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Carney meets Japan's 'Iron Lady' and tests out his rusty Japanese skills
TOKYO — Prime Minister Mark Carney, on an ongoing mission to bring together the world’s middle powers, brought out his rusty Japanese skills as he met his counterpart and enjoyed a Canadian-inspired birthday cake in Tokyo.
Carney touched down in Tokyo on Friday afternoon, local time, where he was set to spend the next 24 hours on the final leg of his three-country journey designed to shore up trade partners and strike deals to wean Canada’s reliance off the United States in the face of tariffs.
Although Carney briefly stumbled when he first said his counterpart’s name, he nevertheless seemed to leave her impressed with his efforts.
“I’m not finished yet,” Carney said with a laugh after speaking the first few Japanese words in this speech. It appeared to take Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi by surprise and she let out a big smile and began to clap.
“As I said, gracious hospitality,” he said.
No substantial financial deals were struck during his whirlwind stop in Japan’s capital, with his office announcing it was entering into a new “comprehensive strategic partnership” with Japan, pledging in a separate set of cooperation agreements to better collaborate on tackling illegal fishing in the North Pacific, international emergency response and Coast Guard exercises.
Bolstering cooperation in maritime security was a major feature of the new agreements.
The counties specifically pledged to engage in more joint sails between the Royal Canadian Navy and the Japanese Navy.
Defence Minister David McGuinty, the sole cabinet minister to accompany the prime minister to Japan, was set to spend the next day meeting with his Japanese counterpart.
Like other countries in the Indo-Pacific, Canada sees Japan as a market to increase energy exports, particularly liquified natural gas and liquified petroleum gas, from the West Coast.
Takaichi in her remarks called Canada and Japan’s desire to collaborate on energy “mutually complementary” given Canada’s bountiful energy resources and Japan’s technologies.
While she talked up how countries will more closely join forces in areas of defence and cyber policy, Carney threw in some personal touches in his speech, including a reference to having read Takaichi’s book and favourite baseball team the Hanshin Tigers.
He said Canada was hoping for a similar win from the Toronto Blue Jay’s Kazuma Okamoto.
During his stop in Tokyo, Carney was met to meet with several CEOs, including with several major Japanese automakers , whose car brands like Toyota and Honda comprise the biggest share of those built within Canada.
A senior government official, speaking on a not-for-attribution basis, expressed confidence with the level of investment from Japan when it came to Canada’s auto-sector as Canada is set to begin talks about renewing the Canada-U.S-Mexico free trade agreement, with U.S. President Donald Trump targeting Canada for its auto jobs.
Upon their arrival in Japan, Carney and his wife, Diana Fox Carney, were greeted by local officials before Carney arrived at Kantei, the Japanese prime minister’s office. Takaichi led him in, as the pair stood before an honour guard that played both the Canadian and Japanese national anthems.
At one point, each leader bowed before the flags of each other’s country, before retreating to a signing ceremony and later a private meeting before they appeared again to deliver remarks about the Canada-Japan relationship.
Carney is the first world leader to visit Japan since Takaichi won a landslide election victory in February. Japan’s first woman to hold the job, Sanae’s staunch conservative agenda and her admiration for Margaret Thatcher has earned her the nickname in the media as Japan’s “Iron Lady.”
“You’ve been busy,” Carney warmly upon greeting Takaichi, crediting her on her recent success.
Takaichi’s rise to power from roots that included once being a drummer in a heavy metal band has also generated its own curiosity.
In fact, that background inspired the Canadian delegation to give her a set of drum sticks to mark her 65th birthday, which Carney’s visit coincides with. A Canadian-inspired birthday cake made with Canadian maple mascarpone cream along with syrup was also on the menu at a private dinner after that evening’s ceremonies.
Takaichi’s birthday was not the only one Carney marked along his travels. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese celebrated turning 63 just before Carney arrived for his first bilateral visit by a Canadian prime minister in almost two decades.
As a gift, which is customary in foreign visits, the Canadian delegation gave the Australian prime minister a Blue Rodeo vinyl album and participated in some dog treat diplomacy, gifting Australia’s first dog, Albanese’s white cavoodle named Toto, with some of her favourite dog treats. Carney for his part is a cat owner, with Nico Carney being referred to online as Canada’s first cat.
Host countries often try to insert flavour from their guests into visits. In India, for example, local Indian artists on the flute, tabla and sarangi played for Carney at a luncheon their versions of songs like Celine Dion’s “Encore un soir,” and Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi.”
But it was Carney’s speaking of Japanese that seemed to most impress his Japanese counterpart, who smiled and applauded his two attempts.
“After the rain, the ground grows firmer. Adversity tests our strength and builds it, so today we take our first steps on that firmer ground,” he said, after first reciting the local proverb in Japanese.
Carney developed some familiarity with the language when he lived in Tokyo for a period some three decades years earlier when he worked with global investment banking firm Goldman Sachs.
Ian McKay, Canada’s ambassador to Japan, says he thought Carney’s Japanese was pretty good, given it has been some time since he lived in the country.
“So for a guy who hasn’t really used it for 35 years it was pretty darn good.”
National Post
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