Today’s Iyami: Compare “Monster Gaikokujin” with our former finance minister in Italy

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Hi Blog.  Just can’t resist.  Kyou no iyami:

With all the talk and blame about “Monster Gaikokujin” (fish lickers, onsen defilers, cabbie bashers, golddiggers), how about the drunk antics of our former finance minister, Nakagawa Shochu, excuse me, Shouichi?  Setting off an alarm and sticking his hands all over private world-heritage artifacts in The Vatican?   Not Monster Gaijin.  Monster Daijin.

Fortunately, this made NHK on Friday.  Fire away with more acerbic comments.  I want the rest of my Sunday off.   Debito in Sapporo

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Nakagawa also misbehaved at Vatican Museum
The Japan Times: Sunday, Feb. 22, 2009.  Courtesy of Getchan

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20090222a2.html

BELGRADE (Kyodo) Former Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa engaged in some shenanigans during a visit to the Vatican Museum immediately following his highly ridiculed Group of Seven news conference in Rome, people at the Vatican said Friday.

At one point, Nakagawa climbed over a barrier around the statue of the Trojan priest Laocoon and His Sons, causing an alarm to go off. He also touched pieces he was not supposed to, they said.

The officials apparently didn’t find Nakagawa’s behavior to be a serious problem at the time, and the museum will not raise a protest, the sources said.

Nakagawa went to the museum for about 1 1/2 hours in the afternoon with senior officials from the Finance Ministry. They were accompanied by museum officials.

Nakagawa’s office on Saturday released a statement saying “He has been feeling ill and we are very sorry that he has caused troubles.”

He resigned Tuesday after drawing attention Feb. 14 by slurring his words and seemingly dozing off during a press briefing held after the G7 financial chiefs’ meeting about the deteriorating world economy.

The Japan Times: Sunday, Feb. 22, 2009
ENDS

5 comments on “Today’s Iyami: Compare “Monster Gaikokujin” with our former finance minister in Italy

  • Here’s my iyami:

    > former finance minister, Nakagawa Shochu, excuse me, Shouichi

    It took me a while to understand that. (Hint: shōchū)
    Good job, Wikipedia:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sh%C5%8Dch%C5%AB

    While I would prefer Shōichi, at least Shouichi is understandable.

    > Former Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa

    “Shoichi” is utter nonsense, which is why I gave up reading the Japan Times over a decade ago.

    And Wikipedia got it again:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sh%C5%8Dichi_Nakagawa

    — If diacritics are the only reason you gave up reading the Japan Times, I suggest you give it another try. 🙂

    Reply
  • What’s to become of this country? A prime minister who can’t read straight (too much Manga instead of literature?), and – at least until recently – a finance minister who has a hard time staying sober? Sheesh…

    Reply
  • He is the smartest of the bunch.

    The ruling cabinet is through. Their popularity is 10% (that means 90% of the polled citizenry would not give them a positive opinion).

    By September at the latest, they are through.

    So you can either go around nihonteki and pretend that everything is fine, which I understand was also popular in the early months of 1945 as well. Or you can get utterly sloshed and wait for the verdict of 2009 to come and go.

    I am not sure, actually, which is more Japanese. To wait for the royal screwing to be handed to you. Or to get plastered in the meantime.

    If I had made the mess the LDP did over the last 20 years, I suppose I’d go the Nakagawa route.

    They are the alpha dogs of the makeinu of this country, and the sooner they go the better. I think that’s what a lot of Japanese feel as well.

    Reply
  • Andrew Smallacombe says:

    Does anyone know if the Italian press has said anything about Nakagawa’s misadventures? Maybe they can link it up with a handful of other Japanese behaving badly and then classify it as manners by nationality. And then we can see how the Japanese media responds. (heh, heh)

    Reply
  • Well, you said it best in your previous posts- when the shoe is on the other foot…
    You can see how the overall picture changes only with a slight change of the perspective.

    Reply

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