Regarding Japan's "Kamikaze election" Japan's prime minister Noda declared to dissolve the parliament. It is almost certain that his DPJ will lose, Japanese media say, but he handed the decision to the opposition party LDP leader Abe in exchange to agree with Noda's main agenda: to reduce the number of parliament seats. This means a higher chance of losing his/her job for existing representatives, so nobody has done it before, but he is doing it because he asked Japanese people to endure the consumption tax hike, and that the politicians also should bite the bullet.

Politics in Japan: The Kamikaze Election (Economist)

Normally, Japanese press don't praise any politicians, and individual Japanese citizens usually would prefer to criticize, not to declare support for, a particular politician in public. But I am pleasantly surprised that many Japanese people on my Twitter timeline are actually saying something about it, many of which actually support Noda or his decision.

I, for one, feel that I want to support his action. In the Japanese context, it is the only way to make something NEW happen, which shakes the status quo. Japan has been TOO successful in the past 50 years and people do not want to move on from that old regime, even though it does not fit in the changing environment.

There are many stories in "samurai" era, that a royal staff commit "seppuku (hara-kiri)" to convince his boss to stop his wrong doing. In this case, the boss is Japanese people in general, and Noda is using this final weapon.

The election will be held on December 16. Luckily, by now, I can at least vote from overseas. I gotta go vote for this one.