An active participant in imperial politics himself, the marquess knew that the declared values of the parties would not be manifested 100% in the imperial policy after the elections. Lobbyism, cross-partisan drift, the minority and the majority clinching for the coalition, the influence of the upper chamber and intervention of the Emperor Himself... Too many variables to be concerned about a party's manifesto not coinciding with one's own views. Nevertheless, the political and ideological inclination of a party still mattered, and so did regionalism. Shimamori looked through the window at gentle sunrays bouncing off the glimmering skyline of Minamimito in the distance. Honshu Unity Party was too much into economic interventionism of the government... A needed practice yet not to such an invasive degree. Then there was international cooperation which aligned with what the Marquess believed in was recently an issue given the autarchic approach the Imperial Government had been pursuing. Nevertheless, the party fiercely stood for the prosperity of his home region, Honshu, and supported greater and long overdue freedoms and progress for the populace of Kusari. His vote went to Honshu Unity Party.
Sumitomo Eiji
Busy as always, doctor Sumitomo was running around diagrams and schematics of yet another gravitational anomaly to analyse for the ongoing jumpgate research. Energy drinks had been drunk, nutritious food had been consumed, all annoying students had been sent home. Only his trusty colleagues remained by his side engaged in the same activity, barely paying attention to each other. Like a bunch of drones, they were moving in a chaotic pattern until Sumitomo suddenly stopped and exclaimed:
- Ku-u-u-so! The deadline for the Diet elections is tomorrow. No notifications, no reminders! What do we pay our secretariat for?!.
- But Dr. Sumitomo, everyone was warned in advance a week ago...
- What?!! No matter, it is inconsequential to stop our work. Someone, contact the secretariat and let them know I will be using my right to vote electronically.
Sumitomo was too preoccupied at the moment to care much about politics. Truth be told, he never actually cared about politics as long as he had access to his research and the funds. Nevertheless, he was not dumb and would not bite the feeding hand. Shimamori clan and Kishiro were the primary contributors to Tenmei University and his research, and thus supporting a party that would seemingly align with them would maximise the utility of his vote. Shimamori was a strong advocate of Honshu as a region, and Kishiro was operating out of Honshu. Which party would they support? Luckily for the absent-minded professor, the very name of Honshu Unity Party had the word "Honshu" in it, and so the further gauging of political parties was unnecessary. With irritation of having been torn away from his work even for a minute, Sumitomo quickly used his digital signature to cast his vote in favour of Honshu Unity Party and quickly returned to his chaotic waltzing around the room.
