Further proof that we gaijin will never understand Japan — Masked Wrestler Wins Japan Assembly Seat:
A professional wrestler who fought his way to victory in local assembly elections under his ring name and wearing his trademark mask has vowed the mask will not leave his face even after he enters the staid halls of Japanese politics.“This is my face,” the wrestler — known as “The Great Sasuke” — was quoted by the Nikkan Sports newspaper as saying of his black and white full-face mask with bright scarlet streaks and golden wings by the eye holes.
“I won support from voters with this face, and to take it off would be breaking promises,” the 33-year-old wrestler, whose real name is Masanori Murakawa, said of his victory in conservative Iwate prefecture, some 460 km (290 miles) north of Tokyo.