Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi fields a question during a news conference at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo after the extraordinary Diet session closed on Dec. 17. (Takeshi Iwashita)

Japan’s first domestically made gasoline car debuted in 1907.

Built by a group of men including Shintaro Yoshida (1877-1931), a bicycle dealer, it was called “Takuri Model,” short for “gatakuri,” a Japanese onomatopoeia for the rattling sound of the car.

The product was certainly epochal. But in quality, it was definitely not in the same league as its European and American counterparts.

Years later, a disillusioned Yoshida was said to have called himself a “defeated general.”

His sentiments were passed down through those who came after him. Japanese automakers kept refining their skills, determined to catch up with their Western competitors.

Riding the wave of the postwar economic miracle, they began selling “economy cars” in the 1960s. And as society grew more used to automobiles, car-related expressions came to be used as analogy.

In 1962, the word “akuseru” (accelerator, gas pedal) was used in the Diet for the first time. An opposition party legislator, decrying the government’s price control policy, stated: “This is like stepping on the gas pedal when you should be stepping on the brake pedal.”

That was 63 years ago.

In the latest extraordinary Diet session, which ended on Dec. 17, the public’s attention was focused on how Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi would drive the newly debuted “Takaichi Model.”

For the last quarter century, Komeito was the brake of the vehicle of the prime minister of Japan. But Komeito is gone from the Takaichi Model, and in its place is Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party) in the front passenger seat serving as the accelerator.

Aiming for a 10-percent reduction of Lower House seats, the new passenger revved up to the max. A provision was introduced for “automatic reduction” if no conclusions are reached within one year.

Since “maintenance” took time, the engine started late and further action is being postponed until next year.

The overly aggressive driving that went on was scary at best.

In the meantime, the prime minister in the driver’s seat did not even bother once to put her foot on the brake. This was probably done to ensure the stability of her administration by not letting the passenger leave the car before arriving at the destination.

The Takaichi Model could go out of control. Would it be at all possible to fit it with an automatic braking system? I know this sounds nonsensical, but I still can’t help thinking about it.

—The Asahi Shimbun, Dec. 18

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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