New poster for House of Councillors campaign introduced

On June 15, the Chair of the DPJ Election Campaign Strategy Committee Jun Azumi held a press conference at party headquarters to introduce the new DPJ poster for the House of Councillors campaign. The poster is a head and shoulders shot of DPJ President Naoto Kan with the slogan “Restore Japan’s Vitality” (tentative translation).

Azumi started off by saying, “We have been really busy with preparations for the House of Councillors election, but we have made progress on deciding the all important campaign slogan and producing the posters and leaflets which will be distributed nationwide.” He went on to say, “Today, the campaign slogan and poster which the Kan Cabinet would like to communicate to the people have finally been completed, and I have the honour of announcing them to you.”

Azumi said that the new campaign slogan would be “Restore Japan’s Vitality”. He went on to introduce the poster, saying “It encapsulates our desire to restore Japan’s vitality.”

He went on to stress: “The Kan Cabinet will free Japan from the impasse that has continued for over 20 years, following the burst of the bubble. This Cabinet and new DPJ executive has been formed for just this purpose.” The aim of the new leadership is “encapsulated in the slogan written here. I believe there is no better way to express this feeling than the words ‘restore Japan’s vitality’. We would like communicate the strong feelings condensed in this slogan to the people of Japan during the election campaign.”

The poster communicates the DPJ’s determination to respond directly to the Japanese people’s “desire for change” which was communicated through the change of government, and to move Japan into a new era under the strong leadership of Prime Minister Kan. It expresses the message, “Restore Japan’s Vitality” through Kan’s expression, which enables one to feel his freshness and forcefulness.

Azumi went on to say, “From now on we will spread this message nationwide, and I would like the DPJ to be united in fighting the campaign for the House of Councillors election in order to “Restore Japan’s Vitality” just as it says here.”