"I remember that was last July there was an assassination attempt and I was very touched by your undaunted presence that you stood up and also you raised your fist high in the sky and behind you there was a Star Spangled Banner with the blue sky, and that specific photo will be remembered as... one of the most unforgettable scene in the photo, and as I have looked at the photo, I realized that through that experience you realized your mission, namely, you're going to win the election, and also you're going to pursue your signature initiative of Make America Great Again, and also you will redouble your efforts to bring peace to the world, and that is why the God saved you in that experience.... And I understand that you have been advocating the key signature initiative Make America Great Again and I understand that that actually reflects your deep compassion to the forgotten men and woman...."
In a separate event, a joint press conference, Ishiba was more casual. He even acknowledged that it might sound as though he was "trying to suck up" to Trump. Here's that video (scroll to 22:10):
For many, many years, I watched him on the television, so... I was so excited to see such a celebrity... in person. On television, he is frightening, and he has the very strong personality. But when I met with him, actually, he was very sincere and very powerful and with strong will for the United States as for the whole world. I was able to feel that. This is not the sort of trying to suck up to him....
"Suck up" is the translation, of course. I'd love to know what Ishiba actually said and how it sounds in Japanese to say things like "so excited to see such a celebrity" and "On television, he is frightening." Did Ishiba sound like a Trump fanboy? Does the denial — "not... trying to suck up" — feel more sincere in Japanese than it does translated into English?
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32 comments:
Oh no! There goes Tokyo
Go go, Trumpzilla!
I'm not too familiar with the Japanese language, but I've studied a bit of the culture as relates to engineering and manufacturing. "Suck up" sounds like a bad translation. "Fawn over" might be better. Japanese certainly do like celebrities, but "suck up" doesn't seem like it would translate back into Japanese.
Trump always listens because that's how he learns. It comes across as personal politeness.
The Japanese learned at Midway that Americans have bushido. The Pennsylvania shooting just reminded them.
Trump has the much harder task of trying to make the Japanese remember their bushido, to help us against the ChiComs.
JSM
This is becoming a pattern. Allies and opposition walk away from their first person on person meetings with him with a completely different appraisal of him than they had based on media reporting. It almost seems like media has an irrational bias against him.
It is profoundly disturbing humanity can only view the world from the perspective of the American liberal as if they’venall been hypnotized. They no not what they do
THe party line has gone out and the DNC-MSM are following it. Constantly attack Musk, constantly imply he's the one running the Government and has too much power. "Pick a target, freeze it, attack it".
How many billionaires, we don't hear much about, are behind the scenes influencing the Democrats or were helping Biden?
He was always vacationing at some rich guys house.
For 4 years the MSM never asked the POTUS a tough question and gave him the questions in writing before hand. That's when Biden actually had a press conference. I wish Trump would require these clowns to give us their name and paper before they ask a question.
You can be sure that if the Japanese PM is "Sucking up" to Trump its to get something out of him for the good of Japan. Sucking up is usually called "Dipolomacy" in these situations.
The best thing about Trump from a Japanese perspective is they no longer have an American Ambassador pressuring them to celeberate Holocaust Memorial Day, and to open their borders to millions of immigrants. And of course, kick back a few yen to "The big guy".
The Bret B Fox news was on in my house last night. Maxine got five minutes to rant about Trump killing Africans, not a peep of the corruption or who was responsible. We are doomed as a species…
Musk is defunding liberals. liberals hate it…
Thanks, Iman. Coffee everywhere.
Japanese are very good at polite.
Pacwest, indeed.
However that media bias is "irrational" only if you assume good faith on their part.
I don't know if you noticed but Trump committed to defend Japan as if Japan was the United States. The LNG sale from Alaska is a BFD. Like how Trump sees the upside of Deepseek Chopra. The assassination of Abe and attempt on Trump creates a blood link between Japan and US. I'm hoping this means synergistically creating an economic powerhouse.
Now if he can only create a similar relationship with Germany by ramping up their imports of LNG from the West revitalize their industrial base and Nick huge investments in their military capabilities.
Can the left be further off target? They lost, in part (Kamala was terrible), because they shouted the economy is great when people experienced something entirely different. The still are moaning about Trans and pronouns when almost 80 percent of Americans support women out of sports.
Now they are attacking Musk (as was promised in the campaign) for uncovering billions upon billions of OUR money spent in ways most of us would not believe.
And now we learn the party that revered Greta, that wants the voting age to be 16, that lost ground on the youth vote in 2024 is screaming that anyone under 25 can not be trusted, can not be an expert and has no business working on the tangled web of our computerized records.
Vote 2026 and GET OFF MY LAWN!
- DNC slogan (probably).
I've read reports that the party you first vote for can be predictive of who you will likely vote for in the future. Go for it lefties, it's a winner.
@rehajm "It is profoundly disturbing humanity can only view the world from the perspective of the American liberal as if they’ve all been hypnotized...."
When a single political force controls 90% of the media airtime, then all of the 'news' is oppositional, and all of the 'soft news' (human interest) is also, indirectly, oppositional. So the 'man on the street' will have a negative view, too. But when hard news hits - like a diplomatic meeting on video record - the genuine veiwpoints can no longer be suppressed, they can only be cast as foolish or wrongheaded. Not as convincing, especially since many more people are now getting wise.
On X, some libs are crowing that they’ve finally found the insult that will get under Trump’s “thin skin,” setting him off into a fit. The insult is that he’s just Musk’s lackey. This will, supposedly, drive a rift between Trump and Musk, thus undermining the DOGE effort.
The Japanese Prime Minister laughed immediately when President Trump joked about Time magazine. He understands at least some English but may not be fully fluent or wanting to conduct official business without a translator.
Israel, Japan…. Which country will next visit the WH and prove they are on board the MAGA train, making deals with Trump that are great for both sides? Which leaders will recognize the opportunities in front of them? Which ones does Trump want to make a deal with?
History shows again and again
Lefties are low testosterone men
Trumpzilla
Trump's always been popular in Japan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbM6WbUw7Bs
"we're going to be very close to balancing budgets for the first time in many year" Yeah, right.
My take is that the Japanese PM is trying to be less ceremonious which probably reflects new things going on tn Japanese culture. If we hadn't had 6200 "journalists" around the world paid by USAID to "report" the State Department's thoughts on Japan, we might know what those new things are. Anyhow that kind of journalism is gone at last so probably over the next four years, we'll learn about lots of interesting new ways of doing things in all the different countries.
When I grew up, all around the world people wore different clothes from Americans but now it's jeans, T-shirts and track suits at all the riots everywhere except that all armies and all the terrorists wear khaki. Even the Fulani and Masai who are still wearing trad clothes have iphones so, inside the trad appearance, they also are connected. But, just as the literatures written in English from the different English-speaking countries differ, so within this cultural similarity there are differences that will be significant to us all because of the similarities among us all. This change has been hidden by the disgusting news-pap served up by the Wormtongues of USAID ("Please sir, can I have some less") but I picture it all bursting forth like the longed-for spring of a Wisconsin winter. We have every kind of tree from pine to chestnut to magnolia here and soon they'll blossom. At least sooner than when it was November's dark-light.
I stopped at Time Magazine cover. It’s so quaint. Like the opening scene in The Waltons when John brings home their first radio.
It almost seems like media has an irrational bias against him.
@pacwest, ain’t no “almost”’or “seems” about it.
Regarding Elon Mudk, the following was found over on Instapundit:
The wealthiest man in world history is sleeping on the floor of his office to stop the government from robbing you. Y'all
need to shut the fuck up
Amen!
There is no try! Suck up!
I can't tell for the second clip because the translator is speaking over, but for the first, the simultaneous translation is only okay. It basically hits all the points, but garbles them a little. E.g., I think "unforgettable scene in the photo" is the interpretation for "あの写真はおそらく歴史に残る一枚だったと思います", literally "I think that photograph was one that will remain in history." So the point is the same, but specifics are different. A lot of what Ishiba says sounds like お世辞 (oseji), which is to say, "flattery" (my guess as to what "suck up" was in the original), and pretty normal in formal Japanese speech.
One point where I think the interpretation may have been misleading is:
I realized that through that experience you realized your mission, namely, you're going to win the election, and also you're going to pursue your signature initiative of Make America Great Again, and also you will redouble your efforts to bring peace to the world, and that is why the God saved you in that experience
It's too long for me to transcribe the Japanese in full, writing on my phone here, but Ishiba is actually saying he thinks Trump became certain, after the assassination attempt, that he was chosen by God, that he would win the election, that he would make America great again, and bring peace to the world. The translation isn't necessarily inconsistent with the original, but it makes it sound like Ishiba is affirmatively presenting that as Trump's "mission," rather than Ishiba merely characterising what he thinks Trump believes his mission to be. Not blaming the interpreter -- even consecutive interpretation is challenging, especially in a high pressure situation like this -- but I think it does shift the tone of what Ishiba is saying.
In my experience, circa 1980s (frequent personal contact with Japanese in all stations of life, high and low and government and industry officials up to cabinet and CEO level), what may seem like "suck up" is really recognition and respect for authority and an effort to be seen as properly "polite".
Translations in formal situations are de rigueur to avoid high-ranking officials from seeming "clumsy" and to give them an out if needed (poor translation!). Expressions re. feeling or emotions can be almost cartoonish exaggerations .
Many of these people speak English very well. Japanese public officials wouldn't last long if seen to be conceding relative standing to any foreign nation - including the USA,
I have stories...
"You see it with the USAID, but you're going to see it even more so with other agencies and other parts of government." Wow. If that's true, it's going to be incandescent. Because USAID is a big fucking deal.
Did you hear, that the second largest suck on the USAID teat is Pfizer?
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