Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s the Japanese beginning their version of a super invasion of Thailand. Although, they come in peace or perhaps, more accurately in commercial interest, they’ve had trouble with armored tanks.

You see, four actors dressed as the superheroes from a TV series that is soon to launch in Thailand had been posing in front of the military vehicles in a bid to promote their upcoming show. That is until police grabbed them and carried them away in a police van.

According to the Reuters story (09/28/06), although the publicity stunt was perhaps thoughtfully timed to coincide with the launch of the action-hero program, it was not well thought out as far as the somewhat fragile political atmosphere in Bangkok.

You see it was only last week that Thailand had its first coup in 15 years to topple Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’as regime. Tanks still dot the landscape of the city, serving as witness to the military putsch.

Both Thais and foreign tourists seem determined to have their photos taken alongside the machines and the victorious soldiers. Meanwhile, Thailand’s new military rulers have banned any commercial promotions in front of the military machinery.

A police interrogator is quoted as explaining what happened to the four men in sci-fi hero costumes, “We invited them for questioning because we wanted to know why they were there. Soldiers are afraid of third parties stirring things up after the coup, so we had to make sure they were harmless.”

The same police officer explained that eventually the four Japanese men were released without charge. However, the army still feels compelled to quash the near carnival-like atmosphere after the coup. They don’t want all these shenanigans to distract from the serious issue of having seized power.

On Wednesday last, they also had to ban go-go dancers from flaunting their naughty goods in front of tanks and troops.

What’s a soldier to do? Who knew a coup would mean blue balls? Hope they know what they’re doing. Holding it in like that, their boys might start shooting all over the place at the first sign of excitement.