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There are many wonderful things about Japan. And, like anywhere, there are some not so wonderful things. Rarely do you see so many of them in one thirty-second commercial. The ad in question is for the National Association of Labour Banks, which is somewhat like Japan’s version of a credit union. The commercial was made for television last year, but recently has become a topic online in Japan. In the ad, a little girl is reading and realizes someone is at the door. holy rummy She says, “Welcome home” as she jumps through the air and embraces a cute ATM machine. The inference is that the automatic teller machine is her father. As she’s spun through the air by the ATM, the little girl keeps saying, “ATM fees” over and over. Then, the girl’s royally rummy mom announces that it’s time for dinner, and the little kid ditches the money machine parent and makes a beeline for the table. Then, there’s a title card about getting cash back for ATM charges. Finally, the family does a little dance. Granted, there are worse things wrong with Japan, but it’s easy to see why on 2ch, Japan’s largest online forum, the commercial has sparked conversation—and disbelief. “The fuck hahahahahahahaha,” wrote one 2ch commenter. Some wondered if the commercial was for real. (Yes, according to the National Association of Labour Banks’ website it is!) “Well, this is the ideal husband,” wrote another 2ch commenter.”From the point of view of the husband, the wife is the housekeeper, and the child is the pet,” chimed in yet another. Then, there was the observation that there weren’t any ATM fees, because the teller machine (well, the father) gets love from his family—his family that views him merely as a source of money. How sweet. Twitter user Chimu called the commercial “messed up,” adding, “This is the darkness of present day.” Another Twitter user, Gesu san, clarified the obvious: “Daddy isn’t an ATM.” The commercial’s cute factor makes everything worse. Even though this probably wasn’t the intention, the result is a damning condemnation of modern Japanese society. All that in just thirty seconds! お父さん＝ATM？　ろうきんのCMが「現代社会の闇」だと話題に [Togech] 母と幼女がATMにおかえり～って駆け寄るCMやめろ [2ch] To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from rummy 365 Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.