Antiquated electoral regulations prevent Japan's politicians from doing what Barack Obama managed to such devastating effect in the US presidential election.
But despite the ban on eliciting votes via the internet during the 12 official days of the campaign parties and candidates have still found ways to make their presence felt.
First prize for the most ingenious online ads must go to the Liberal Democratic party (LDP).
The star of the party's short animated films is a character clearly modelled on the man expected to become Japan's next prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama .
In one 30-second film a youthful version of the Democratic party of Japan (DPJ) leader is seen proposing to his girlfriend over dinner, with an illuminated Diet building visible in the background.
"I'll make you happy if you pick me," he says, promising lower highway tolls and more cash for childcare, education and pensions. But how, his companion asks, is he going to pay for it. "Let's worry about the details after we're married," comes the reply.
Hatoyama's unflattering cameo has been viewed more than 670,000 times since it appeared on the LDP's YouTube channel in mid-July.
In another, he appears as a ramen chef whose desire to be all things to all diners culminates in a bowl of noodles overloaded with all manner of toppings, each representing a morsel of his party's "bloated" manifesto.
Hatoyama's supporters have rounded on the cartoons as examples of negative campaigning, but others see them as a refreshing change from the usual fare of insipid party political broadcasts and empty slogans delivered, at ear-splitting volume, from campaign trucks.
The best of the bunch is the portrayal of Hatoyama and three senior DPJ colleagues – in silhouette this time – as vacillating members of an a cappella group.
"Can you entrust Japan's future to the Wavering Four in Tokyo?" asks the narrator. The answer, if the polls are to be believed, will be a resounding yes.
.jpg?w=600)
