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Obama speeches are big in Japan
Source: Agencies |
January 24, 2009, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
ASPIRING English speakers in Japan have made US President Barack Obama's book of speeches and accompanying CD a national best seller.
In Aichi, central Japan, a Buddhist monk has been playing the president's speeches during his temple service.
And dozens of students in an English-language class in Tokyo have been memorizing his 2004 Democratic Convention speech to improve their skills.
"Tonight is a particular honor for me because, let's face it, my presence on this stage is pretty unlikely," the students at Kaplan Japan school recite together.
"The Speeches of Barack Obama" has sold 420,000 copies since its release in November - an "unprecedented huge hit" for an English-language text, according to publisher Asahi.
Any book that sells more than 100,000 copies in Japan is considered a success, and foreign-language publication sales rarely exceed 20,000.
Obama's book of speeches surged to No. 2 in Japan's main best-seller list this week, according to Japan's largest book distributor Tohan Co which publishes the ranking.
The 95-page book compiles Obama's speeches including the one at the 2004 convention, many from the party primaries, and his victory speech after he beat Hillary Rodham Clinton to secure the Democratic nomination. Each transcript comes with a Japanese translation.
The simplicity of campaign speeches makes them an obvious choice as a language-learning tool, but other American presidents have rarely been so feted.
"We don't publish every single president's speeches," Asahi Press official Yuzo Yamamoto said. "Would you buy the text of George W. Bush's speeches?"
In Aichi, central Japan, a Buddhist monk has been playing the president's speeches during his temple service.
And dozens of students in an English-language class in Tokyo have been memorizing his 2004 Democratic Convention speech to improve their skills.
"Tonight is a particular honor for me because, let's face it, my presence on this stage is pretty unlikely," the students at Kaplan Japan school recite together.
"The Speeches of Barack Obama" has sold 420,000 copies since its release in November - an "unprecedented huge hit" for an English-language text, according to publisher Asahi.
Any book that sells more than 100,000 copies in Japan is considered a success, and foreign-language publication sales rarely exceed 20,000.
Obama's book of speeches surged to No. 2 in Japan's main best-seller list this week, according to Japan's largest book distributor Tohan Co which publishes the ranking.
The 95-page book compiles Obama's speeches including the one at the 2004 convention, many from the party primaries, and his victory speech after he beat Hillary Rodham Clinton to secure the Democratic nomination. Each transcript comes with a Japanese translation.
The simplicity of campaign speeches makes them an obvious choice as a language-learning tool, but other American presidents have rarely been so feted.
"We don't publish every single president's speeches," Asahi Press official Yuzo Yamamoto said. "Would you buy the text of George W. Bush's speeches?"
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