Election 2009: Judgment Day

Flipping through the channels this evening, I nearly spat my dinner out as I landed on Fuji TV and caught one of their commercials for their coverage of the upcoming election. This is undoubtedly a historic election for Japan as all indications point to a major defeat of the LDP. So, how would you go about marking this momentous changing of the guard? Some sort of historical retrospective put to martial music? Something more somber with subdued trumpets in the background?

How about The Terminator?

Apparently, impending doom it their theme for this election. Sadly, I couldn't find any video so this picture will have to do for now. It's not the greatest but you can clearly make out the 審判の日 and Judgment Day. Unfortunately the broadcasters media workers obscure the apocalyptic background. What the commercial showed was Taro Aso and other politicians from the Terminator's interface, complete with targeting bull's eyes and scrolling data, all set to the movie's iconic music. Seriously, WTF?

Is Fuji TV trying to tell us that the apocalypse is upon us or are they so desperate to attract viewers that they have no qualms about cheapen the election by associating it with a movie about the end of the world? If it's the latter, they've got me hooked. It'll make for some interesting viewing this weekend, not for its in-depth coverage (with Aya-pan!) but because I won't believe it until I see it with my own eyes.