Raw Japan

Obama bowing to convention

The depth or angle of U.S. President Barack Obama’s bow — and handshake — with Japan’s Emperor Akihito has become a heated on-line topic, with sides arching into political camps on whether the greeting went too far — literally – or was appropriate based on customs and culture.

I don’t pretend to be an expert on bowing in Japan, but a few basic rules of thumb, or backbone, are: the more important a person you are greeting, the deeper and longer you bow, with hands generally at one’s sides; and multiple purposes can be served by this act including greeting as well as displays of respect, recognition, apology or gratitude.

While no one called the president’s bow an expression of apology or thanks, a number of blogs examined his and other U.S. leaders’ historical bent in stooping to diplomatically conquer, with a few labelling the U.S. commander-in-chief ”O-Bow-Ma”.

The Fox network and the Los Angeles Times blog offered details of Obama’s and other official U.S. greetings with the imperial family, including a photo of Vice President Dick Cheney shaking Akihito’s hand, and one posted a comment that bowing and handshaking should not be done simultaneously.

A blog from ABC news Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper, citing an academic friend, says both sides have it wrong, as the bow was not over — or under — the top in precedence, although it did not display the cultural understanding intended, rather weakness in Japanese terms.

The Huffington Post, meanwhile, seeming to anticipate a “bow row” ahead, noted criticism Obama had already received for a greeting of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah in April, with Republican Senators blasting him and the White House calling the president “bent over” to shake hands but not in a bow.

from Left field:

Boyz II Men risk a Barack-ing over Tokyo Olympic support

Ask not what you can do for your country ... ask its direct competitor if it wants any help with its Olympic bid.

Tokyo's 2016 campaign has been short on glamour backers and is struggling to match Chicago's trump card, American President Barack Obama - until now.

Boyz II Men, who sang at the closing ceremony at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, are hardly the hippest band in the world or likely to tip the vote, but the Grammy-winning trio publically supporting Tokyo at the weekend was an image boost of sorts, however bizarre.

Among their reasons were Tokyo's "coziness" and their belief Tokyo should win because the Japanese "really love the Olympics". They must have missed the memo on Tokyo's public support lagging behind rivals Chicago, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro, but moving along ...

Among other nuggets of wisdom, Chicago's bid is apparently "too business-related". Perhaps Obama should put them straight on that point.

Did I mention them being American and supporting Tokyo was weird? I think I may have done.

PHOTO: Members of Boyz II Men arrive for the Black Eyed Peas Peapod Foundation Benefit Concert at the Conga Room at L.A. Live in Los Angeles, California, February 5, 2009. REUTERS/Jason Redmond

Who’s Roos?

Roos who?

That was pretty much the reaction in Japan when U.S. President Barack Obama tapped California lawyer and campaign donor John Roos as ambassador to Tokyo.

News of the choice sent Japanese diplomats and U.S.-Japan watchers scrambling for information about Roos, whom one U.S. expert described to me in a hurried email as a “Silicon valley mover and shaker, not with any link to Japan, though clearly to Obama”.

The pick risked sending a sign that a wary Tokyo would interpret as more evidence of “Japan passing”, a phenomenon much feared in Japan, in which Washington is seen cosying up to Beijing at the expense of its closest Asian ally.

Many Japanese media had expected Obama to select Harvard professor Joseph Nye, a former U.S. assistant secretary of defense well known in Japan for his work on the alliance, though reports that his nomination was a done deal had been dodgy for a while.

“His ability is unknown,” the Mainichi newspaper quoted a foreign ministry official as saying of Roos, while expressing worries about the nomination at a time when North Asia tensions are rising in the wake of a North Korean nuclear test.

The paper also took note of a possible slight in that  Obama introduced his nominee for envoy to China to White House media but unveiled Roos’ nomination in a statement.

Japan markets Obama in masks, books and tourism

As Washington readies for the inauguration of Barack Obama, one Japanese firm is finding out how well his face sells — literally.

A mask factory near Tokyo is churning out Obama masks that are fast becoming the firm’s top-selling face, while others are also cashing in on the popularity of the new U.S. president.

One publisher has created a bestselling text book using Obama’s speeches to teach English.

“The Speeches of Barack Obama”, has sold more than 400,000 copies in two months, a big hit in a country where few hit novels sell more than 1 million copies a year.

“His speeches are so moving, and he also uses words such as ‘Yes, we can,’, ‘change’ and ‘hope’ that even Japanese people can memorise,” said Yuzo Yamamoto of Asahi Press, which produced the best-selling text book, which sells for 1,050 yen ($12) with a CD recording of the speeches.

“Readers have sent in postcards saying that when they heard the speeches, they were so moved and cried even though they don’t understand English very well.”