WHO YOU GONNA BELIEVE, ME OR YOUR OWN EYES?

So Abe has abruptly decided to resign as Prime Minister-- some weeks too late, but in time to keep things on a bizarro-Marx Brothers trajectory.

The big question now is: which crony will replace him? Back-room money is on the scion of a formerly war-slave-employing company who has already made enough gaffes to script a dark version of The Cocoanuts, and will likely work even harder at instilling zealous patriotism in the populace, getting the emperor to visit Yasukuni and changing the constitution so as to create a good-sized army that can be used offensively. Nothing quite so satisfying to certain people as a good-sized army. The burgeoning of actual democracy here in Japan might interfere with this plan, however, so the future may be quite interesting, in a 'Why a duck?' kind of way.

I know that this may seem unfair to the Marx Brothers, but they were surrealistically funny by intention.

[Update Sept 14: In a scene out of Duck Soup, the LDP suddenly begins backing Zeppo.]