In Japan, voting for the House of Representatives election took place yesterday, on October 22. And, Hidehiro Mitani, 三谷英弘, won the election. Finally, he became a member of the National Diet again. 
Congraturations 
He was once a member of the House of Representatives, and he belonged to a political party at that time, which doesn't exist anymore. After the political party was dessolved, he decided to run for the eletion of the House of Representatives in 2014, without any political party, but he lost. I guess some think it's weird, but in Japan, a lot of political parties appear but dissapear later.
This time, he joined the LDP, the Liberal Democratic Party, which has been a ruling party in Japan for many years, and he changed his theme color and an electoral district as well. As I wrote before and after the official election period started on October 10 this month, if a candidate doesn't belong to a political party, he/she can't run for the proportional representation system. On the other hand, a candidate like that can run for the single-seat constituencies, but only 1 person is electied in each district, so it's very difficult to win a seat, you know.
Since Mitani-san belongs to the party, he could run for both this time, and he was elected by the proportional representation system. Some people say a candidate should be elected in his/her single-seat district, but I don't care. I'm so happy that Mitani-san was elected again. Almost three years have passed since the election he was defeated in.
I went to see him last Saturday again, and it was raining almost all day long, so that's why he wears a rain poncho in the photos.
Oh, this reminds me that Eggs 'n Things in Hawaii sells yellow rain ponchos with a logo of Eggs 'n Things (sorry, the link wasn't posted normally at first), because Hawaii has a rainy season.
I'm not sure if they still have this item, though.
Anyway, Hidehiro Mitani, who I sometimes call Mitanin, is 41 years old. But, as you can see, he looks much younger than his age, right? In these two photos, I wear orange, for his theme color is orange. Wow, I'm 30 years old but I look older in the photos (I hope only in photos because I always don't look good in photos somehow), while Mitani-san always looks younger. I have a sister who is 7 or 8 years older than me, and don't have a brother, but he's like a brother to me. Oh, I happened to meet his real sister while helping Mitani-san the other day. She also came to help him out.
The founder of Tully's Coffee, Kouta Matsuda, gave a message to support Hidehiro Mitani on You-Tube before voting day. It's him.
He speaks English fluently, because he spent many years abroad, but he speaks Japanese on the video. Check it out. 
He was once a Diet member, a member of the House of Councillors.
The National Diet of Japan has 衆議院 (Shyugiin) and 参議院 (Sangiin), as I mentioned before. The former is the House of Representatives, the Lower House, and the latter is the House of Councillors, the Upper House. Oh, I read spelling Counci"l"ors is also right, I mean only 1"L", though the official website of the Upper House spells Counci"l"lors. Maybe "councillors" is British spelling while "councilors" is American.
They have 衆議院の優越 (Shugiin No Yuuetsu), "Supremacy of the House of Representatives". In plain words, "Supremacy of the House of Representatives" means that decisions made by the House of Representatives sometimes are more powerful than those by the House of the Councillors (call this A here in this blog post
), and also means that the House of Representatives have some priority rights (call this B
).
For example, 日本国憲法 (Nihon Koku Kenpou), the Constitution Of Japan (English ver. from the official page by the PM of Japan and his Cabinet, maybe), stipulates like these:
*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～
Article 59 I～Ⅳ (法律案の議決、衆議院の優越):
A bill becomes a law on passage by both Houses, except as otherwise provided by the Constitution.
A bill which is passed by the House of Representatives, and upon which the House of Councillors makes a decision different from that of the House of Representatives, becomes a law when passed a second time by the House of Representatives by a majority of two-thirds or more of the members present.
The provision of the preceding paragraph does not preclude the House of Representatives from calling for the meeting of a joint committee of both Houses, provided for by law.
Failure by the House of Councillors to take final action within sixty (60) days after receipt of a bill passed by the House of Representatives, time in recess excepted, may be determined by the House of Representatives to constitute a rejection of the said bill by the House of Councillors. "
*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～
*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～
Article 60Ⅱ (衆議院の予算議決に関する衆議院の優越): Upon consideration of the budget, when the House of Councillors makes a decision different from that of the House of Representatives, and when no agreement can be reached even through a joint committee of both Houses, provided for by law, or in the case of failure by the House of Councillors to take final action within thirty (30) days, the period of recess excluded, after the receipt of the budget passed by the House of Representatives, the decision of the House of Representatives shall be the decision of the Diet.
*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～
*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～
Article 61 (条約の承認に関する衆議院の優越): The second paragraph of the preceding article applies also to the Diet approval required for the conclusion of treaties.
*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～
*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～
Article 67Ⅱ（内閣総理大臣の指名、衆議院の優越）
If the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors disagree and if no agreement can be reached even through a joint committee of both Houses, provided for by law, or the House of Councillors fails to make designation within ten (10) days, exclusive of the period of recess, after the House of Representatives has made designation, the decision of the House of Representatives shall be the decision of the Diet.
*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～
The Constitution also says:
*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～
Article 60 I (衆議院の予算先議に関する衆議院の優越): The budget must first be submitted to the House of Representatives.
*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～
*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～
Article 69（内閣不信任決議の効果）: If the House of Representatives passes a non-confidence resolution, or rejects a confidence resolution, the Cabinet shall resign en masse, unless the House of Representatives is dissolved within ten (10) days.
*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～*～
These four are A; decisions by the House of Representatives, the Lower House, have stronger power than those by the House of Councillors, the Upper House. Article 67 is from the Chapter Ⅴ of the Constitution, , "the Cabinet", and the other three are from the Chapter Ⅳ, "the Diet".
These two are B; priority rights of the House of Representatives. Article 60 is from the Chapter Ⅳ, "the Diet", and Article 69 comes from the Chapter Ⅴ, "the Cabniet."
Did you get it? But why does Japan's National Diet have 衆議院の優越 in the first place? Well, they say that's because members of the House of Representatives, the Lower House, serve a two-year term but the House of Reprensentatives can be dissolved by the Prime Minister, while members of the House of Councillors, the Upper House, serve a six-year term and never be dissolved.
Then, why the "Lower" House, even though there's 衆議院の優越, "Supremacy of the House of Representatives"? Some say the House of Peers, 貴族院, was the House of Counsillors before the war ... I mean, under 大日本帝国憲法 (Dai Nippon Teikoku Kenpou), the Constitution Of The Empire Of Japan, or the Meiji Constitution, and the House of Peers consisted of upper-class people and cannot be dissolved, while members of the other house, the Lower House, were elected from ordinary people. But only men could vote. Also, only men who paid a certain amount of tax in direct national tax were able to run for.
Gee, women didn't have the right to vote in those days. We shouldn't take suffrage for granted, you know.
Oh, the House of Representatives has 465 members. On the other hand, the House of Councillors has 242 members, half of whom are elected every three years. And Japanese nationals who are 25 years old or older can run for the election of the House of Representatives, while they have to be 30 years old or older to run for the election of the House of Councillors. To vote, Japanese nationals have to be at least 18 years old. And, I mention this again; Foreign residents can't stand as candidates and can't vote either. They don't have the right to vote for national elections and for local elections either.
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Well, today, I'll write about a friend of mine who is working abroad. If you read Japanese, please read this page from "From the Field", an interview of one of my best best friends, Tomoko Ishihara.
私の友人の一人が、こちらの"From the Field ～難民支援の現場から～ With You No.38"というインタビューにおいて、難民支援のこと、彼女自身のことも話しています。日本語で書かれているので、ぜひ英語が分からない方も読んでみて下さいね。というより、日本にいるからこそ読んで欲しい、より多くの方々に現状に興味を持って知ってほしいと願い、こちらで日本語で紹介させていただきました。お互いに１８歳だった大学１年生の頃からの友人ですが、芯が強く、ブレることのない、そして努力家の友人です。
Actually, I mentioned her sometimes, like this in May and this in July, but I didn't think I should write about what she does and where she was going to work without her permission, because she'd go to a very dangerous place in the world and she might hide it to protect herself and her family. Besides, I don't tell any of my friends except Akane-chan that I started this English blog. So, that's why I didn't think I should reveal this kind of information about my friend.
But I was wrong. I think she wants more people including Japanese to know about what she's doing right now and what is happening in Syria. Yes, she's in Syria, to help refugees. She is working at UNHCR, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
You know, Angelina Jolie, a famous actor in the United States, is UNHCR Special Envoy, and before that she was its Goodwill Ambassador. Tomoko is Japanese, but she speaks both English and French. I'm really looking forward to seeing her again, maybe next year.
Oh, he .. the founder of Tully's Coffee passed the Special A Class of UNATE, the United Nations Associations Test of English, when he was a university student in Japan. They say it's very difficult and the hardest test among the classes of UNATE. It's cool.
By the way, I came by Chopped Salad Days again when I visited Hidehiro Mitani.
I'll tell you which burrito and beverage I had after I go there again with my friends this weekend.
You know, I'm always surprised that a lot of people have salads, not burittos. I thought many prefered burritos to just salads, because prices are the same. I mean, 1 burrito of an item and 1salad of the same item are sold at the same price there. I like vegetables and salads, but I just couldn't believe people have only salads for lunch or dinner. It doesn't seem to be unusual nowadays, though. I eat a lot, so I don't think only 1 salad for 1 meal could satisfy me. Also, I thought a lot of women who want to have healthy food come here often, but not men. To my surprise, men as well as women stop by Chopped Salad Days. I couldn't imagine that.
At Chopped Salad Days, you can choose between Salads and Burritos. On top of that, it offers 3 seasonal soups for a limited time: Ethnic Soup, Mexican Soup, and Chopped Salad Soup. I've not tried any of three yet, but I wanna try at least one. They will be available during the autumn and the winter this year, I guess.
The right one says, "fuel yourself with greens."
"Caffe Latte Pancake Tower with Baked Apple"at Eggs 'n Things Ginza. They were really good.
"Caffe Latte Pancake Tower with Baked Apple" are Ginza's anniversary pancakes to celebrate its 3rd anniversary. They are only available at Eggs 'n Things Ginza, from October 1 to October 31.
Oh, why do you think my outfit is green this time?
I wrote about it in the previous blog post.
As I wrote in May this year, Eggs Ginza served these (photo below) to celebrate its 1st and 2nd anniversaries, so Ginza location offered the same anniversary pancakes for two years in a row.
I had them in autumn last year. These were elegant, since they were topped with gold powder.
But this year's are also great. They are perfect for this season and the combination of apple and cinnamon is perfect, you know. 
It's exactly a Pancake Tower.
Malulani.