Muneo Suzuki, speaking next to Hiroyuki: '鈴木宗男なんて見た通りの北海道のじゃがいも みたいな男で 悪い男じゃないんです'

did some cleanup on my muneo house post to get it up on the site and it’s a little unsettling that something this defunct has seen new developments to it in the month since then

  • new reporting discovered that the actual muneo house is now being used for commercial lodging after russia invaded ukraine and russians have been visiting it on vacation the last two summers. the classroom, once a space to teach dual language learners, has now been converted into a sports bar with a beer tap. russia has been occupying the kuril islands and suspended visa-free travel after japan began imposing sanctions on russia last year, so few people from japan have probably had a good look inside since these changes.
  • john muwete muluaka, muneo’s former secretary, passed away suddenly at the start of this month after suffering a heart attack during a flight from haneda bound for istanbul. muneo blogged about his death and mentioned that john had called him just before boarding to thank him for everything. the language he quotes here makes the whole thing seem a little unsettling!
  • fucking hiroyuki and muneo appeared together on a youtube program to discuss the ukraine war and japan’s overall role in geopolitics, which is frankly beyond my grade of japanese. hiroyuki, normally an unstoppable force of his own dumb babble, seems downright quiet next to muneo’s motor mouth. he’s also the one to invoke muneo house when muneo starts to air his grievances about how 2ch skewered him back in the day, but there’s not really any hatchet to bury here. mostly it’s a good chance to see muneo on video if you haven’t before because you also get a feel for how he’s been able to work his charisma to find ways back into power so many times. he’s not a bad guy, he says. just one that looks like a hokkaido potato.