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Vol. 187 / Huh? Another General Election?
Next month, a House of Representatives election will be held.
The last general election was in October 2024.
I feel somewhat bewildered that House of Representatives members will be replaced in just one year and three months.
The people, as sovereign citizens, chose them by investing enormous amounts of energy and time.
The media will be dominated by election coverage.
A great deal of tax money is also spent.
I sincerely hope that those elected will carry out the work they believe in throughout their full term.
Noboru Takeshita, the last prime minister of the Shōwa era, once wrote, “A singer lasts one year, a prime minister two—both disposable,” and he himself stepped down in less than two years.
In the 2000s, there was even a period when prime ministers changed almost every year.
I do not want positions such as Diet member or prime minister to be treated lightly.
However, it is also true that elections are the foundation of democracy.
The reason I feel this way may also stem from my growing weariness with the sheer number of cases in local politics—such as in Maebashi City, Ito City, and earlier in Kishiwada City and Hyōgo Prefecture—where the pattern of “recall → resignation (or dissolution) → election” keeps repeating, to the point of seeming utterly absurd.
No matter how busy a musician is with lessons, their true worth should be measured by the type of music they provide.
I hope that politicians, no matter how busy they are with elections, never forget their original goal of: what kind of society they want to create.
In today’s highly visible world, surely many people are watching.
Jan.24, 2026
MoTets
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