Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe becomes YouTuber

Hopefully he’ll do some game streams too.

A general election is fast approaching in Japan, and the nation’s thoughts turn to who will be the next Prime Minister. Personally, I think the guy with the hair has what it takes, but that other guy who talks kind of funny and wears a suit is pretty good too…

Ah, who am I kidding. At the tender age of 42, I’m just another one of those kids who just can’t seem to get motivated about governance. If only there was someone who could reach out from the political sphere and teach me about in a medium that I can relate with.

As luck would have it, someone has and it’s Shinzo Abe no less! On 19 October Abe posted his first video on his official YouTube channel, not to throw his hat into the upcoming race for PM though.  He simply sent his warm greetings to everyone and stated his mission to share his views on the streaming platform.

Yes, the same former PM who once proudly declared that he paid his Facebook and Twitter fees and accidentally @ed a founding member of the Twitter dev team while trying to wish the Indian Prime Minister a happy birthday has become a YouTuber. Of course, getting people to hit that like button and smash subscribe is only one part of his grand plan, Abe is now serving as a Diet member and with the election looming his seat too is up for grabs.

▼ Abe’s second video is a message for the people in his constituency of Shimonoseki and Nagato

Rather than conventional campaign videos, however, he does seem to be adopting the YouTuber format with a fixed two-camera shoot and breezy dialog. All that’s missing is some stock background music and the occasional bloopy sound effects.

It’s a surprising move from the 67-year-old politician but considering the level of fame he’s coming in with, he could really go places in the medium. Of course, the kind of fame Abe’s packing from the notoriously decisive world of politics is quite a double-edged sword and while his own YouTube videos have their comments turned off, people wasted no time voicing their opinions elsewhere online.

“I refuse to subscribe to that channel.”
“He’s going to break out as the biggest YouTuber ever!”
“I hope he eats foods from various regions and then says ‘juicy!'”
“Finally on a medium where he can’t be censored! I look forward to your success!”
“I’m looking forward to him trying Mentos and Coke.”
“Is he going to sing?”

Political views aside, I think we can see the main hurdle Abe will have to overcome. Being natural in front of a camera is great, but to really make it as a YouTuber you need to keep coming out with original content.

Luckily, the bar for Abe is pretty low. Remember when he slipped into a Mario costume and the whole world went ape? If he starts off slow by installing a door-knocker again or sharing his love of Black Thunder chocolates, then he’ll be on the right track to raking in so many followers he won’t even need that lousy member of parliament gig any more.

Synergy with other YouTubers is also an important part of making it as a YouTuber and since Abe’s channel seems to be focused on the betterment of Japan, I can’t imagine a single person better to team up with then Egashira 2:50.

The thought of Egashira and Abe taking water rockets in the crotch side-by-side is quite amazing, but I’m probably getting ahead of myself. Just the gesture of adapting new technology to reach more people is a welcome change for any Japanese politician.

Maybe the current PM…uh, Fujiko Fujio can take a page from Abe’s book and try to communicate more with us kids too.

Source: YouTube/あべ晋三チャンネル, My Game News Flash
Images: YouTube/あべ晋三チャンネル
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