Is This Vibrant Democracy in Japan, or Has the Circus Come to Town?

Fifty-six candidates ran in the election for the governor of the world’s largest city, Tokyo. Why so many candidates contented for the position? Campaign rules allow anyone who pays a deposit of about $19,000 to run for the governor, and each candidate gets to have two six-minute slots on NHK as well as the right to post signs on one of 14,000 official billboards across the city. The intention of the design was to level the playing field so everyone can participate in politics. However, the system has been taken advantage of by people who want to reach a broader audience with messages that might have little to do with politics. For example, one candidate dressed up as Joker advocated for the legalization of marijuana and offered polygamy as a way to solve the decline of birth rates. Another candidate was a former pro-wrestler who promised to use artificial intelligence to complete government tasks. There was also a young female entrepreneur who took off her shirt during a campaign video and promised fun things. Despite the sheer volume of candidates, the race was very status quo. Everyone expected the incumbent to win.

精選字彙：

vibrant (a.) 蓬勃的

content for (v.) 爭奪

governor (n.) 州長

candidate (n.) 候選人

run for (ph.) 競選

deposit (n.) 保證金

slot (n.) 時段

official billboard (n.) 官方看板

participate in (v.) 參與

intention (n.) 意圖、立意

take advantage of （ph.）利用

level the playing field 營造一個公平競爭的舞台

legalization (n.) 合法化

marijuana (n.) 大麻

polygamy (n.) 一夫多妻

decline (n.) 衰落

decline of birth rates (n.) 生育率下降

wrestler (n.) 摔角選手

entrepreneur (n.) 創業家

promise (v.) 允諾

sheer (a.) 十足的

the status quo (n.) 現狀

incumbent (n.) 任職者

感謝高雄書林今年在盛夏的邀約！我們即將在113/08/19（一）～113/08/21（三）在高雄的書林書店，舉辦【洞見文學：暑期文學快充課】

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