The LDP wants YOU… to be their Line friend!

While politicians are expected to maintain a certain degree of professionalism on the job, they also need to show some level of humanity, in order to appeal to and stay connected with the citizens they represent. Even Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe has put his pride aside to make an appearance as Mario at the Rio Olympic’s closing ceremony.

And now, perhaps in a bid to connect with the social media-savvy youth of today, Prime Minister Abe is also available as free, limited-time stamps for the Line messaging app.

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) – Japan’s leading political party, which Abe is president of – announced the release of their eight-stamp series last week on their official Twitter account. The stamps are available to download for free through the app, though you first need to add the LDP (or 自民党/Jimintō) as a friend on Line. The LDP Twitter post included a link, which takes you to a QR code you can scan with Line’s QR code reader so you can add them as a friend and download your free stamps.

▼ Protip: You are not obligated to remain friends with them, however, and blocking them will not delete the stamps once you’ve downloaded them.

The stamps include little illustrations of Abe saying things like “No!” (Dame!) and “Good night” (Oyasuminasai), though unfortunately none of them feature the prime minister enjoying an ice cream cone. Netizens’ reactions to the stamps have been rather mixed:

“I downloaded these stamps, but realized I probably won’t use them with anyone but my super-close friends or my husband lol.”
“Prime Minister Abe stamps? They probably used tax money to make them, lol. Stop wasting our taxes!! lolol”
“I want them to do a series and make Aso stamps next.”
“I downloaded them right away lol.”
“Yeah, I don’t need these. haha”

Whether you’re a supporter or not, nothing beats free, right? At the very least you can use them to annoy your non-Abe-supporting friends.

Source: Twitter/@jimin_koho via Hachima Kisou
Featured image: Twitter/@jimin_koho
Insert image: SoraNews24 via Line