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Barack Obama's first visit to Asia since his inauguration was one of the most disappointing trips by any U.S. president to the region in decades, especially given media-generated expectations that "Obamamania" would make it yet another triumphal progression. It was a journey of startlingly few concrete accomplishments, demonstrable proof that neither personal popularity nor media deference really means much in the hard world of international affairs. The contrast between Asia's reception for Obama and Europe's is significant. Although considered a global phenomenon, Obamamania's real center is Europe. There, Mr. Obama reigns as a "post-American" president, a multilateralist carbon copy of...

Sitting here in Singapore as President Obama went through China and flew home from his 8-day trip to Asia, it is perhaps easier to see the true truth of his trip—it’s deep failure....

Obama Blunders Through Asia Undoing Bush's years of deft diplomacy. by Ross Terrill 11/30/2009, Volume 015, Issue 11 Much dire rhetoric has been unleashed in liberal quarters about the damage done by George W. Bush's foreign policy. The alleged damage, however, is not evident in Asia. When Ken Lieberthal, a respected China specialist and Democratic loyalist, spoke at Harvard early this year, I asked him to name a single year in memory when Washington had as good relations with India, Japan, and China as under Bush. He changed the subject. The White House stated as Obama left Asia for home...

"(Japan Prime Minister) Hatoyama Vs.Obama -- The Scandal That Nobody Will Report" (由紀夫 vs オ�マ「書�れ�るスキャンダル�）Reporters at the weekly Shukan Bunshun news magazine here in Tokyo, Japan have written a rather caustic report about President Obama's 23 hours in Tokyo last week, from a frank Japanese perspective, exclusively in the Japanese language, and released to the newstands just now. In that sense this is more or less an *FR Exclusive*. A number of eye-opening claims, pieces of information and details emerge about Obama's brief stay in Japan as part of his disastrous Asian trip--over and above the very controversial, near-"dogeza"...

TOKYO — The Foreign Ministry has decided to admit the existence of a secret Japan-U.S. pact under which Tokyo allows stopovers of U.S. military vessels or aircraft carrying nuclear weapons, ministry sources said Saturday. During its in-house probe, the ministry found documents suggesting the existence of the secret nuclear agreement, according to the sources. Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada said Saturday, ‘‘The probe is now in the final stage, and we will announce the outcome in January,’’ although he declined to reveal the details of the probe. While Washington is required to consult with Tokyo before bringing nuclear weapons into Japan...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: The Gallup poll will announce -- they effectively have announced it -- the Gallup poll will announce that for the first time in their poll Barack Obama's approval rating has fallen below 50%. In fact, a little story about this. This from Ben Smith at The Politico: "His approval numbers have bounced down to the 50% mark several times, driven by weaker support from independents and Republicans, but hadn't crossed it. The slide is worrying for the White House, but it's probably not yet panic time. Ronald Reagan's approval numbers dropped well below 40% during the depths...

US admiral defends Obama's Japan bow (AFP) – 1 day ago WASHINGTON — The former top commander of US troops in Asia on Thursday strongly defended President Barack Obama against critics of his bow to Japan's Emperor Akihito, calling it a gesture of respect. Admiral Timothy Keating, who retired last month ...

Original article from Thursday (19), links to the Japanese "Sankei Shimbun" website. FReepranslation is provided as a summary; the original Japanese version directly by the author governs and takes precedence over the unofficial English.Troubling developments.

November 19, 2009, 0:00 a.m. Circling Sharks Smell American BloodAmerica should keep quieter abroad — and try finding a bigger stick. By Victor Davis Hanson On his recent trip to Asia, President Obama found China, Japan, and South Korea — like many nations these days — in no mood to hear more American lectures. Beijing is worried about owning so much American debt. Tokyo is tiring of an American military base in Okinawa, and wants to redefine its relationship with us. Seoul is starting to doubt American commitment to keep it safe from North Korea. Why all the sudden...

On his 10-day trip to Asia and in his 10th month in office, Barack Obama is beginning to encounter limits on his ambition to change the world. Even as he bowed to the king of Saudi Arabia last April and to the emperor of Japan last week, the world refuses to bow back. This is not how it was supposed to be. "I am absolutely certain that generations from now," he said on the night he clinched the Democratic presidential nomination in June 2008, "we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment...

Dick Cheney is blasting Barack Obama for plunging the presidency to a new low - by bowing to the Japanese emperor. The White House deemed the weekend gesture a sign of respect. But Cheney chided it was downright wimpy. "There is no reason for an American president to bow to anyone," Cheney complained to the Politico.com. "Our friends and allies don't expect it, and our enemies see it as a sign of weakness." Maybe Cheney would prefer if Obama and Emperor Akihito had simply walked hand-in-hand, as former President George W. Bush did with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah in 2005...

While the book of that precise title has yet to be written (and might be a good book albeit a rather short book), the poor, bumbling White House only need to look at the following online information in order to be corrected once and for all and to also appreciate just what and what is not done in Japan, as they may continue to presumptuously assert that the "first Asia-Pacific President" schooled in these cultures was somehow being polite and sticking to protocol with the Emperor of Japan.Here, we will be kind enough to translate it for them--spinning, apologetic, damage-control...

As the health care debate rages in the US, Tokyo lawmakers set a maximum waist size. Are you too fat for Japan? TOKYO, Japan — In Japan, being thin isn’t just the price you pay for fashion or social acceptance. It’s the law. So before the fat police could throw her in pudgy purgatory, Miki Yabe, 39, a manager at a major transportation corporation, went on a crash diet last month. In the week before her company’s annual health check-up, Yabe ate 21 consecutive meals of vegetable soup and hit the gym for 30 minutes a day of running and...

It didn’t take too long for the Left to defend Barack Obama’s bow to Emperor Akihito yesterday by claiming that the President was merely showing cultural sensitivity to the Japanese emperor by deeply bowing. There’s a couple of problems with that argument. First, American Presidents do not bow to monarchs, or at least they didn’t through the first 43 Presidents and the 220 years they served as the US head of state. Perhaps a few of them might have done so out of cultural sensitivity when traveling to foreign nations as private citizens, either before or after their terms in...

Title in-full is: "Obama Bow To Emperor Inappropriate-- U.S. Conservative Faction Criticizes"(オ�マ��天皇��辞儀���切　米�守派�批判 (They are essentially saying that US Conservatives are asserting that. (But it is fairly widespread here as a perception, and growing, although to-date Japanese have been their typical polite goodselves in playing down the faux paus of an ignorant, visiting, protocol-devoid foreigner, in this case POTUS).(http://www.47news.jp/CN/200911/CN2009111601000125.html)Goes on to say that U.S. Conservative blogosphere, FOX News, etc. have picked up on the Obama bow as inappropriate. Also tied it into the earlier Obama bow/genuflection to Saudi Arabian King.For your information.It is actually from a Kyodo News report, which means...

So much of an idiot, in fact, that according to Tapper’s source, at least one Japanese paper isn’t running the photo out of embarrassment. This tool actually groveled himself into a minor international incident. The good news for O-bots? It wasn’t unprecedented. Nixon evidently made a modest bow to Hirohito in the early 70s. The bad news? “Obama’s handshake/forward lurch was so jarring and inappropriate it recalls Bush’s back-rub of Merkel. “Kyodo News is running his appropriate and reciprocated nod and shake with the Empress, certainly to show the president as dignified, and not in the form of a first...

Politico: A senior administration official said President Barack Obama was simply observing protocol when he bowed to Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko upon arriving at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Saturday.

President Obama has been branded the ‘Groveller-in-Chief’ after giving an exaggerated bow to Japan’s emperor Akihito - the son of the ruler who authorised the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. Coming so soon after Remembrance Day, the deep bow caused an outcry in the U.S. While it was seen as a sign of respect in Japan, Mr Obama was attacked in America for ‘bowing and scraping’ to a foreign leader, particularly a Japanese one. Wartime scars are still raw for many Americans. The 6ft 2in President’s mark of deference to the 5ft 5in emperor in Japan on Saturday dominated discussion...

Obama bowed to emperor as 'protocol' By: Mike Allen November 14, 2009 11:08 PM EST SINGAPORE – A senior administration official said President Barack Obama was simply observing protocol when he bowed to Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko upon arriving at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Saturday. “I think that those who try to politicize those things are just way, way, way off base,” the official said. “He observes protocol. But I don’t think anybody who was in Japan – who saw his speech and the reaction to it, certainly those who witnesses his bilateral meetings there –...

(UPDATES: 12:22 p.m. A brief news video has been added below, showing the greeting in this photograph. Contrary to some claims, the video shows no reciprocal bow by the emperor, who traditionally bows to no one. And we've added a file photo from 2007 of Vice President Dick Cheney greeting the Japanese Emperor at the same residence in a different fashion.) How low will the new American president go for the world's royalty? This photo will get Democrat President Obama a lot of approving nods in Japan this weekend, especially among the older generation of Japanese who still pay attention...

On Friday, this NewsBuster [FReeper governsleastgovernsbest] noted how Pres. Obama, questioned at a news conference in Japan, twice refused to say whether he thought the United States' dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was "the right decision." Yesterday on Fox News Watch, Jim Pinkerton noted the NewsBusters nugget. The Fox News contributor and New America Foundation fellow observed that PBO's failure had huge implications for America's nuclear deterrent. View video here.

President Barack Obama has bowed to royalty, with a greeting for the Japanese emperor that erases any doubts about what the president's posture was -- remember that bow to the Saudi king that was not really a bow? And some people are falling over backwards today. Our colleague, Andrew Malcolm, at Top of the Ticket, muses on the president's meeting with Japanese Emperor Akihito today, and suffice it to say that the article will light a brush fire of commentary stoked by the hot winds of the Drudge Report's headline. See the Ticket's report there or read it here: (And...

Standing at over six foot in height, Barack Obama had to bow deeply as he paid his respects to the diminutive Japanese Emperor Akihito. But the comical sight, which saw the President bend almost double, will no doubt earn him nods of approval in Japan, where a low bow is a sign of great respect and deference. Obama met the emperor and Empress Michiko at the Imperial Palace today, a stop on his nine-day Asian tour that will also see him take in Singapore and China.

Bad enough that Obama bowed down to another head of state yesterday. Even worse, he did not bother to learn how one bows in Japan, and just winged it. I agree with Scott Johnson, Steve Gilbert, Andrew Malcom, and many others that the President of the United States should not be bowing before any head of state. But unlike these astute observers, I actually know a little something about the art of the bow in Japan, having lived in Japan four different times on a resident visa, taught East Asian Studies at Harvard, and counseled many hundreds of American, European,...

NOVEMBER 14, 2009 Japan Faces Fear of New Downturn By YUKA HAYASHI TOKYO -- Japan's new government faces a dilemma in trying to prevent a double-dip recession, with recent stimulus efforts due to wane, debt soaring and the economy likely to begin losing steam by early next year. Talk of new stimulus measures to respark the growth is pushing up long-term interest rates, threatening to limit any impact of fresh spending. That, in turn, is forcing officials to look for cuts to offset any new expenditures -- moves that could undermine a recovery in demand, economists warn. Two months after...

I though Americans do not bow to members of royalty? The King of Saudi Arabia, and now the Japanese Emperor? And as the LA Times points out …. there was no reciprocal bow from the Emperor. Contrary to some claims, the video shows no reciprocal bow by the emperor, who traditionally bows to no one. And we’ve added a file photo from 2007 of Vice President Dick Cheney greeting the Japanese Emperor in the same door way in a different fashion. And all the Queen got was an ill advised pat on the back. I guess when it comes to...

Bad enough that Obama bowed down to another head of state yesterday. Even worse that he did not bother to learn how one bows in Japan, and just winged it. I agree with Scott Johnson, Steve Gilbert, Andrew Malcom, and many others that the President of the United States should not be bowing before any head of state. But unlike these astute observers, I actually know a little something about the art of the bow in Japan, having lived in Japan four different times on a resident visa, taught East Asian Studies at Harvard, and counseled many hundreds of American,...

At a press conference in Tokyo today, a Japanese reporter asked Obama whether Harry Truman made "the right decision" to drop nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Obama dodged the question....I wonder what he really thinks. It seems likely that, like the overwhelming majority of Americans, Obama thinks the bombs had to be used.But given his longstanding views about nuclear weapons, I'm actually not certain that Obama agrees with the decision.

Here’s a rare Saturday OOTD for Hot Air readers, but this one can’t wait for Monday. Andrew Malcolm reports on Barack Obama’s latest breach of protocol, this time with Emperor Akihito of Japan "This photo will get Democrat President Obama a lot of approving nods in Japan this weekend, especially among the older generation of Japanese who still pay attention to the royal family living in its downtown castle. Very low bows like this are a sign of great respect and deference for a superior."

Researchers on Thursday announced the discovery of two World War II Japanese submarines, including one meant to carry aircraft for attacks on American cities and the Panama Canal, in deep water off Hawaii, where they were sunk 63 years ago. > One of the Japanese craft, the I-201, was capable of speeds of about 20 knots while submerged, making it among the fastest diesel submarines ever made. Like other Japanese subs, it had a rubberized coating on the hull, an innovation intended to make it less apparent to sonar or radar. The other, the I-14, was much larger and slower...

Death sought over Ibaraki stabbing spree MITO, Ibaraki Pref. (Kyodo) Prosecutors sought Friday the death sentence for a man accused of a stabbing spree in Tsuchiura, Ibaraki Prefecture, that left two people dead and seven others wounded. At the Mito District Court, the prosecutors said Masahiro Kanazawa, 26, "wanted to end his boring days" with the death sentence he thought he would get for the March 2008 stabbings at Arakawaoki Station. Kanazawa's counsel asked for life imprisonment. Kanazawa was also accused of fatally stabbing a 72-year-old man at the victim's home in Tsuchiura four days before the stabbing spree. He...

How low will the new American president go for the world's royalty? This photo will get Democrat President Obama a lot of approving nods in Japan this weekend, especially among the older generation of Japanese who still pay attention to the royal family living in its downtown castle. Very low bows like this are a sign of great respect and deference for a superior. To some in the United States, however, an upright handshake might have looked better. Remember Michelle Obama casually patting Britain's Queen Elizabeth on the back during their Buckingham Palace visit? America's royalty tends to make movies...

Obama, Hatoyama prioritize alliance Cooperation on nuke arms, emissions; no Futenma deal Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and U.S. President Barack Obama vowed Friday to bolster the bilateral alliance and cooperate on pressing global issues, including climate change and nuclear disarmament. The two also touched on the sensitive relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa. The issue has cast a shadow on bilateral relations. They said it was their common goal to resolve the issue as soon as possible. Earlier this week, the two governments decided to form a ministerial-level working group to find a way to resolve...

Rather than deal with the problems directly (IT’S THE DEBT STUPID!) they attempted to circumvent the problem by creating an environment where the government spent hordes of money to prop up failing institutions." Read »

Obama Refuses To Defend Bombing Of Hiroshima, Nagasaki

Obama Says He Would Be ‘Honored’ to Visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki Friday, November 13, 2009 (CNSNews.com) – Visiting the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – targets of a U.S. atomic bomb attack that hastened the end of World War II – would be “meaningful,” President Obama said Friday in Tokyo. “I certainly would be honored – it would be meaningful for me to visit those two cities in the future. I don’t have immediate travel plans, but it’s something that would be meaningful to me.” In an interview with a Japanese network earlier this week, Obama said something similar:...

The first — and most important — stopover on President Obama’s long-awaited trip to Asia has been cut in half as he delayed his departure by a day. In Tokyo, he will have just enough time to meet Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, drop in on the emperor and empress, and give a speech on America’s role in Asia. In Asia, Japan is America’s “cornerstone” relationship. From Japanese ports and airfields, we base the forces that defend the South Koreans, guard the Taiwanese, and patrol contested sea lanes. Without Americans in Japan, Chinese warships and planes would soon vie for control...

WASHINGTON--Michelle Obama, the wife of the U.S. president, will not be joining him on his visit to Japan starting Friday. Instead, she is giving priority to her duties as a mother. The couple's daughters Malia and Sasha are sixth- and third-graders, respectively, at a private school in Washington, D.C. They have classes during the president's week-long tour of Asia. The girls, along with their mother, joined President Barack Obama on part of his tour of Europe and Turkey between the end of March and April, as well as trips to Europe, Russia and Africa in July, while on school vacation....

TOKYO - President Barack Obama is emphasizing cooperation on his first major trip to Asia, opening with a warning to North Korea that there will be tough, unified action by the U.S. and its Asian partners if the Koreans fail to abandon their nuclear weapons programs. The hard line on North Korea was to be a prominent theme of a Friday night speech that also was intended to more broadly showcase a United States that, under Obama's leadership, seeks deeper and more equal engagement in Asia. It was to be the fifth major foreign address of Obama's 10-month presidency, this...

In Tokyo, Obama Makes Concession on Marine Base By HELENE COOPER and MARTIN FACKLER November 13, 2009 TOKYO — President Obama, seeking to mend fences with Japan, America’s most important Asian ally, announced on Friday that he would establish a high-level working group on the contentious issue of the continuing presence of a Marine base in Okinawa. The decision, announced at a news conference just a few hours after he touched down in Tokyo to begin his first presidential trip to Asia, appears to represent a concession by the Obama administration to at least consider Japan’s concerns. It comes less...

Defending the decision of the United States to drop nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during WWII is not a comfortable thing to do when you're in Japan. But if you're President of the United States, you must do it. Diplomatically, yes. With sympathy for the civilian victims, yes. But you must do it. But when it came time today for Barack Obama to do so, he failed in that fundamental duty. The very first reporter [from Fuji TV] called on at the joint press conference with PBO and Japanese PM Hatayama in Tokyo today put the question to Pres....

President Barack Obama met with Japan's new leader Friday, hoping to shore up relations with a nation that vows to be more assertive with the United States, even as Obama also weighs whether to send more U.S. troops to Afghanistan. While public remarks from Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama are expected to stress their countries' enduring alliance, Obama's visit comes at a time of uncertainty in relations. Hatoyama has promised to end Japan's Indian Ocean refueling mission that supports U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan and to review an agreement on relocating American troops in Japan that Washington thought was...

LINK to brief Japanese TV video.Go to Link. Hit the white triangle. Spot "The Squirrel".(Video Link will be good for about 12 hours or so).

As the health care debate rages in the US, Tokyo lawmakers set a maximum waist size. Are you too fat for Japan? So before the fat police could throw her in pudgy purgatory, Miki Yabe, 39, a manager at a major transportation corporation, went on a crash diet last month. In the week before her company’s annual health check-up, Yabe ate 21 consecutive meals of vegetable soup and hit the gym for 30 minutes a day of running and swimming. “It’s scary,” said Yabe, who is 5 feet 3 inches and 133 pounds. “I gained 2 kilos [4.5 pounds] this...

Volkswagen Group has displaced Toyota for the first time as the world's largest car manufacturer in terms of production. The German carmaker produced 4.4 million vehicles in the first nine months of the year, overtaking its Japanese rival by 400,000 units, consulting firm IHS Global Insight said on Wednesday. Volkswagen Group owns a variety of models such as Skoda and Seat and high-end lines Audi, Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini. In July it expanded its stable by acquiring Porsche. HIS Global Insight said Volkswagen was able to beat Toyota thanks to increased sales in China, Germany and the U.K. even amid...

TOKYO, Nov. 10 (AP) - (Kyodo)—U.S. President Barack Obama said during an interview with Japan's public broadcaster NHK in Washington on Monday that he is willing to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki...

IN the boardrooms of Japan’s top corporations can be heard the chuckles of disbelief over the new government’s people-first agenda to jump-start the economy. The sniggers, however, soon give way to a sober realization among members of the so-called Keidanren: the old ways that gave birth to, and nurtured Japan Inc., may soon vanish. That is because the odds of the new government’s economic gamble paying off may be slim, risking Japan’s slide into ruin. “Fraternity,” blurted an amused Atsushi Saito, referring to Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s bedrock for a new Japan. The president of the Tokyo Stock Exchange could...

China air force much improved though still lagging Christopher Bodeen, Associated Press Writer – Thu Nov 5, 12:21 pm ET BEIJING – China's rapidly modernizing air force is planning a display of its new military might for its 60th anniversary, showcasing a wide-ranging technical upgrade that has boosted its capabilities, though it still lags far behind its main rival, the United States. The People's Liberation Army Air Force is marking the occasion this Sunday with an aerial show and skydiving exhibition, using some of the state-of-the-art combat aircraft that have replaced hundreds of antiquated MIG fighters. While only about 20...

LINKNot too hard to figure out, folks!