The Liberal Democratic Party, with its animated video clips on the Internet, isn't the only party to take its campaign into cyberspace. The Democratic Party of Japan, the largest opposition force, has responded in kind with a free action game.
The LDP cartoon, which scornfully criticizes the DPJ's apparent inability to explain how it would finance its proposed budget reforms, has drawn thousands of hits from Web surfers.
Meanwhile, the DPJ has a downloadable game for mobile phones that lets users control the party mascot and lead it to the prime minister's office, all the while dodging bombs falling from the sky.
DPJ Secretary General Katsuya Okada has skewered the LDP as "ready to become an opposition party," noting that its aggressive attacks appear to reflect the assumption it will lose power in the Aug. 30 election.
The LDP has been uploading videos to attack the DPJ's policies, using animation to mock DPJ President Yukio Hatoyama. The LDP's YouTube channel has an animated video in which a man resembling Hatoyama proposes to a woman.
Looking down on the Diet building from an upper-story restaurant, the man tells the woman: "There will be a rosy future. Fees for childbirths, child-rearing, education as well as postretirement years and nursing care — you can count on me. You can drive on expressways for free, too," the man says. "Are you sure about the money?" the woman asks. "I'll think about the details after we get married," the man replies.