What better note is there for a Japanese PM to go out on?

The political legacy of the soon-to-be retired Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will likely be spotty. Having overseen widespread inflation, particularly with the Japanese staple of rice, with little in the way of effective countermeasures, will likely reflect poorly on him. On the other hand, he seemed to have maneuvered his way through the tariff threats by Donald Trump relatively well.

I personally found his opinions on the constitutionality of sending the military to attack Godzilla to be astute, for whatever that’s worth. But one thing everyone can seem to agree on is that he does look snappy in a pair of spectacles.

At least, I assume that’s the case because on 1 October, Ishiba was honored with a Japan Best Dressed Eyes Award in the Politics category. These are one of a growing number of industry awards celebrating famous people who are known to wear their type of products, with the most famous being the Best Jeanist Awards, going to the most prominently denim-clad celebrities in Japan.

Ishiba attended the Japan Best Dressed Eyes Award ceremony in Ariake, Tokyo, alongside fellow winners actress Fumino Kimura, economist Yusuke Narita, and VTuber Hayato Kagami. In his acceptance speech, Ishiba remarked, “This is an unexpected award. Sometimes good things do happen in life.” He then modeled several pairs of glasses that he won as part of his award, with the floating sunglasses being a particular standout.

You’d be forgiven for not watching Ishiba’s appearances often, as he’s not the most electrifying politician around, but he tends to appear in both Normal Mode and Glasses Mode from time to time. Ishiba also admitted during the ceremony that this was by design, explaining: “I wear them to be less intimidating, even if it’s just a little. Glasses convey a sense of both softness and seriousness.”

▼ It’s kind of interesting to see who he wears glasses with now. He’s Normal Mode with now-disgraced South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol…

▼ …and Glasses Mode with Xi Jinping.

While trying on the glasses, many viewers were taken aback by seeing the normally stodgy PM with sunglasses on. There were several comments comparing him to the character Hancho from the Kaiji series of gambling manga.

Others simply didn’t know what to make of it.

“Eww.”
“He looks like a fake magician.”
“The bridge of his nose is good.”
“He looks like a sunfish.”
“Japanese prime ministers always look so happy after retiring.”
“He’s all grown up now.”
“I… don’t hate it.”
“He does look good in glasses, and it annoys me.”
“Good to see he’s working hard in his final days.”
“Is this an AI video? Ishiba would never get as wild as wearing sunglasses.”
“I think he’s settling into retirement well.”

He probably is looking forward to stepping down on some level. After all, despite the perks that come with being the head of government, it does have to suck being constantly blamed for everything wrong in the country, which is quite a bit these days.

Perhaps he can walk away from politics altogether and leverage this award to become a glasses expert on TV news and variety programs, or if there’s another live-action Kaiji adaptation in the works, we can consider it cast.

Source: Nikkei, My Game News Flash
Top image: PR Times
Insert images: Wikipedia/Prime Minister’s Office Website 1, 2, 3
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