Meet Ryokichi Kawashima. He's 94 years old, and lives in the suburbs of Tokyo.<br/> <br />But he's not just another one of Japan's 30 million or so elderly... he's running for office in this Sunday's parliamentary elections.<br/> <br />He said that after seeing what the other candidates were offering he thought "I could do better than that."<br/> <br />So he filed his documents, commandeered his family as his campaign staff, and emptied his savings.<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 94-YEAR-OLD PACIFIC WAR VETERAN AND CANDIDATE FOR SAITAMA NO.12 WARD IN JAPANESE LOWER HOUSE ELECTION, RYOKICHI KAWASHIMA, SAYING:<br/> <br />"The money I'm using is what I put aside for my funeral. My daughter was against it. 'If you use that money, you won't be able to have a funeral,' she told me. But I told her it didn't matter, the money was just sitting here waiting to be used up. And I don't need a funeral anyway."<br/> <br />Ironically, his campaign does not include any elderly specific platforms.<br/> <br />He's pushing an anti-nuclear and anti-nationalist stance.<br/> <br />But with about 1500 candidates running, he knows his chances of winning a seat are slim to none.<br/> <br />For now, he's just happy to have his name on the ticket.
