USTR Ron Kirk with METI Minister Banri Kaieda
I met Kaieda once at a festival not long after he was elected and before he joined the cabinet. We shook hands just like this, and it lasted just long enough to get awkward. His English was pretty good.
Story: U.S. Trade Chief Wants Japan To Join Trans-Pacific FTA, Kyodo via Nikkei English (sub req’d)
“it lasted just long enough to get awkward”
for some reason that’s been happening too often lately. Why do some people do that?