Promises
Election seasons in Japan are marked by colorful posters of candidates with catch phrases aimed at their constituencies. Smiling faces and modeled poses appear across the countryside in little towns as well as along busy city streets.
In recent years, as elections in America have divided voters by the increasing use of social media and expensive ad campaigns, posters in Japan provide an economical medium for candidates vying for offices from town council members to prime minister.
Promises are offered with clever brevity with phrases such as, “With sincere persistence,” “Toward treasuring everyone, one by one,” and “Now, on the to future.” Japanese have perfected the art of appealing to voters using campaign shorthand. One does not need to be fluent in Japanese to understand the appeal of the posters, wherever they are put up.
Note: Asterik indicates photographic print in exhibit at Downtown Art Center