Japan Ninja Council sending delegation to speak, show their shinobi skills at National Diet House of Representatives session.

Officially, Japan is governed by a bicameral legislature called the Diet, with their members chosen by public election. Deep down, though, you and I know the truth: it’s really the ninja who’re running the country.

In 2015, a federation of politicians, tourism professionals, and historians formed the Japan Ninja Council, dedicated to preserving and disseminating ninja knowledge (and also selling gold throwing stars for fancy shinobi). This week, representatives of the council will appear before the members of the Diet for a presentation on their activities and vision for the future.

The ninja advocates will be speaking at a meeting of the Diet’s lower house, the House of Representatives, on the morning of February 22. The eight-point presentation will consist of:
● Greeting from the Japan Ninja Council founders
● Introduction of JNC officers
● Mission statement and future goals
● Demonstration of ninjutsu by Iga Ninja Group Ashura
● Report on recent JNC activities
● Discussion of overseas interest in ninja
● Lecture on ninja history by Jinichi Kawakami, “the last ninja” and head of the Banke Shinobinoden ninjutsu school
● Other activities

The expressed purpose of the one-hour presentation is to enhance understanding of the Ninja Council’s purpose and the benefits of promoting ninja history as an aspect of Japanese culture to attract domestic and overseas travelers to parts of Japan with a connection to the country’s shadow warrior heritage, especially in light of the influx of foreign visitors Japan will have during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. However, ninja are masters of subterfuge, and we can’t entirely rule out the possibility that this is all a ruse as the JNC flexes its muscles as the true governing body of Japan and delivers its demands to the Diet for codified legislative implementation, especially since the visit will include a demonstration of ninja prowess before its ominously open-ended conclusion with “other activities.”

Of course, maybe the whole thing is completely benign, and we’re worrying too much. Still, we’re keeping our eyes on you, ninja, and if your visit turns out to be a cover to slip your operatives into the National Diet Building so you can pull off a ruthless coup d’état, you can rest assured that we’ll be telling all our SoraNews24 readers about it…unless you’ve already got ways of silencing us permanently, which you almost certainly do.

Source: Japan Ninja Council
Top image: Gatag/Vectorartbox

Follow Casey on Twitter, where he wishes he could go back in time and tell his younger self, ‘One day when you’re grown-up, you’ll go into work and have an email from ninja in your inbox.