In Japan, Obama inauguration inspires English lessons, off-kilter likenesses

1. Learn English

• Listening to one of the great speechifiers of our time can be inspiring. Obama’s message can call you to serve your country, resolve to be a better person, or sacrifice for the greater good (but tragically apparently not to prosecute those responsible for the Bush regime’s crimes). Some aspiring English speakers in Japan have taken this opportunity to brush up on their own speaking skills. Prominent among the “Obama books” that are currently flooding Japanese bookstore displays is CNN’s Obama Speech Collection for students of English as a second language. The book, so far having sold over 400,000 copies, features excerpts from famous Obama speeches with a Japanese translation on the opposite page, which students can use to follow along as they listen to an attached CD. I picked it up the other day and it has proven useful both as a translation reference for US politics and as a handy record of his landmark addresses. I’m not sure how effective it is as a teaching tool, but for a Japanese learner of English inspired by Obama it will no doubt give them easy access to the tools they need (minus the inauguration address, of course).
• Meanwhile, much like Kenya’s “Obama imitation contest“, some private English classrooms have started offering Obama mimicry lessons to a reportedly favorable response. In one TV news report, groups of 20+ students lined up to wait their turn to recite famous Obama speeches as a White-boy instructor barked orders on how to mimic Obama’s unique oratory style.

2. Create a mildly unsettling Obama likeness

Here we see some examples of creativity from both traditional and modern artists that deserve an “A” for effort but unfortunately didn’t turn out all that appealing:

• Obama Noh mask, gifted from Kyoto to Obama City, Fukui Prefecture:

No resemblance whatsoever?

• Obama nativity scene, by fence maker Mikami Industries of Higashi-Osaka (check out the whole slideshow from Sankei, or take a tour of the mini White House via the Mikami site):

Zombie Reagan looking gaunt (so Carter really is irrelevant!)

• UPDATE: Thanks to Matt Alt, I can now show you the (not Japanese but still cool and available in Japan)  unofficial Obama action figure, from Japanese Hong Kong firm DiD Corporation:

* Thanks to Andrew Leonard for the correction!

Compare to the real thing:

That’s more like it!