Japan's State Minister of Cabinet Office Shuichi Takatori, left, and New Zealand Prime Minister John Key shake hands after signing the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement in Auckland, New Zealand, on Thursday. Trade ministers from 12 Pacific Rim countries including the United States ceremonially signed the free-trade deal.
© Japan TodayDressed up for TPP
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smartacus
Unusual outfit for a Japanese government representative to wear at a signing ceremony at such a big international event. I doubt Amari would have dressed like that.
Sensato
The TPP is good for drug companies, but bad for U.S. citizens, and even comparatively worse for citizens of Japan and NZ in terms of the role it will play in expanding the choke-hold pharmaceutical companies have on the healthcare sector.
Drug makers love the TPP because it will force the exorbitant prices of prescription drugs in the U.S. on the other TPP member nations in part by clamping down on generics. If you think healthcare is expensive now, wait until you start paying prices equivalent of those in the U.S.
shonanbb
Eat your heart out Amari, and quit working as a representative for Yamato-shi. This man shakes hands like a man.
Citizen2012
Sounds like a position of a low importance and just by looking at his face I feel the TPP is not doing good for the Japanese govt, we'll see,,,,,,
inkochi
TPP Now it starts!
Takatori-san looks Jedi. Or are Jedi actually Japanese cabinet ministers from a long time ago and a galaxy far away?
wtfjapan
Or are Jedi actually Japanese cabinet ministers from a long time ago and a galaxy far away? yeah may have a point there, the Jedi mind meld seems to work wonders on the J public
Schopenhauer
Clownish!
M3M3M3
Does anyone know why he dressed up like this? Every other representative at the signing ceremony was wearing a suit, so I don't think there was a memo requesting traditional costumes?
edojin
Just saw this ceremony on TV. Where does Abe-san find these clowns? At one point Takatori was strongly anti-TPP ... and then he changed his mind. Now he goes to a signing ceremony in New Zealand dressed like Japanese used to dress at the turn of the last century. What's he trying to show, to prove, by dressing like that? I notice the other people did not dress the way their fellow countrymen dressed back around 1900.
Weird, weird, weird ...
cleo
I think it's quite refreshing to see Japanese people wearing traditional Japanese formal gear at a ceremonial event. Much better than when forn dignitaries are welcomed by the emperor and the whole court is dressed in penguin suits and western-style ball gowns, with tiaras and décolletage.
smithinjapan
"Japan’s State Minister of Cabinet Office..."
Ie. A job with probably little to no actual responsibilities, but a position as a favor to a friend. What does this guy need to do, anyway.
As for the garb, why are people saying it's weird or unusual? I'm with Cleo and think it's a nice bit of change from the suits these guys usually wear.
BertieWooster
Given the choice of TPP or China (which we weren't), I'd take China. At least China is honest about its oppression. China is moving in the direction of democracy. The US and their "allies" are going in the opposite direction. TPP negotiations were conducted in SECRET. The only way we had any inkling of what they were about was from WikiLeaks.
The TPP and the TTIP are going to create a world FAR more oppressive than China.
Tessa
Weird. I thought he was a rakugo artist or something.
Monozuki
Nonetheless, these two look neck and neck with each other.
ticaileana
i was in Japan a year ago and saw many men wearing this kind of traditional garb. I found it elegant and manly. In the United Nations, many delegates wear traditional garb. I say he is proud of his heritage.
jmw1992
Very traditional outfit. No problems seeing this kind of outfitting for future meetings. As for TPP, it is an extremely important deal for all who join in for this landmark agreement.
philly1
Well, Darth Vader is an armoured samurai. Why not?
As for the garb, only Takatori knows why he wore it. However his compressed lips suggest anger, his eyes looking away signalling evasion or aversion. Quite the contrast to genuinely pleased PM Key. Perhaps Takatori's choice is a signal, another micro-message: Japan is Japan and will remain Japan (unique). Don't presume that Japan is going to really change anything in spite of a signature.
Besides, at this stage the signature is not binding. Only that parties agree that nothing in the document will be changed going forward. Japan or any other country can still choose not to opt in when it comes to the time when real deal is signed.
M3M3M3
@philly1
Yes, exactly. I also thought it might have been a dog whistle to the ultra conservative crowd.
Of course he can wear whatever he likes but there is always a very fine line between charming and ridiculous when it comes to traditional national costumes. That line is probably crossed when everyone else in the room decides to wear a suit. I wonder how many people would say the German delegate also looks cool if he shows up to the TTIP signing wearing lederhosen and a feather in his cap.
Yubaru
Probably dressed that way because no one is going to remember him as it was Amari that did the bulk of the negotiating. He had to do something to stick out.
Right, all they say is that there is no oppression in China, it's a workers paradise.
cleo
The difference is that lederhosen is not formal wear. A better comparison would be with a Scotsman turning up in a kilt and sporran, which is always cool.