The leader of the Democratic Party of Japan is fleetingly portrayed in a recent TV commercial as the stern-faced chairman of a fictitious Cabinet meeting, the scene accompanied by upbeat rock music.
The commercial is apparently designed to convince voters of the DPJ's governing potential, along with that of Naoto Kan himself.
The ad aired by the Liberal Democratic Party is meanwhile a much simpler affair, with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi making a lone, direct appeal to viewers.