Local kid makes good — in Japan

There’s a humorous puff-piece story in The New York Times online about Anthony Bianchi, a former New Yorker from Brooklyn who is now a naturalized Japanese citizen, and who is running for a seat on the Inuyama (Aichi prefecture) City Council. Bianchi, a 44-year old English teacher and diehard New York Yankee fan, appears to be in good position to get elected, and is not hurt by the current interest in the Yankees now that Japanese baseball superstar Hideki Matsui is playing for them. But asked about his core support:

His political base, he said, is the 1,800 students he has taught here since 1988. He joked, “If you run into anyone around town speaking English with a Brooklyn accent, you know who taught them.”

“If I become councilman, I’m going to bust their chops,” says Bianchi, and with respect to his platform, adds,

“I am not going to do the typical foreign clown thing,” he said. “We want to get Council meetings on the Internet, broadcast on cable TV. Citizens don’t find out until things are decided.”

Buried in the article was this amusing nugget, which I think epitomizes Japanese tv:

“If I was a regular 44-year-old schoolteacher running for election, all this wouldn’t be happening,” he said, jerking his thumb toward a Japanese television crew and two reporters doing stories today about an American reporter doing a story about the American running for City Council.

…two reporters doing stories today about an American reporter doing a story about the American…