General News Update : Japanese politicians want to build real, working Gundam

Most political meetings are boring but not in Japan, apparently. In an upcoming broadcast on Nico Nico Live, a Japanese video platform, members of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party are going to discuss the idea of building a real life, fully functional Gundam. In other words, a giant mech.

Two of the most well-known party members, Tadamori Oshima and Bunmei Ibuki, are to discuss bipedal robots and how their party is seriously considering the development of a Gundam.

It’s not the first time a life-sized Gundam mech has been discussed or even done. In 2008, it was estimated by Science Portal, a website run by the Japan Science and Technology Agency, that the cost of creating a real life Gundam would be around $725,000,000. That’s just for the parts and material too, labor costs would add even more to the bill to build the 60 foot tall, 43.7 metric ton robot. In 2011, we reported on this amazing 1:1 scale of a Gundam mech.

What everyone is asking, understandably, is why? Sure if the Gundam worked it would be great for the countries Self Defense Force but it would take a lot of effort just to get something that huge to walk, let alone battle it out.

However Japan, , like many other countries, is in debt at the moment and this could very well be seen as an irrational use of taxpayers’ money. With an aging population and limited natural resources there might be more immediate uses for the massive amount of spending that the Gundam would require. Maybe the Liberal Democratic Party just hope to make the news so they can promote their industry and distract the population from the economic bad times by having a little fun with the idea of a giant Gundam?