Japan's 27th House of Councillors election, held recently on July 20th, garnered significant public attention. While the ruling Liberal Democratic Party faced an unprecedented defeat, failing to secure a majority, the election also saw a different kind of controversy erupt.
Amidst the election fervor, incumbent Senator Taro Yamamoto of the Reiwa Shinsengumi party stirred up a storm. During his campaign, Yamamoto cosplayed as Quattro Bajeena from "Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam" and uploaded a promotional video to YouTube. This move drew heavy criticism from many Gundam fans, prompting SUNRISE, the animation studio behind the "Mobile Suit Gundam" series, to issue an official statement today (July 22).
The cosplay stunt wasn't entirely random; one of the Reiwa Shinsengumi's candidates was veteran voice actress Maya Okamoto, who famously voiced Emma Sheen in "Zeta Gundam." This connection seemingly prompted Senator Yamamoto to appear as Quattro Bajeena during the campaign.
Naturally, this infuriated many Gundam fans, who felt Yamamoto was exploiting the franchise and expressed their anger and disappointment. Comments flooded social media, including cries of "Please don't use Gundam for election campaigning!", "Political exploitation is truly infuriating," "I actually thought this was an official collaboration," and "He has no respect and still wants to run for election!"
In response, SUNRISE issued a statement, noting that a candidate in the 2025 House of Councillors election wore cosplay outfits reminiscent of Gundam characters and used accompanying videos and social media posts for election promotion.
The company stated: "We have absolutely no authorization for these activities, nor do we support any political stance or candidate."
This incident left many Gundam fans feeling exploited and once again highlighted the clear boundary that "anime characters should not be arbitrarily used for political purposes." SUNRISE quickly stepped in to quell the uproar, emphasizing that their intellectual property should not be misused as election props.