Latvian press give country a crash course in Japanese

By Ben Nimmo May 25, 2007, 13:35 GMT

Riga - As Latvia awaited the arrival of Japan's Emperor Akihito on his first ever visit to the country on Friday, the local press hurried to give their citizens a crash course in Japanese.

Russian-language tabloid Vesti Segodnya led the way on its front page, showing readers how to write 'Welcome, your imperial majesty!' in Japanese, before informing them that the emperor is also known as the 'head of the Chrysanthemum Throne.'

The emperor is the 125th monarch in succession to rule Japan, Russian-language tabloid Chas added.

Russian-language broadsheet Telegraf, meanwhile, weighed in with the front-page fact that 'the delegation has not brought a chef - meaning that Akihito and (his wife, the Empress) Michiko will experience whatever their hosts offer them.'

It added with some pride that 'since his coronation in 1989, the Japanese ruler has only visited 20 countries,' a fact which is seen in Latvia as a particular compliment to their small state.

And it ran a half-page interview with Japan's Ambassador Seiichiro Otsuka under the thought-provoking title, 'Japanese culture is more than sushi and sashimi.'

The interview was followed by a 12-page supplement, of which two pages were devoted to Riga sushi restaurants.

The Latvian-language press were equally eager to explain to their readers what the emperor's role and visit signify. Latvia's relationship with Japan has hitherto been cordial but distant, and awareness of Japanese culture and traditions is limited.

'The emperor is respected in Japan, but under the constitution which was adopted after World War II he has no political power. On his foreign visits he tries to strengthen his country's image,' nationalist daily Neatkariga pointed out.

But the greatest interest in the imperial visit has been shown by liberal Latvian-language daily Diena, which devoted a large part of its Saturday supplement to the upcoming visit.

Under the title, 'Special guests,' the weekend supplement ran a full-page picture of three generations of the imperial family, seated or kneeling at a low table in a traditional Japanese room.

'The (Latvian) president's press secretary has called this the visit of the century, because the emperor rarely travels abroad,' the supplement added, echoing Telegraf's pride.

On a following page, a full-length photo of Japanese embassy worker Satomi Suzuki wearing traditional Japanese costume was headed with the words, 'My favourite clothes.'

'Not every Japanese woman has a kimono in the house. It is put on for special occasions: girls' coming-of-age ceremonies, weddings, graduation ceremonies, and even then it is most often hired,' the article said helpfully, before going on to explain the secrets of the kimono dress, obi belt, tabi socks and dzori shoes.

But the supplement's chief feature was a brightly-illustrated article entitled, 'What has Japan given the world?'

A series of brief explanatory paragraphs supported by colourful photos gave the answer: sushi, the Super Mario Bros. computer games, fashion designer Yoshi Yamamoto, Toyota, Pokemon, CDs and CD players, karate, and judo.

It is a list of which any country would be proud. Whether the 125th head of the Chrysanthemum Throne would have chosen precisely that list to characterize his visit is another question.