In the hope of inspiring more voters to head to the polls, lingerie maker Triumph International Japan has unveiled a new concept bra called the "Voter Turnout Lift-UP! Bra."
The silver, bustier-type bra is modeled after an aluminum ballot box, complete with lots of rivets and a pocket for holding ballots that have been cast. The kanji characters for "ballot box" are printed beneath the cups, which are heavily padded so that the wearer can also increase her bust size while doing her part to increase voter turnout.
The bottom consists of a wrap-around mini-skirt fashioned from paper ballots, which are made of a special type of plastic-coated paper resistant to the elements. A small pencil case also attaches to the waist.
According to Triumph's press release, voter turnout in Japan, which averaged 70% to 90% about 30 years ago, has fallen to between 10% and 30% in recent years. With voter apathy and a general aversion to politics worsening each year, the government has taken a variety of measures to encourage participation in the election process. Taking matters into their own hands, Triumph decided to focus attention on the problem by unveiling the Voter Turnout Lift-UP! Bra along with their fall/winter collection on May 9.
The bra comes too late for the elections held in Japan last month, but there is still plenty of time for the lingerie to work its magic on the Upper House elections coming in July. While Triumph does not plan to make the Voter Turnout Lift-UP! Bra commercially available, maybe they can work out some sort of deal with the election commission to provide the bras to their armies of nubile young poll workers. That'll surely boost turnout -- it works every time.
[Source: Nikkei Net]
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