Japanese postal politics, all about Japanese political parties, and stupid jokes in Japanese

Hello again from J-List, your friend in Japan! Well, the Japanese election is behind us, and it was a landslide for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and Prime Minister Koizumi, who successfully chased the anti-reform Diet members from his party and got a mandate for change from the voters. It was a very interesting election in that it was a lot more "American" than those of the past -- the heads of each Japanese party campaigned directly to the people, presenting their ideas on the main issue at hand, the privatization of the Japanese post office along the lines of Japan's privatizing of the old national railroad system during the 1980s (which became the current six Japan Railroad companies). Japan is a parliamentary democracy based on the government of the U.K., with a Prime Minister elected by the party that holds the most seats in the Diet. Since the leaders are not chosen directly by the people, as in countries with presidential elections, it creates a different dynamic between the voters and the head honcho. This time around, there was the sense that people were voting for the leader directly, rather than just casting votes for their local representative in the Diet. Now that the LDP has gotten the go-ahead, they'll be putting their plan to reform Japan's massive postal apparatus into action. The problem with Japan Post isn't how they deliver the mail, of course -- they're extremely polite and hardworking, and J-List wouldn't be able to function without the efforts of several post offices in our area. (J-List sends so many packages, we once received a special thank-you plaque presented by the director of the postal service.) The biggest problems with the post office are the convenient but unnecessary Kampo life insurance and postal savings accounts, which operate under different rules than private insurance companies and banks in Japan and which effectively keep the private sector on an inferior level compared to these government-backed enterprises. Japan could also afford to shed a few thousand of the 24,000 post offices that dot the country -- it'd ridiculous how many I pass when driving around my town. Maybe they can combine some of them and put some real parking lots in? Japanese humor can be quite interesting, and watching anime can teach you some words and phrases that are fun to know. At the age of 37, I'm passed the oniisan phase and am well on my way to being a true ojisan (two words which mean older brother and uncle, respectively, but in more general context refer to young-ish men in their 20s and men starting their silver years). For whatever reason, middle-aged men in Japan make the stupidest puns, which are called dajare (dah-JAH-rey), but when I make puns my kids use the word dadajare, combining "dada" (Daddy) with dajare, which is rather deep as that's a dajare right there. Here are some stupid Japanese phrases you can use if you know any Japanese people. One comes from a commercial for Listerine which combined the English words "bye bye" with the word for bacteria (baikin) to make bye bye-kin (bai bai-KEEN) which caught on and was said by everyone for a while. Another involves a phrase you might have heard in anime, sonna bakana, which means "what a stupid..." and is said to express shock, but if you change it to sonna banana ("what a banana!") it's mildly amusing. (The word "banana" is pronounced in Japanese with the stress on the first syllable, e.g. BAH-na-na.) Here are today's "really cool products" that I thought were especially noteworthy. Note: the J-List links below may be for adult products and should probably be considered "not safe for work." To see all the J-List products, check out J-List or the JBOX.com updated products link.

	Japan: Then and Now ~ Eigo de Kataru Nihonjijyo. I really don't know why but bilingual books (with Japanese on one side, English on the other) that give background details on various aspects of Japanese society, religeon, culture and travel are quite popular, and J-List has carried about ten of these books in the past two months or so. This one is very interesting, and if you're a student of either Japanese or English, it's useful to compare how ideas on one side are expressed on the other side.
	Swimming Suit Collection 4 Hours (2 Discs). Another fetish item from Japan, this is a collection of 4 hours of beautiful Japanese girls wearing swimsuits, and of course taking them off at some point. There's a good focus on famous swimsuits like those by Speedo, Mizuno, and others. Plus the girls are awfully cute.
	Howl's Moving Castle Stamp Set *B* -- Set of 4. We just love Howl's Moving Castle, and will be posting the DVD for preorder soon (we're waiting on the cover image). In the meantime, here's a really stylin' set of Howl stamps that come in a nice box.
	Samurai Japan Pins. Another nice item from Japan, these are really cool metal pins with various designs on them, e.g. samurai kanji, famous Japanese castles and more.
	2006 Calendar - Tonari no Totoro. This year's Totoro calendar should be good, and will probably feature the super cute Koneko Bus, also known as the Kitten Bus, the offspring of the Neko Bus from the film. I want a Kitten Bus to ride in! I like the cover of this year's calendar -- it's kind of an anime recreation of a famous painting by Monet.
	2006 Calendar -- Natsumi Abe. One of the most popular bands of the past decade has been Mo-Musu, aka Morning Musume, a huge group of idols who are experly managed by a guy named Tsunk. The individual members are really cute, and one of the cutest is Natsube Abe (ah-BAY). Here is her 2006 calendar.
	Charmy Kitty *Sitting Down* Plush w/ Comb. I personally love the idea of Charmmy Kitty: a much cuter version of Hello Kitty that actually acts like a cat. (I think Charmmy Kitty is Hello Kitty's pet, which raises some issues about slavery and human rights in the Sanrio universe.) I just love the design of this character, and the plush toys we've just gotten in are really special.
	CFNM ~ Clothed Female Naked Male 18 (region 2). A big fetish in Japan, this is CFNM, i.e. clothed female, naked male. The reactions the sexy women make as the tease, prod and otherwise embarrass the guys is really remarkable. This is the newest release from Moodyz.
	2006 Calendar -- Super Milk Chan. Another great 2006 calendar, this is the new one for Super Milk Chan, a popular late-night anime character.
	2006 Calendar - The Prince of Tennis . Always a popular item, this is the Prince of Tennis calendar for 2006, based on a popular anime (and manga, of course) about tennis and sweaty boys.