2024-04-12 17:59:38
While Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is completing a state visit to the United States on the occasion of the US-Japan summit, President Yoon Seok-yeol’s ‘American Pie’ is being talked about again, attracting attention.
On the 12th, Japan’s Mainichi Shimbun reported Prime Minister Kishida’s week-long state visit to the United States and also mentioned President Yoon.
First, Mainichi said, “Prime Minister Kishida, who is visiting the United States as a state guest, had the opportunity to make two speeches in English during his stay in Washington, the U.S. capital, from the 8th to the 11th,” and that Prime Minister Kishida made fun jokes in each speech, showing his confidence. It was reported that this was imprinted on the U.S. side.
According to this, Prime Minister Kishida said at the beginning of his speech at the joint session of the Federal Senate and House of Representatives on the 11th, “It is rare to receive such good applause from the Japanese National Assembly.”
The Mainichi Shimbun added, “It was a joke to make (American officials) laugh, keeping in mind the National Assembly, which is often criticized by the opposition party.”
Prime Minister Kishida also introduced his wife, who was in the audience, and said, “After marrying Yuko, you will be able to believe that all my decisions were right.”
In addition, while mentioning his experience living in the United States as a child, he recalled the animation ‘Flintstones’ (Dolmen Family Flintstones) that he watched at the time. Prime Minister Kishida jokingly added, “I couldn’t translate the meaning of ‘Yabadabadu’ (the line in the cartoon) into Japanese.”
At a luncheon held at the U.S. State Department on the same day (11th), Secretary of State Tony Blinken praised Prime Minister Kishida, saying, “Isn’t this the first time in history that ‘Flintstone’ was mentioned in a joint meeting speech?”
Vice President Kamala Harris also said, “The inability to translate ‘Yavadavadu’ particularly stuck in my mind.” Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capitol said, “The content of the speech was good, but I personally liked the Prime Minister’s humor.”
At the official dinner on the evening of the 10th, Prime Minister Kishida joked during his English speech.
He introduced an episode in which in the 1960s, U.S. President John F. Kennedy told Japanese Prime Minister Hayato Ikeda, who was also from Hiroshima Prefecture like Prime Minister Kishida, that “the Pacific Ocean does not separate Japan and the United States, but rather connects the two countries.” .
He continued, “I think I use this too often. “I use it so much in my speeches that the staff tries to erase it from the manuscript,” he joked, drawing laughter from the audience.
The Mainichi said, “In a similar speech, President Yoon of Korea, who visited the state in April 2023, sang ‘American Pie,’ a hit song from the 70s that he heard in his youth, and attracted the attention of invited guests and the media.” Prime Minister Kishida’s speech “It didn’t have that kind of impact, but it was mixed with jokes and received favorable reviews from President Biden.”
During his visit to the United States, President Yoon attracted attention by singing Don Maclean’s song ‘American Pie’ at a White House dinner. Cheers erupted in the hall and there was also a standing ovation.
After President Yoon’s song ended, President Biden presented President Yoon with a guitar with the handwritten signature of singer and composer Don McLean, who composed and sang American Pie.
Meanwhile, according to Japanese media outlet Nikkan Sports, Prime Minister Kishida has been concentrating on practicing for his English speech since the 5th.
It is said that he hired a former U.S. presidential speechwriter (speech writer) to receive tutoring, and listened to and spoke the English speech he recorded several times.
(Seoul = News 1)
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2024-04-12 17:59:38