Posted on 11/21/2009 9:18:54 AM PST by AmericanInTokyo
"(Japan Prime Minister) Hatoyama Vs.Obama -- The Scandal That Nobody Will Report" (由紀夫 vs オバマ「書かれざるスキャンダル」）
Reporters at the weekly Shukan Bunshun news magazine here in Tokyo, Japan have written a rather caustic report about President Obama's 23 hours in Tokyo last week, from a frank Japanese perspective, exclusively in the Japanese language, and released to the newstands just now. In that sense this is more or less an *FR Exclusive*. A number of eye-opening claims, pieces of information and details emerge about Obama's brief stay in Japan as part of his disastrous Asian trip--over and above the very controversial, near-"dogeza" bow delivered as a Head of State of a superpower to the Emperor of Japan. There is criticism in this article for both the Obama Administration and their behavior, as well as within the Japanese government either in response or through their own incompetence. Either way, it does not make for a very pretty picture and is squarely at odds with the Administration which announced upon arrival in the US that the Asian trip was a "success". By what benchmark?
This Japanese magazine is a major weekly publication in Japan. I have as a courtesy provided a synopsis English translation, not word-for-word, of the main gist of the article. As always, the original Japanese authors' Japanese language version of the article prevails over the English. For general discussion, research and historical purposes.
They want to turn it into a tourist airport/hotel site.
The Communuists there have been using a CH-53 crash as an excuse to shut it down.
Outside of severe battlefield situations such as in the heat of World War II, treat most if not nearly all Japanese with respect, and you will get respect back, maybe even double-fold. Treat them with contempt or rudeness--whether outwardly or under the surface, and you will get contempt and rudeness back (or they may hold in the rudeness but it will be under the surface regardless and you will get scr*wed in some other way some time later). Fundamental rule. We are all humans at the end of the day.
All too true.
Now that the famous bow has had time to percolate for a few days, any new opinions as to how it will be characterized in the long run?
I know enough about formal Japanese manners to have been shocked at opening up Drudge and seeing that low, ridiculous grovel.
They left behind a pile of problems, if you ask me, and think the American People back home will never find out about it.
Thanks for your post and translation,
this kind of work is what separates FR from
the rest.
I have decided to start calling him:
Barak Obama ATBP (Alleged to be president)
I’m not sure if that should come after SOA or not.
Thanks for the summary.
It sounds as if the new Japanese PM was repeatedly and deliberately rude to Obama, which is a bit of a reversal of Obama’s usual treatment of allied leaders.
I think I referred to these two leaders in an earlier thread as Pot and Kettle. Two disasters for their countries.
Let’s just hope we can survive the two of them. Obama just ASKS to be trampled on, and evidently that’s what happened. But he was no doubt too stupid to realize it, and probably none of his foreign advisers read Japanese.
And his own typical discourtesy at the start didn’t help.
He seems to attend these highly important summit meetings without doing any advance preparation at all. Fly over, preen for the cameras, insult his hosts, and play it by ear because he’s too smart to need any prepping seems to be his basic method.
Very interesting!!! Thanks for the post. What’s his name is becoming a world embarrassment.
Obama’s handlers seem to have no appreciation
for ON or Giri, I know we live in a modern age
but those still effect Japanese thought and action.
Obama will be paid back at some point and the longer
it takes the more it will be.
I have found amongst my japanese Aikido friends that
even the simplest gesture is reciprocated rather quickly
lest it grow to be unbearable.
Thank you again.
Oh, and don’t forget the “hmm hmm MMM!”
So much for Obismol’s “Rainbow Tour” of the Far East.
Obowma does a 90 degree bow to royalty and is hated.
Hmmm... Dubya was just invited to do a first pitch over in Japan. I bet his visit was more popular than Zero's.
They are both bad for their respective countries, in my opinion. The people in their respective countries panicked, also with a sense of hope in making a complete change from the past, but they may have even gotten things worse--in their irrationality coalescing in votes. At least there in the US it does seem they are slowly coming to their senses, so he has to act fast to ramrod anything through now I bet.
Over here, even Hatoyama's figures are starting to go south.
PS Japan reported pretty big today that Patrice Lumumuba Obongo's support in public opinion has dipped below 50% after hardly a year in office, per Gallup, a good steady decline shared by only a few other US Presidents. Pretty widely on the internet and elsewhere.
Thank you for presenting this article to us. I can’t wait to see how we shxx on other countries and they do us in return. Diplomatic protocol in the day of ‘hope and change’. Arrggghhh!
Actually, I am not an afficianado for Dubya but objectively speaking, yes, he did do well in Tokyo about two weeks ago before what’s his name got here. Endeared himself to Japanese university students, and also seemed to be enjoying himself; probably relieved of all that burden 24/7 is my take. Yes, he threw out a pitch, too.
Excellent! We look forward to it.
Tiger, you should be in on this one. For your information....
Great post. Very interesting. It is amazing how much information is deliberately witheld from the US public.
Obummer-san is a Geisha girl.
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