Comics defying taboos, ditching slapstick for political satire

Comedian Hikari Ota is doing what he does best on his weekly 'news' show: taking aim at Japan's aging lawmakers.</PARAGRAPH> <PHOTO> <TABLE WIDTH='250' ALIGN='RIGHT' BORDER='0'> <TR> <TD><IMG ALT='Comedian Hikari Ota listens to ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Yasuhide Nakayama during a taping of Ota's weekly 'news' show at NTV in Tokyo' BORDER='0' SRC='../images/photos2007/nn20070718f3a.jpg' WIDTH='250' HEIGHT='166'/></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><FONT SIZE='1'><B>Comedian Hikari Ota –

listens to ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Yasuhide Nakayama during a taping of Ota's weekly "news" show at NTV in Tokyo in May. AP PHOTO

"It's easy to spot them nodding off during Diet sessions," he tells the studio audience while a large screen on stage shows a napping lawmaker. "Sometimes they're even dead!"