An online stunt by a student activist who poked fun at the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe over its decision to call for a snap election has highlighted the advantage young people have in using social media to push their own political agenda.
On Nov. 21, a Twitter account using the handle @why_kaisan (kaisan is Japanese for dissolution of the Diet) was launched by someone who claimed to be an elementary school student named Nakamura. The Twitter account pointed followers to a new website at why-kaisan.com, which lampooned in child-speak everything from Abe's economic policies to the controversial state secrecy law.
"Your so-called Abenomics policy — wasn't it supposed to increase the nation's money? My allowance isn't getting any bigger," it read. "Why an election now? Is that a secret as well?"