Talk of a change in government power is everywhere ahead of the Aug. 30 Lower House election, including a promotional event this week for the action movie "Kamen Rider Decade."
Two of the franchise's greatest villains — Jigoku Taishi (Ambassador Hell) and Shinigami Hakase (Dr. Death) of the evil Shocker syndicate — appeared on the event stage in Tokyo on Tuesday to scare the dickens out of kids, but brought with them a political twist.
"What comes after we conquer the world? A better nation," actor Ren Osugi, who plays Jigoku Taishi, shouted after arriving on stage aboard a mock election campaign vehicle.
Drawing applause from some of the parents, Osugi and actor Renji Ishibashi, who plays Shinigami Hakase, then declared the establishment of a new political party to run in the election — the Great Shocker Party.
The latest "Kamen Rider" movie hits theaters nationwide Aug. 8. It features an all-out battle between all the heroes and major villains from the franchise's past series that aired on TV, which number more than 20 since the first one was broadcast in 1971.
One of the series, "Kamen Rider Black RX," was remade in English as "Masked Rider" and aired on the Fox Kids channel from 1995 to 1996.
