Next week, the Upper House elections will feature a lot of celebrity would-be politicians, most of whom seem to be professional wrestlers. One of the most famous celebrity politicians, comedian Kiyoshi Nishikawa, is retiring after 18 years in the Upper House.
Kiyoshi has managed to keep 60 percent of the promises he made to his Osaka constituents over the years. One of the questions local media is asking is whom Nishikawa's 1 million supporters will vote for on July 11.
On Monday, Nippon TV's documentary series, "Super TV" (9:54 p.m.), follows Nishikawa around during his last days in office. In Tokyo, Super TV's crew make a rare visit to the Diet dormitory where Nishikawa has lived for the better part of 18 years, and cover his last day on the job, which turned out to be inauspicious. As tradition has it, Nishikawa, an independent, was going to put his last question to the government, in this case a question about pension reform, but the ruling party rudely denied him his last moment in the sun by putting the matter to a vote before he was scheduled to come up.