Tokyo’s geriatric governor Ishihara is apparently intent on banning fun altogether, having now demanded the cancellation of hanami, the traditional Japanese custom of boozing it up under the cherry blossoms, urging instead a return to the glorious hardships of war and fascist oppression.
At a recent press conference, Ishihara had harsh words for those who might want to do something other than work or watch back-to-back earthquake reports on TV in between blackouts:
“This isn’t the time to be drinking and having fun as the sakura blooms!
It’s not the time for hanami. We should share the pain of our fellow countrymen out of solidarity.
[…]
During the Second World War, everyone held themselves in check and bore the hardships.
We may have lost the war, but the solidarity of the Japanese of that era was truly beautiful.”
His romantic references to a time when Japan’s army and secret police were busy murdering their own citizens in the name of the supremacy of the state and Japanese race is of course not surprising considering his own political proclivities.
Some have also wondered why self-restraint is even necessary if, as Ishihara recently stated, the quake victims all deserved to die as they were subjected to divine punishment for being greedy, bad Japanese.
The city government is telling revellers at the city’s top hanami spots to “voluntarily” restrain their celebrations to save power – although it is hard to imagine how sitting under a tree drinking with friends could consume more electricity than anything else a Tokyo inhabitant might get up to.
With Japan’s continuing obsession with pointless acts of “self-restraint” rapidly reaching farcical levels, many observers are becoming concerned that the economic and social impact of the quake is only going to be exacerbated by forcing endless cancellations and sustained hysteria throughout the country.
Well,if the people would stop drinking and use their brains before posting here they’d have to admit that he’s right here and that there are […] between the phrases he said,meaning that there was something left out here for the purpose of leading our minds astray because the 2 phrases about WW2 are now out of context and were only a part of the things he said.
The times are hard and yet the people don’t help each other but still go as far as drinking while watching blooming trees while at other places people have no home,no food and no perspective for their future. The people should show more solidary with their kin and not keep up those semi-traditions, wouldn’t it be better if they worked hard and watched the next bloom happy together instead of drowning their sorrows in alcohol and leave their fellow countrymen in despair?
SELF restraint of the people during WWII? Are you fucking insane?
The government was the one restraining the people.
s♥♥t. To think someone of his level of level intelligence got in a graduated from Hitotsubashi…
I bet the next thing Ishithara cancels is elections. If everything else uses too many resources that could help quake victims, hey, why bother rolling out voting booths?
what the f♥♥k? goddamn you ishihara.
i guess he wants the old tradition of suffering first before having any fun.
Why can’t assholes like this get killed in Tsunamis? This guy needs to get a divine retribution done to him… like something the worst that the country has ever seen! Maybe along the lines of 1,000 cuts.