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                   Japan PM Abe Hops in Voter-wooing Game App

   by Reuters

   It's a bird, it's a plane... It's a cartoon version of Japanese Prime
   Minister Shinzo Abe, hopping and somersaulting his way through the sky
   in a smartphone game app his party hopes will lure young voters ahead
   of a July 21 election.
   A growing number of Japanese politicians are venturing into the cyber
   world after a legal change allowed the use of social media in
   campaigns, setting up Facebook pages and twitter accounts to woo voters
   before a July upper house election.
   But the app, which has the imprimatur of Abe's Liberal Democratic Party
   [LDP], goes further in its effort to court tech-savvy youngsters, who
   tend to be apathetic about politics and put off by traditional
   campaigns featuring white-gloved politicians blaring their names and
   slogans over loudspeakers.
   "There were worries that some young people thought the LDP was distant,
   that we lacked intimacy... that they didn't know anything about us,"
   Takuya Hirai, a lawmaker and head of the LDP's internet strategy team,
   told Reuters.
   "We're hoping the game will get people interested in politics in a way
   they never were before," said Hirai.
   In the game, called "Abe Pyon" ["Abe Hops"] - using a cutesy word most
   often applied to rabbits - a business suit-clad Abe avatar bounds high
   into the clouds via floating platforms. Missing a platform causes him
   to plunge to his "death."
   As he soars higher, players rack up points, gaining access to facts
   about Abe and information about the LDP. High scores also allow the
   avatar to change clothes, whisking him from his gray suit and into
   jeans or gym wear.
   The ultimate prize is a bouncing Abe in a superhero cape.
   Abe's app is a rare venture for a world leader. Tech-savvy U.S.
   President Barack Obama featured in a superhero game in 2009, but it
   wasn't officially endorsed.
   Some voters said they felt fonder of Abe after playing.
   "It really gets you thinking about politics. It makes me think I should
   vote for him," said Emi Yamada, a 22-year-old student.
   Others were skeptical. "I reckon it's just a bit of fun and nothing
   more," said Mizuki Kimura.
   Abe, an avid Facebook user who rebounded to power for a rare second
   term in December after his party's big win, is widely tipped to lead
   the ruling bloc to victory in the election.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/japan-pm-abe-hops-in-voter-wooing-gam
   e-app/1691600.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/japan-pm-abe-hops-in-voter-wooing-game-app/1691600.html