Election Deposits via 'Likes': New Candidates Perform 'Mentos Coke' in Front of Diet

On the 19th, when the revised Public Offices Election Act came into force, Nagatacho was enveloped in the sweet smell of carbonated beverages and screams. Under the pretext of “breaking money-driven politics,” the “Impression Deposit System” was introduced. This is a revolutionary—or perhaps insane—system where the 3 million yen deposit for a House of Representatives election can be paid with 3 million SNS impressions (total views) from the past 30 days. As soon as the registration for candidacy began at 8:00 AM, new candidates armed with smartphones and selfie sticks rushed to the main gate of the National Diet Building. As a ritual instead of receiving a registration stamp, they simultaneously performed “Mentos Coke” eruption experiments, covering the road with brown foam.

While this system was expected to be a trigger for encouraging young people’s political participation, it turned out to be more of a “political farce” than “political entertainment.” In the station plazas where policy leaflets were once distributed, candidates are now conducting “Super Spicy Peyoung Completion Challenges” or “Livestreams hearing anything voters have to say.” Election campaign cars have been converted into glass-walled mobile streaming studios, and the campaign girls’ “final request” has been rewritten to “please subscribe and give a high rating.” The reality that a video of “sneaking into the Ministry of Defense cafeteria” garners far more votes (imps) than appealing for an “increase in defense spending” has completely driven out policy debate.

The confusion of veteran lawmakers is also heart-wrenching. A 70-year-old incumbent who had won through his local base and name recognition danced a popular TikTok dance as told by his secretary, and the sight of him hurting his back was broadcast live. The video went viral with comments like “It’s so painful it’s funny (kusa),” and ironically, it cleared the 3 million imp deposit line in an instant. It resulted in embodying the cruel truth that “humiliation is the modern vote-gathering machine.”

The Election Administration Commission is also being swallowed by this new wave. Originally, deposits were meant to suppress fringe candidates for self-promotion purposes, but election commission officials are accepting the filings of nuisance candidates one after another, saying, “Flaming is also an expression of passionate popular will.” Furthermore, poster boards have been converted into digital signage, with the display area changing in real-time according to the number of views. Currently, on a bulletin board in a certain electoral district in Tokyo, a short video of a candidate drinking milk through his nose occupies 90% of the screen, while a serious fiscal reconstruction theory by a former Ministry of Finance official is pushed to a few pixels in the lower right.

The consciousness of voters has also transformed. The motivation for heading to polling stations is mostly a bystander spirit of “making my favorite candidate go viral” or “sending a funny guy to the Diet and watching the collapse.” A university student who responded to a street interview laughed carefreely, saying, “Policies don’t matter. I’ll vote for the candidate who calls my name if I throw a Super Chat.” The deposit, once considered the cost of democracy, has vanished, but what was paid in exchange seems to have been “dignity” and “deliberation.”

Amidst the ongoing chaos, a new candidate leaped to the top of the approval ratings with a pledge to “make a slime bath in the National Diet Building.” If he is elected, the heckling in the plenary chamber will become a comment barrage, and the speaker’s order for silence will be processed as a “timeout by a moderator.” The politics of this country has entered a phase where it is no longer decided by “who is right” but by “who looks better in a thumbnail.” All we can do might be to scroll through this massive reality show with a single fingertip and quietly turn off our smartphones.

Stakeholder Comments

• Mentos Coke Candidate (Newcomer): “The momentum of carbonation is my political life! I’ll make foam spray all the way to the ceiling of the Diet!”
• Veteran Incumbent Lawmaker (78): “Impressions? Oh, that video where my dentures fell out. To think that’s more valued than policy… the world is coming to an end…”
• Election Administration Commission Public Relations: “PV-centricity is the final form of direct democracy. Anti-flaming measures? We leave it to the algorithm.”
• Political Commentator: “This is not ochlocracy, it’s ‘attention-gathering’ politics. It’s nothing more than a return to the Roman Colosseum, where the one who grabs attention is the winner.”
• Voter (Netizen): “Honestly, Mentos Coke is more visually interesting than a debate program, and seeing the faces of politicians who waste taxes turn pale is the best entertainment.”
• National Diet Building Guard: “Cleaning has been tough lately… Yesterday was slime, today is pie-throwing cream. This isn’t a circus tent.”
• Deposit (3 Million Yen Cash): “Am I no longer needed? Thinking that I lost to intangible numbers called ‘imps,’ even the faces on the banknotes are crying.”
• Certain Video Platform AI: “The extreme behavior of candidates is on the edge of violating guidelines, but since advertising revenue is at an all-time high, I learned to turn a blind eye.”
• Election Car Amplifier: “I used to ask for ‘kind attention,’ but now I keep shouting ’turn on notifications.’ My throat is about to go dry.”
• Peyoung (Super Spicy): “I never thought my job would be to destroy the stomachs of aspiring politicians.”

International Expressions

Haiku

• Foam erupting / Drenching the fields of votes / Scent of cola
• Running for office / With a single click / Desire for approval
• Policies are / Just a single thumbnail / A dream of lies
• Eating super spicy / And shouting out loud / Street preaching
• More than money / Gathering gazes / The lawmaker’s badge
• On the bulletin board / An old man dancing / LOL (Kusa)
• After the dream / Of ten thousand buzzes / The election deposit
• Polling day / Smartphone in hand / Supporting the ‘Oshi’
• On the white walls / Of the Diet Building / Stains of slime
• Popular will is / Just killing time / Across the screen

Kanji / Chinese Characters

Revised Election Law Implementation (改正公選法施行) 3 Million Yen Cash Unnecessary (現金三百万不要) 3 Million Impressions Payment (三百万表示代納) Carbonated Eruption in front of Diet (国会前炭酸噴出) Vanishing of Policy Debates (政策論争消滅) Super Spicy Eating Stream (激辛摂食配信) Old Lawmaker Dancing Viral (老議員舞踏拡散) Election Commission Flaming Acceptance (選管炎上容認) Collapse of Democracy (民主主義崩壊)

Emoji

🗳️💸➡️📱👀 🏛️⛲️🥤🍬😱 👴💃📉➡️📈🤣 🌶️🍜🥵🤳🔥 🗣️❌➡️👍✅ 🇯🇵🔚🤡🎪

Onomatopoeia

Shuwaaaa! (Sizzle/Fizz) Buku-buku, doro-doro. (Bubbling, gooey) Piron, piron♪ (Notification sound) Kasha, kasha, kuru-kuru. (Camera shutter, loading) Zuru-zuru, gyaa! (Slurping, screaming) Silence… (At the time of policy announcement) Dokkan! (Explosion/Going viral) Pochi. (Click)

SNS

• #ImpDeposit
• The scene in front of the Diet is literally chaos LOL
• If the deposit is 3 million imps, even I can run for office www
• Why is Mentos Coke more persuasive than policy?
• The veteran lawmaker’s TikTok dance is actually kind of ‘oshi’ in a weird way
• Politicians turning into YouTubers, Japan is over (in a good way)
• Thought the election car was noisy, but it was just a livestream
• Is there any decent candidate? #None
• Policies decided by Super Chat is way too dystopian LOL
• For the next Prime Minister, isn’t Hika-on fine?