Koizumi Rocks out, sort of

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Japan’s Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi went to Graceland with Bush today. The visit was described on NPR as a “gift” to the Prime Minister in appreciation of his unwavering support for the US.

Well, Koizumi must have liked it, because he was about as animated as he gets today – he even broke into song briefly, a move that clearly creeped out the president a little bit. Perhaps it was the PM’s choice of words – “Wise men say only fools rush in” – could this have been a subtle barb at Bush’s pre-emptive war doctrine?

You can watch Koizumi sing here on the UK’s Channel 4 along with some other little tidbits about Japan and Britain’s Elvis-mania.

UPDATE: NYT has more singing! Plus anti-whaling Elvis impersonaters!

10 thoughts on “Koizumi Rocks out, sort of”

  1. Good to find your comments. I was beginning to wonder if I was the only one who caught the subtle “dig” in the prime minister’s choice of lyrics when the president appeared to be condecendingly attempting to stifle the Japanese enthusiasm.
    Of course, if “you can’t stand the eerieness, stay out of the mansion.”
    – RcA

  2. If I am a millionaire, I want to make this photograph & movie deleted from all media of
    all parts of the world. It is too nerdy.

  3. Masaco, do you hate Elvis? You must be some kind of Communist! Actually, since you’re from Kyoto that is pretty likely…

  4. I’ve heard (second-hand; haven’t read any Japanese papers for a couple weeks as I’ve been out touring the UK) that part of this Graceland visit involved the Presleys giving Jun-chan gifts and saying “hey, y’know, it’d be cool if you could make Japanese copyright law give us all the money from dad’s tunes for a few extra decades.” Something to look into.

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