I share the sentiments of the man who said he would rather be governed by 500 people selected at random from the Boston telephone directory than the entire faculty of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. But a look at some of the people with seats in Japan’s House of Councilors, however, makes me wonder if they’ve taken that principle too far.

The original intent for the Upper House of the Diet was to act as a check on the Lower House, or House of Representatives, which has the decisive power in selecting the prime minister, setting the budget, ratifying treaties, and initiating legislation. The framers of Japan’s constitution seemed to want more mature people to serve as Upper House MPs—they serve fixed terms that are longer than those of their Lower House counterparts, and they have to be older to run for a seat. (Try this link for more details.)

That’s the way it is in theory, but that’s not how it turned out in practice. Perhaps because it so seldom exercises real power, the Upper House has attracted people from outside of politics and given them a pulpit to espouse their pet causes, get free publicity, or both.

A recent change in the voting system increased proportional representation, which caused parties to recruit “celebrity candidates” to boost the vote totals for the parties, but the body always had its share of unpolitical politicians.

One was professional wrestler Antonio Inoki (more here), very popular nationwide at the time of his election. He formed the Sports Peace Party (comprised primarily of Antonio Inoki), which later merged with the Democratic Socialists. Inoki was known for his various holds, including the Reverse Indian Death Lock, marrying and divorcing Mitsuko Basho, one of the most shapely Japanese women of her generation, and getting charged with tax evasion and election law violations. He still shows up on TV occasionally, often putting announcers in some uncomfortable wrestling hold or just whacking them outright.

Another was Yokoyama Nokku, an Osaka comedian who was part of a comedy duo with Yokoyama Out. Nokku was elected to the Upper House for four terms and went on to become governor of the Osaka Metropolitan District. He left his job in disgrace after being hauled into court by a 21-year-old campaign worker for sexual harassment.

Nokku wasn’t the only (professional) comedian to serve in the Upper House—Kiyoshi Nishikawa (on right in photo above) won a few terms in the Upper House after an extremely successful career working in a duo with the late Yasushi Yokoyama.

The Upper House also seems to attract former Olympic athletes. It didn’t take long for former Olympic speed skater and bicycle racer Seiko Hashimoto to jump into politics, and Kenji Ogiwara, who won gold medals as part of Japan’s Nordic combined skiing team, was elected just last year. Both are members of the ruling Liberal-Democratic Party.

The body now has another former professional wrestler serving in its ranks—Atsushi Onita, whose claim to fame was being the first wrestler to participate in a “no-rope barbed-wire electric-explosive death match” (which he won). Considering the potential turmoil the defeat of Koizumi’s postal privatization bill might cause, he probably feels right at home just about now. He also was known for screaming “Fire!” at the top of his lungs. (Try this for his professional wrestling curriculum vitae.)

I saw Onita interviewed on TV the other day regarding his views on the postal privatization issue. He said that he was watching the debate carefully, but that his faction (part of the ruling LDP) was opposed to privatization, so…

Heck, if you’re going to act like a regular Japanese politician once you’re elected, what’s the point of running?

Elected to his first term last year was Okinawan roots musician Shokichi Kina, the subject of a recent Japundit profile. Kina has some goofy ideas, but he also seems to be a sharp observer of the political scene:

Some DPJ members, however, look askance at their new colleague, given that some of his views and ideas run counter to DPJ policies, particularly his advocacy of independence for Okinawa.

But Kina shrugged off such criticism, saying, “The DPJ is by nature a party of contradictions.”

Presiding over this group of zanies is Chikage Ogi, former member of the Takarazuka troupe, movie actress, and the Transport Minister in Prime Minister Koizumi’s first Cabinet (second photo, in her younger days). Ogi has worked hard to carve out a political career for herself, but she has other qualifications, as the prime minister himself pointed out:

“I think she is well-suited for the post,” Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who is also LDP president, told reporters Wednesday morning. “Her voice carries very well, too.”

Who says Japanese politicians don’t have a sense of humor!