This is actually such an old drama. I watched it a very long time ago. It just so happened that I wanted to recommend this drama the other day. I thought I had written about it and posted it on my blog, so I tried to find the post so I could share the link. But when I searched on my J-drama posts (here!), I couldn’t find it. I can’t believe I haven’t said anything about this drama when it’s easily one of the very top dramas on my list.
Well, ok, the title of this 10-episode Japanese drama is Change. It was aired in 2008 with each episode lasting about one hour. It’s such a great “political” drama. The story revolved around Asakura Keita (acted by the great Kimura Takuya). His father was a politician but he seemed to dislike politics and decided to live a peaceful life by being a teacher in a rural area. However, when his father died, the members of his father’s political party cajoled him into running for an election. (If I’m not mistaken–I watched it a long time ago, okay?), at first, he rejected the offer as he really had no interest in politics and was quite content with his life as a teacher. Nevertheless, somehow they managed to convince him that he just needed to run for the election and did not need to win it (I wasn’t quite sure about this, but this is what I remember. Maybe I need to rewatch). He eventually agreed just so they would stop bothering him. He thought that once he lost the election, he could go back to his normal life as a teacher.
(Un)expectedly(?), he won the election. He even advanced to the prime ministership and was elected Prime Minister. Well, he did try his best during the political campaigns, for sure. And maybe the people had been sick of the typical other politicians running in the election. Hence, his appearance (and participation) kinda gave them new hopes? The political fraction that asked him to run for the election was, of course, happy with the result. They thought they could steer him and treat him as a puppet. They thought they could use him for their own political evil agendas, like placing him as a prime minister on the surface but hoping they could be the ones actually making the decisions “behind the screen”?
(Un)fortunately, he was a very honest person and hence found people that really supported him. Instead of working for the political party that “sponsored” him, he decided to work very hard for the people, as he should. He took his position as a prime minister really seriously, even “sacrificing” himself (as in lacking sleep, rest, and such) to make sure that everything was done to help the people, to make sure that nothing was amiss. He connected to the people, and it’s just not for a “public image” or such propaganda; he worked for real. He gained people’s trust and he didn’t betray them. The people loved him and somehow Japan’s condition improved. (At least in this drama😌😆✌)
Well, the next section might be personal since I kinda tried to relate it to what’s been happening in my own country. I’m not an expert in politics and actually, I’m not that interested either. Overall, I always try to be “neutral” (whatever that means). I believe that to improve a country we need a good government but we also need the people to cooperate. But, given that the government has the power to mobilize the people, I think the responsibilities are bigger on the government’s part. That is, we need the government to do their job well, set a good example, etc. so that the people could trust them and follow their lead. In other words, if the government does not do their job well, then we need to criticize them. If they work well, well, it’s their job but I guess it doesn’t hurt to appreciate them, right? And if they have tried their best to work for the people but the people didn’t listen, only then we can put the “blame” on people.
Then what does this drama have to do with my country? Well, I remember some time ago, people said that our leader was just a puppet and that the party was just using him. (Gosh I am actually scared of writing this because my country has this law in which I can be reported and jailed if I express opinions that people in power or their supporters don’t like as they consider it slander or defamation. But I swear, I’m just writing based on what I’ve observed. Hope nobody got offended by my writing). So, ok, let’s go back to the puppet thing. At that time, I couldn’t help thinking about this drama and naively thought that who knows that he would actually work for us, the people, and not for the party that carried him to such a position. Not sure if I was too innocent, naive, gullible, stupid, optimistic, etc. or maybe a mix of a little of everything. But I sure hoped he would bring great changes like what happened in this drama.
But, well, this drama is fictional. Reality is different. There’s nothing harsher than reality, correct? The truth is that I feel like people now keep suffering if not more. But when I criticize the government now, some people think I’m an anti. Some people even defended them to such an extent that they acted like a buzzer, fighting fellow citizens. It’s sickening. It’s not that I’m anti-government. No. I just need the government to work well for us the people, and not just to enrich themselves and their political parties.
I’m always on people’s sides because I’m one of the people. I was born and grew up poor so I tend to see things from various perspectives including the perspectives of the poor. I try to not blindly blame the people without first trying to understand them and help them. And that’s why I think the govt could and should see things the same way, not by blaming or sacrificing the poor or making the poor poorer. It’s just sad that those in the power use political identities to divide people and make them fight one another. I believe that we the people should work together to keep an eye on the govt and make sure they do their job well, and not fight each other, right? Sigh.
Well, ok, enough with the political situation of my country, let’s go back to the drama. Change. I really love how this drama gives us hope that if people in power really do their job well and actually work for the people, they could bring great changes to the country. It also portrays well that once people trust the leaders and the leaders keep that trust, it’s relatively easy to lead and move the people into helping make the good changes. If people don’t trust those in power, it’s kinda hard to bring about positive changes. So, in a way, I think it’s the govt’s job to prove that they’re trustworthy, that they can be trusted. And that can only be done by doing their job for real and showing real evidence of their good work for people’s sake, not just in the form of a facade of how good they appear on the surface when they are actually evil and suck at doing their jobs.
Well, alright. I think that’s all for today. I guess this is the ideal length of a blog post? I really hope you can watch it and share your thoughts^^
