The ruling Liberal Democratic Party, trailing in the polls ahead of Sunday's general election, released new cartoon attack ads that portray its front-running opposition rival as wavering on key issues, including trade and terrorism.
One cartoon released Friday on the LDP's Web site and distributed on YouTube shows a young Democratic Party of Japan leader Yukio Hatoyama preparing bowls of ramen.
"I'm cooking up a policy to show you that I'm not just a sweet talker," the character says. After failing to satisfy conflicting requests to add ingredients from customers, a narrator exclaims: "If you try to make everyone happy, you can't please anyone."
The cartoons build on a similar series released last month and are aimed at limiting what polls indicate will be a devastating election loss on Sunday.
The LDP ads seek to portray DPJ campaign vows as empty promises. When one customer asks for oil in his ramen, the server pours it liberally into the bowl as an onlooker expresses dismay.
"OK then, I'll stop," the man says, in an apparent reference to the DPJ's pledge not to renew the Maritime Self-Defense Force refueling mission in support of the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan. The DPJ has also promised to boost aid for child care, curtail the clout of bureaucrats and cut taxes for small and medium-size firms.
Another cartoon released Friday shows four silhouettes representing Hatoyama, former party leader Ichiro Ozawa and No. 3 and No. 4 DPJ officials Naoto Kan and Katsuya Okada. When a voice mentions campaign issues, including easing trade curbs with the U.S., the figures express strong agreement, then bicker. "Can you entrust Japan's future to the wavering four?" a voice asks.
