Okay, so I checked with a native Japanese person on this and I got "schooled" so I hereby recant my previous post.  Obama and his aides got the bow right.

Apparently, the Japanese believe that the emperor is a bit different than your "elected official" and therefore, even the Prime Minister of Japan would bow that deeply to the Emperor of Japan because the prime minister is "of the people". Since Pres Obama is also "of the people" he would do a deeper bow to the emperor and an equal-level bow to his counterpart in Japan, the Prime Minister.

When I asked this Nihonjin if Japanese people, looking at Obama's bow, would think that Pres Obama was being submissive or somehow giving up power, the guy told me that the people of Japan, upon witnessing his bow would think nothing of the sort. Rather, he said that a Japanese person would instantly think that Obama is a very polite and well-educated person. And since politeness goes with being "upper class" they would also consider Obama to be well-born and generally a good smart educated person. He then went on to quote an ancient Japanese proverb that says something like the deeper that the rice plant bows, the better is the fruit (the better quality of the rice grain on the stem) which basically means that the Japanese would think that Obama is a very good person by his bow.

Now, if the intention of diplomacy is to go to other countries and make the leaders and citizens of that country think you are a "good person", well educated, polite and considerate, then Obama had a successful trip. If however, we go along with the Dick Cheney school of diplomacy then I suppose the purpose would be to prove that you're willing to insult an entire nation and look like a rude, crude uneducated ARSE just to make the people back at Fox News happy.

I was wrong on this one and this is one time I'm happy to admit it!

by ilovecenk99 on 11/23/2009 07:09:19 PM EST

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