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Who even knew that the Governor of Tokyo was an anime expert? Actually considering anime constitutes an increasingly large percentage of their economy, seems like a sensible job requirement.
After becoming famous for making some sizable contributions to the anime industry (including as a writer to Space Battleship Yamato Resurrection), Shintaro Ishihara became a pretty famous governor in his home-city of Tokyo.
Somewhat ironically, Ishihara himself is a major proponent of the Youth Healthy Development Ordinance, which has expanded the number of manga and anime titles considered “harmful” for youthful consumption, and even helped enact a rather large and controversial ban on several manga titles in his home country (which led to a boycott of the city’s International Anime Fair by several manga publishers).
He’s also said some pretty controversial stuff about the gay community, such as: “we’ve even got (them) casually appearing even on television.” He also indicated that the March 2011 tsunami was divine punishment for “Japan’s selfishness,” whatever that entails. Anyways, perhaps in response to increasing pressure by his peers, Mr. Ishihara has officially resigned his position as Governor of Tokyo — with no real explanation as to why. He also added that he’s forming a new political party and possibly seeking a position in the next House of Representatives election.
While his Jerry Falwell-ian comments may have hurt more than helped him, as is the case with many politicians, maybe he can grab himself a television show in his native country – or have his new political party can continue with his more Puritan approach to pop culture.
It’s a bit too soon to say if the guy will actually be successful in his post-governor endeavors. Here’s a video of him speaking uncomfortably whilst trying to avoid a seizure from paparazzi flash bulbs.
Jeff Nau – who has written 1264 posts on The Jace Hall Show.
Jeff Nau is a main contributor to the Jace Hall Show covering pop culture and music trends in the nerd community. He has contributed to San Diego City Beat, 944, and Ill Literature, amongst others, and spends his spare time working as an artist and photographer.

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