My Two World Leaders

And Their Few Words

President Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Abe
(pronounced AH-beh or, alternatively, SEN-sah-za-MEE-dee-ah)

offered some telling remarks this past Tuesday

to open Herr Kimigayo’s visit to the US.

(The full transcript can be found here but the following summary is really all you need.)

 

"Come on, we agreed we'd say nothing about the new military bases. Now shake on it."

Obama went first since the Japanese are polite like that.

Mr. Nobel-Prize-for-a-Songbasically had 3 things to say:

1.     Japan has given us all sorts of neat stuff “like karate and karaoke.”

2.     I’m from Hawaii. Really.

3.     Mr. Abe and I are both equally scared shit at what’s going on around the world.

"I don't care if you did eat all your seaweed, Barack, I'm not giving you Okinawa."

 

Mr. Abe, fresh off his tongue-lashing for two TV networks who had the audacity to speak their minds, had all this to say:

1.     I’m banking on the US to back me up big time as I deploy my own Constitution.

Then they said 'Arigato', went inside and shut the doors.

"That should teach those TV people..."

I grew up in the US. I live in Japan.

I think I need a beer. Or a glass of good sake.

Actually make that a good European brew.