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Post-election Wrap-up
Congratulations to the new President of eJapan, Oraizan! The Imperial Sun Party wishes her the best and hopes that she will bring much prosperity to eJapan. We would also like to thank former President Minamoto for his service and hope that everything in-game and in real life goes well for him. Let's also hope that the transition of power goes smoothly, organization passwords are handed over in a timely manner, etc. We all want a smoothly functioning eJapan that treats the opposition fairly.


Election Analysis

Voter turn-out was quite high, with 451 votes cast in the October 5th election. Oraizan of the eSOS Brigade had the support of five parties, including the Imperial Sun Party, and received 225 votes, or 49.89%. Godzilla candidate Dokomo received 203 votes, or 45.01% of the vote, making this the closest election ever in eJapan. I do not think it is an exaggeration to say that the Imperial Sun Party and its voters played a major role in this election, given the close results.

Many will be disappointed that their candidate did not win, but please know that the Imperial Sun Party's support is not a given, it must be earned. If elected officials do not perform post-election as advertised, they can count on criticism from our party.



Like last month, Election Advertisements got the attention of some election observers as well as my own this month. First, I would like to say that whoever did the "Dokomo is a Swedish cosplayer" advertisement is genius, and I wonder if it was the same person who did the ad poking fun of Oraizan last month. It made me LOL. Extra points for the Legend of Zelda reference. Now I can see that those kind of ads may offend some, as hinted at in the article "A Pledge for Civility" from our esteemed Emperor, and I am happy that truly foul or mean-spirited attacks stayed out of the media. There was of course criticism of ad content, as in the article "Same Old Election Crap," but I felt that article stimulated some informative discussion (read the comments). However, this is teh internets, and we should expect a certain amount of creative criticism to appear in our media and ads.

Lastly, on factionalism it must be said that eJapan has grown and matured in the last eight months since a president could win with 52 votes out of 90 cast. There were 451 votes cast yesterday, more than any other election in eJapanese history. This number probably roughly represents the number of active eCitizens in eJapan, plus or minus a few for various reasons. It is simply not possible to keep everyone happy! Fairness to all eJapanese remains an important part of our democratic principles, but we must avoid "groupthink," which occurs when people are too afraid or too comfortable to speak their minds.


The Diet Building of eJapan

ISP Legislative Agenda

As always, the primary focus of the Imperial Sun Party is national defense. There will be a Defense spending debate and proposal in congress. All members of the ISP are requested to consult the following thread in the National Forums:

http://nipponblog.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=884


Is this culture?

Cultural Initiatives are also an important part of life in eJapan. I would also like to see the Imperial Sun Party promote rl Japan-related articles and/or reward writers who take the time to put together well-written articles. None of us are going to get Media Mogul medals living in eJapan, so perhaps the government can help provide an incentive for good writing. The discussion will be hosted in the National Forums after the defense spending proposal is passed.

Please join the ISP!
If joining a party that actively debates issues and seeks to move eJapan in a positive direction by building a strong military and cultural identity appeals to you, please consider joining the Imperial Sun Party! After all, why are you unemployed political science majors playing this game anyway? (ha!)

KITA Ikki
Imperial Sun Party President