Spend a bit of time in Japan, you'll likely catch a few glimpses of Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) recruitment posters on train station walls or in shop windows. But the most recent recruitment poster released in Chiba Prefecture doesn't quite seem to be fulfilling its mission — instead of getting people interested in joining the JSDF, the posters are apparently scaring people away with a rather disconcerting image.
In this photo, posted by @hiromi19610226, we see a uniformed man facing a shadowy figure, handing him a large, round, disembodied head. At the top of the poster, it reads, "Protect our beautiful country ~Connecting our youth's strength with the future~" and towards the bottom, in bold black lettering, it reads "Recruiting cadets for the Defense Force".
@hiromi19610226's reaction to the perplexing poster? "I wonder what they're trying to say with this passing-of-a-freshly-severed-head design… All I can say is, it's disturbing," she writes.
The "freshly-severed head" belongs to Ei-kun, Chiba's Provincial Cooperation Office's mascot for the JSDF. In the poster, he has the same determined expression and smile as ever, despite having been obviously decapitated.
Whatever message they were trying to deliver with this poster, I don't think it's getting through!