Political Vans - A couple of unusual Japanese road vehicles

[ben_issacs]

Folks, 

Sometimes, when walking in a big Japanese city, I'd hear in the distance, approaching rapidly, loud exhortations in Japanese.

These would come from a small open truck, with an array of loud speakers on its cab roof, liberally sprinkled with large banners, and with a group of people in the truck tray, spruking through the loud speakers to the unheeding passers-by.

My guess is that there was some sort of election going on, and the people in the truck are the candidates, promising the earth for the listeners votes.

I think that one could make up something similar in N scale,  a small open truck, some figures, men and women, although this might be difficult to get ones holding microphones, the loud speakers could come off one of the fire look out towers, and the banners, well, one could put any Kanji characters that they liked on them.

If a suitable small moving bus mech was available, this could be fitted to the truck, or perhaps a model bus with loud speakers and banners could be used instead, even, horror of horrors, a sound system under the layout could play political slogans!

For the other unusual vehicle, and this might be a bit macabre, a Japanese style hearse could be interesting.

These that I've seen, and I don't know if their are Shinto or Buddhist, are black vans,  covered with gilded mythical creatures, very eye catching.

Don't know what sort of N scale vehicle could be used for this, and the mythical creatures might have to be hand painted, but something like this could be an interesting feature on a layout.

And remember, Vote One, Godzilla!

Regards, 

Bill, 

Melbourne.

 

 

 

[bill937ca]

 

 

Edited April 23, 2019 by bill937ca

[cteno4]

I’m surprised Tomytec has not made any political vans. But can be kitbashed from some of the Tomytec vans.

 

jeff

[Kiha66]

I wouldn't be surprised if tomytec (and others) want to steer clear of that particular hot button topic.  While it might be a very Japanese thing, I wonder if it might bring unwanted attention on the company.  I remember revell got in trouble in the news a few years back for a "fantasy" ww2 kit with imagined nazi aircraft. 

[railsquid]

I think no matter how innocuous they'd make such a model it would be guaranteed to cause some kind of controversy.

 

Nevertheless I'd like to see a structure model along the lines "Yakuza HQ/Politician's Office With Ongoing Police Raid", you could have a little carousel of policemen bearing cardboard boxes exiting the building.

 

Edited April 23, 2019 by railsquid

[Keith]

For a road scene, I saw the aftermath of a small crash near our hotel in Hiroshima, and then saw this on the side of the road. I assume it is a “did you see anything.” Sign

 

[Kamome]

The bottom of the sign says

 

Sasaki Medical Clinic.

 

Kindergarten kids are encouraged to raise their hands while crossing roads so they can be seen better.

[cteno4]

These 2d cut out an 3D signs are something I’ve always thought would be perfect for 3D printing. They are all over as store adverts and such as well as public things like this (seems medical clinic sponsors the sign and thus a little plug). On my last trip to japan I think it was a pharmacy chain that had the 3D pink elephants standing up about 3’ tall as street adverts on the sidewalk. I’ll see if I can find the folder I think I had photos of about a dozen and a half of these kinds of signs. Always a detail I thought would really help street scenes.

 

I have a paper punch of boy and girl outlines that are perfect for the plastic standup barricades but they are just a tad too tall at about 4’ high rather than 2.5-3’ tall. 

 

jeff

[Keith]

12 hours ago, Kamome said:

The bottom of the sign says

 

Sasaki Medical Clinic.

 

Kindergarten kids are encouraged to raise their hands while crossing roads so they can be seen better.

 

Well I couldn’t have been more wrong.

 

Keith

[nscalestation]

I just returned from a month in Japan and saw these vans quite a bit.  As I think of it there seems to have always been an election going on whenever I have been there.  Another related thing I saw this time was for the candidate to be just outside a station giving a speech and several cohorts around trying to hand out political material.

[ben_issacs]

Folks, 

We don't have to have these sound truck models from Tomytec or others, they could be made up  by most modellers.

The two videos show some simple prototypes, a small bus, with a couple of windows opened up, some suitable hand waving figures inside, perhaps not so easy to get a couple of flat loud speakers that could be made from flat plastic cut to shape.

And, finally, there's the banners.

To avoid offence to anyone, these could say, 'Vote 1 Densha' or 'Kato', or some imaginary person or thing, perhaps, as I wrote earlier on 'Godzilla', although this word as written in Roman is hard to replicate in Kanji.

Similar vans could be done to advertise sporting teams, I was thinking of the only Japanese baseball team that I know of, the Hankyu Tigers, a van painted with black and yellow tiger stripes  and a suitable banner could be made up, with a couple of fans with black and yellow scarves hanging out the windows..

Although there would no doubt be complaints that there should be buses for all the other teams!

Regards, 

Bill, 

Melbourne.

 

  

[bill937ca]

More videos suddenly popped  up.

 

 

 

 

[cteno4]

Of course these would need a little MP3 player under the vehicle spouting the political messages these do!

 

btw a couple times I was around a spontaneous political rally with one of these stopped and guys handing out pamphlets I was very surprised they would try to hand me one! 

 

jeff

[miyakoji]

Yeah, I remember on one or two occasions, a wave and a konnichiha from a sound truck (not the ones painted black ).  I thought, they can't be talking to me, but I was the only one around.  I guess that was just it--no one else was around, might as well talk to the gaijin.

 

Probably the same reason I got loads of free tissue packets.  The first of those I got around Chiba Station, just a few days fresh off the plane.  Eager to try out my 10-word vocabulary, I replied arigatou gozaimasu with enunciation and clarity not heard before or since.  Then I just stood there and smiled.  The tissue girl likewise stood there and smiled.  Then the old hand Canadian I was with said "no one else acknowledges her, you probably made her day.  Now let's go."  It was like seeing the light, discovering something new.  In 4 years I don't think I ever bought tissues in Japan.

[cteno4]

Yeah, at least tissues are advertising for something you can buy, but a gaijin voting?! That I just never got. But it was nice to be included! 

 

You are spot on as i always took a second to graciously accept tissue packs, small bow and arigato would always get me a big smile as many would nit even give the folks any eye contact. And they were always handy to have along with my towel...

 

jeff

[railsquid]

1 minute ago, cteno4 said:

Yeah, at least tissues are advertising for something you can buy, but a gaijin voting?! That I just never got. But it was nice to be included!

 

There is a small but growing minority of Japanese citizens who may appear to be "gaijin" but possess Japanese citizenship and are therefore potential voters.

[cteno4]

i was baffled more in that there were many more likely candidates around me, but then again I was pleasantly just watching so may have looked interested and maybe a target!

 

jeff

[Pashina12]

Propaganda vans... how North Korean of them. (I'm not even joking, they're a thing in DPRK too.)

[railsquid]

Err, no, not propaganda. Not North Korea. Though the local authority did once go through a phase of sending out trucks broadcasting messages warning against telephone fraud.

[railsquid]

On 4/23/2019 at 5:00 PM, Keith said:

For a road scene, I saw the aftermath of a small crash near our hotel in Hiroshima, and then saw this on the side of the road. I assume it is a “did you see anything.” Sign

 

 

This is a typical "did you see anything" sign:

 

 

(for an accident which happened 18 months ago...)

[Socimi]

 

Yes, it's a real election vehicle. Painted to look like a Yamanote Line E231-500 series train.

It even carries an unit number: "E231-123"

 

 

Quick research shows that this van was used by Kaoru Tashiro, a former Yamanote Line driver (1982 to 2010), and by the looks, fellow railfan, who was elected in 2016 as an independent representative for tochighi prefecture.

[cteno4]

Love it! Now that’s how to distinguish yourself in a campaign!

 

jeff

[Kiha66]

Looks like he's a modeler too!
https://ameblo.jp/kaoru-tashiro/entry-12178126365.html?frm_src=thumb_module

[ben_issacs]

Folks, 

A lot of good stuff on loudspeaker vans, but the problem with modelling one of these would seem to be the flat loudspeakers, nothing would seem to be suitable to represent these.

Possibly something made up from 3D modelling might be possible.

Regards, 

Bill, 

Melbourne.

 

 

[Khaul]

How about something like that https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/kotaku.com/a-collection-of-right-wing-japanese-propaganda-buses-5884552/amp?