki Tsuneyuki, and I will fight for you to the end," will actually say to themselves, "You know, I was going to vote for Sato, but Seki sounds like a much better bloke."  But I digress.

All-in-all, a 12-day formal campaign period is hardly obtrusive compared to the 1.5-year long media slog that is the U.S. presidential race, so I can't complain too much.  Besides, it's a small price to pay for the main event that I get to follow tomorrow!