Friday, February 06, 2009

Forget Marquess of Queensbury Rules

"You are a thief of the people's taxes."

"You a habitual perpetrator of 'I will do it!' 'I will do it! fraud." *

"You are a fraudster for the ages." **
Sure, the Democratic Party of Japan's Maehara Seiji got a stiff reprimand from committee chairman Ōta Seishirō for leveling these accusations at Prime Minister Asō Tarō in Diet committee session on Wednesday.

But his remarks were not stricken from the record.

The Yomiuri Shimbun saw the attack as a clear violation of the rules.

Maehara Seiji swings with a glove marked "Fraud" as an amazed Asō Tarō ducks away from the blow. He appeals to the reader, asking, "Hey, isn't that an illegal punch?"
No, Francisco, it is not. Not when members of your own party are unafraid of calling you a liar for claiming you did not say something that numerous persons heard you say earlier this week.

Get with the program, Yomiuri. Your default mode is to fawn upon the leader, whomever he is -- as long as he pays court to Watanabe Tsuneo, of course.

Asō Tarō is not the country's leader. He's the country's punching bag.

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* Maehara told the PM he was committing "Yaru yaru sagi" ("I'll do it! I'll do it!" fraud) - a play on the term "ore ore sagi" ("It's me! It's me" fraud). Maehara was referring to the Prime Minister's multiple postponements of a House of Representatives election.

** Kidai no sagishi

Cartoon image courtesy the morning edition of the Yomiuri Shimbun of February 5, 2009.

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