Another good read about Japan's interest in building a real working giant robot.
Previous article from AnimeNewsNetwork: HERE
Politicians everywhere are crap—even the ones who are
thinking about building a giant, working mecha. In an upcoming broadcast on
Japanese video platform Nico Nico Live, members of Japan's Liberal Democratic
Party are apparently going to discuss the idea of building a real life Gundam.
The Liberal Democratic Party, which ruled Japan for over
fifty years after World War II, is not actually "liberal". Rather,
the party is conservative. Well known party members, Tadamori Oshima and Bunmei
Ibuki, are slated to discuss biped robots and now the LDP is "seriously
considering the development of Gundam."
Back in 2008, it was estimated that a working (not just a
full scale mock-up like above), one-to-one scale would cost US$725,000,000 for
parts and materials. That figure doesn't include the cost of labor or the cost
of insanity required to build such a machine.
These politicians probably do not mean they want to make
a 60-foot tall, 43.7 metric ton Gundam replica (at least I hope they don't),
but instead, large mecha contraptions that could be used by, presumably, the
country's Self Defense Force. In an age of drone attacks, however, mecha don't
exactly seem ideal on the battlefield....