This Cat Is Literally The Face Of An Election Campaign In Japan

July 11, 2016

Japanese politician Satoshi Shima runs a campaign like no other. Like many public officials, he aims for visibility, but people who have seen his poster probably needed a moment to realize that he is not a cat.

As you can see, one of his posters features a white cat larger than himself. Who can go wrong with a fluffy, white furball?

Mr. Shima’s cat, sporting eyes of different colors, is named Spence. He has gained popularity enough for the politician to remind, “Spence has been mistaken for a candidate. The candidate is Satoshi Shima.”

Spence’s picture is also featured on a campaign van and has likely turned heads during its rounds.

Mr. Shima is an active Twitter user. As per Daily Mail, he told followers that the white cat will bring happiness to anyone who comes across it. The poster where Spence is at has text that said someone “returned home.”

Whether Spence actually appeared in a public campaign is unknown.

Mr. Shima is vying to represent the Mikawa region in Aichi Prefecture in the upcoming election, Kotaku reported. He was member of the Japanese parliament before working at SoftBank, a telecommunications corporation.

He leaves a handy guide for voters:

As written in his Twitter bio, he is a visiting professor at Tama University. He also maintains a personal website.

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