What a funny van. It looks like anime. The wheels are too small and they have a Hot Wheels vibe. That black window is very funky. The lightbars seem insubstantial. The front end looks cartoony. I hope he ends up at anime jail so he can escape.

[–] XxFemboy_Stalin_420_69xX@hexbear.net 13 points 1 day ago (1 children)

it looks like anime

damn they made a whole country based on what anime looks like???

[–] InevitableSwing@hexbear.net 6 points 1 day ago

I hate to burst your bubble but anime is cartoony.

[–] miz@hexbear.net 9 points 1 day ago (1 children)

the wheels can be that small when the roads are high enough quality and construction dollars is a primary if not majority part of the Japanese patronage system so

[–] InevitableSwing@hexbear.net 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

if not majority part of the Japanese patronage system

The corruption involving the Joetsu Shinkansen line is kind of funny to me. A trunk line to Niigata was created because it was the hometown of a rotten pol, Kakuei Tanaka, and he wanted his city to have a Shinkansen line. He later became a PM and there was much more corruption.

Particularly notorious was the Joetsu Shinkansen, which terminates in the city of Niigata on Japan’s northern coast. Being built through mountainous territory, the line cost far more to build than the Tokaido line but carries only one-quarter as many passengers. Built at the behest of Kakuei Tanaka, a member of the Japanese Diet, the line terminates in Niigata, Tanaka’s hometown, whose metropolitan area has only around a million residents. Tanaka was prime minister of Japan for two-and-a-half years before being forced to resign in disgrace and tried and convicted for corruption, accepting bribes, and directing government construction contracts into his prefecture.

https://www.newgeography.com/content/006969-the-dark-side-japans-bullet-trains

Rant. Fuck google. And fuck Wikipedia too. The pages for Tanaka and the Joetsu Shinkansen are a disgrace.

[–] darkcalling@hexbear.net 6 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Honestly if there has to be corruption I'd far prefer building trains that don't justify it in usage capacity than the usual road and car kickback nonsense. In fact I think the whole idea of needing to justify cost with high ridership is capitalist bullshit. Are there a certain amount of people in an area? Yes? They should be connected by rail. Doesn't matter if the terrain the rail has to pass through is expensive in terms of construction. As long as it's bigger than a hamlet or small town of 1000 it should have some form of rail service or at least a rapid regular bus to a nearby rail station within 15 minutes ride.